Nature & Science Museums in Seattle
Stopping at science museums is one of the best ways to combine fun and learning while traveling. A science museum of some kind can be found in almost every major city in the United States. The best vacation memories aren’t always made by doing nothing or going to amusement parks. Why not take an educational approach to your next family vacation?
Seattle museums focusing on the development of natural science and new technologies are not just exhibition spaces. You will find here complex entertainment centers hosting a wide range of science-related events and youth activities
Here are the top science museums in Seattle. Are you planning a trip to one of these locations this year? Make a science day of it. Any of these science museums will delight you!
Burke Museum
17 Ave Northeast and Northeast 45th Street, Seattle, WA 98105 – See on map
Burke Museum offers a wide variety of exhibits for the different type of visitors. In other words, there is something for everyone. Their permanent exhibits are extremely popular among people who live in every corner of the world. The fossils hold a prominent place out of those exhibits. Through them, you can learn a lot about the history of our world and the ancestors who lived on Earth in long gone times.
This Seattle science museum is a good place to get some insight into the history of Washington as the Burke Museum offers a collection of Washington State Symbols, highlighting 12 out of the total of 22 official symbols. If you are a history buff, you can learn here about the Western Hemlock (the state tree since 1947), the American Goldfinch (the state bird since 1951), the Coast Rhododendron (the stage flower since 1892, but officially nominated as such in 1959), the Steelhead Trout (the state fish since 1969), the Petrified Wood (the state gem since 1975), the Green Darner Dragonfly (the state insect since 1997), the Columbian Mammoth (the state fossil since 1994), the Orca Whale (the state marine mammal since 2005), the Pacific Chorus Frog (the stage amphibian since 2007), the Olympic Marmot (the state endemic mammal since 2009), the Olympia Oyster (the state oyster since 2014).
If you are a collector, you can experience 10 unique visitor collections from the museum. Over 2000 visitors have told them what they collect and the reasons that make their collections special. The information you can get from this will assist you to take your collections to the next level.
In addition to the above mentioned permanent exhibits, the Burke Museum offers some special temporary exhibits about the evolution, but also some that stand at the confluence of science & art like the Erna Gunther Ethnobotanical Garden gathering more than 100 plant species from both sides of the Cascades and the Pacific Voices offering a full immersion in the life of native people from the Pacific area.
- Opening hours: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM, 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM on the first Thursday of each month
- Prices: $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $7.5 for students and children, free on the first Thursday of each month
- More info: www.burkemuseum.org
Pacific Science Center
200 2nd Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109 – See on map
The Pacific Science Center is one of the best places available in Seattle to spend few pleasant and highly entertaining hours. The exhibits offered to the visitors by this Seattle science museum are truly awesome. The permanent exhibits that you can see in Pacific Science Center include the 4000 square foot Tropical Butterfly House home to over 500 species coming from South and Central America, Africa, and Asia, and the new solar powered art installation Sonic Bloom opened in partnership with Seattle City Light. As you walk through the exhibit, you can admire the five 33 feet tall sunflowers designed by Dan Corson.
The 7000 square foot exhibit entitled the Wellbody Academy aims at educating people and showing them how they can lead a healthier and more balanced lifestyle, and boost their level of wellness by making simple personal choices.
Another interesting exhibit that you can enjoy also online, on this Seattle science museum’s official website, the Naked Mole Rat Cam enables visitors to watch live the industrious seemingly dead animals in their natural habitat.
Formerly known as The Lab, Tinker Tank is a space dedicated to scientific experiments and interactive activities that will fascinate the young science buffs and will keep your kids entertained for hours.
- Opening hours: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM from Monday to Friday, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM at the weekend and on holidays
- Prices: $19.50 for adults, $17.50 for seniors over 65, $14.50 for teens (6-15), $11.50 for children under 6
- More info: www.pacificsciencecenter.org