Seattle's museums are spread across a long timeline and an awkward week. The oldest institution on this list dates from 1899 and the youngest from 2006, with art museums, a science center, an aerospace museum, a computer museum, and an ethnic history museum filling the years between. The subject matter is rarely the problem. The calendar is. Several of these places keep short weeks: the Seattle Art Museum runs Wednesday to Sunday, and the Seattle Asian Art Museum Thursday to Sunday. 2 of them reward the patient with a late Thursday, the Henry Art Gallery until 21:00 and the National Nordic Museum until 20:00. For 2 entries we hold no verified opening hours at all, and we say so plainly where it applies. This list is for the visitor who would rather see 3 museums properly than 6 through a closed door. Read the hours first, then choose.
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1 Museum of Pop Culture
5th Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109A museum given over to pop culture, open 10:00 to 17:00 with no closed day listed
Doors open at 10:00 and close at 17:00 at the Museum of Pop Culture, with no closed day on the schedule, making it one of the easier entries here to fit around a Monday arrival or a Tuesday gap. You will find it on 5th Avenue North in the 98109, and it dates from 2004, which is young for a museum of this profile and suits a subject that older institutions tend to treat as a sideshow. Skip the midday crush; the locals go at opening, when the galleries can be taken at your own pace. Current exhibitions are listed at mopop.org, and it is worth reading that page before you commit, because what is on matters more here than at most museums.
Dates from 2004
Hours: 10:00-17:00
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2 Seattle Art Museum
1st Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101The city's art museum since 1933
Since 1933 the Seattle Art Museum has been the first name anyone offers when a visitor asks where the art is. It stands on 1st Avenue in the 98101 and keeps a shorter week than its standing suggests: Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00. Monday and Tuesday are not on that schedule, and plenty of people learn this on the pavement outside. Don't squeeze in a quick circuit before dinner; an art museum of this age deserves a morning with nothing booked after it. Exhibition details are at seattleartmuseum.org. Check them before you go, decide what you came for, and let the rest of the building be a bonus.
Dates from 1933
Hours: We-Su 10:00-17:00
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3 Frye Art Museum
1000 Cherry Street, Seattle, WA 98104An art museum dating from 1952 that opens late in the morning, at 11:00
The Frye Art Museum has stood at 1000 Cherry Street in the 98104 since 1952. It is not a morning place. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday through Sunday the hours run 11:00 to 17:00, and Thursday keeps its own schedule, so confirm that day at fryemuseum.org before you set out. The 11:00 opening settles the question of an early start. Have a slow breakfast, arrive when the doors open, and give the pictures the unhurried hour a packed morning never allows.
Dates from 1952
Hours: Tu-We, Fr-Su 11:00-17:00; Th 23:00-19:00
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4 Seattle Asian Art Museum
Volunteer ParkAn art museum whose whole address is a park, open Thursday to Sunday
Volunteer Park is the entire address on record for the Seattle Asian Art Museum, no street number, no cross street, which tells you how to approach it: as a walk first and a gallery second. The museum dates from 1991 and runs the tightest schedule on this list, Thursday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00. For current programming, seattleartmuseum.org is where to look. Do not treat a museum in a park as a filler stop for a spare hour. With only 4 open days, this is the entry you plan the rest of the week around, not the one you fit in afterwards.
Dates from 1991
Hours: Th-Su 10:00-17:00
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5 Pacific Science Center
200 Sue Bird Court North, Seattle, WA 98109A non-profit science institution dating from 1962
The Pacific Science Center is on record as a non-profit organization, not a museum, and it has carried that purpose since 1962. This is a place built around a mission more than a collection. You'll find it at 200 Sue Bird Court North in the 98109, open Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00. Do not assume a science center is a destination for families with children; adults who visit without them tend to stay longer than they planned. Programming changes, so read pacificsciencecenter.org before choosing your day, and skip Monday and Tuesday, which are not on the schedule.
Dates from 1962
Hours: We-Su 10:00-17:00
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6 Living Computers: Museum + Labs
1st Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98134A computer museum dating from 2006
The most useful thing we can tell you about Living Computers: Museum + Labs is that we hold no verified opening hours for it. It is a computer museum at 1st Avenue South in the 98134, founded in 2006 and the youngest institution on this list, with a name that promises machines kept running rather than merely displayed behind glass. What we cannot confirm from our sources is when, or whether, the doors are open on any given day. A cross-town trip on a guess is not worth it. Check livingcomputermuseum.org first, confirm its current status there, then put it in your plans.
Dates from 2006
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7 Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience
721 South King Street, Seattle, WA 98104A museum given wholly to the Asian Pacific American experience, dating from 1967
The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience opens Tuesday through Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00, at 721 South King Street, 98104. It dates from 1967, giving it more than half a century on a subject most institutions still handle in a side gallery. Here it is the whole building's business, and that focus is the reason to come: no single wall, no moving on. Monday is the closed day. Look at wingluke.org before you go to see what is on, then allow longer than you think you need.
Dates from 1967
Hours: Tu-Su 10:00-17:00
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8 Henry Art Gallery
15th Ave. NE & NE 41st St., Seattle, WA 98195A university art museum with a Thursday late opening until 21:00
Henry Art Gallery has one standout night: Thursday, when the doors stay open until 21:00. The other open days, Wednesday through Sunday, run 11:00 to 16:00, the shortest daily hours of any museum here with hours on record, which makes that late Thursday the visit to plan around. A university art museum in the 98195, it dates from 1927, older than its low profile among visitors would suggest. Locals go on Thursday after work and find the galleries largely to themselves. Follow them. Check what is hanging at henryart.org, and do not arrive at 15:30 on a Saturday expecting a full look.
Dates from 1927
Hours: We-Su 11:00-16:00; Th 11:00-21:00
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9 Museum of History & Industry
860 Terry Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109A history museum dating from 1952, open 10:00 to 17:00 with no closed day listed
Nobody was ever sold on a day out by the word industry, which is the Museum of History & Industry's problem and your advantage. Skip the snobbery about the name. Dating from 1952, the museum sits at 860 Terry Avenue North in the 98109, open 10:00 to 17:00 with no closed day recorded, making it the natural fallback for any day the art museums are shut. If you want to understand why this city looks and works the way it does, a history museum will tell you more than a view from a height. The current programme is at mohai.org.
Dates from 1952
Hours: 10:00-17:00
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10 Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
4303 Memorial Way Northeast, Seattle, WA 98105The oldest institution on this list, a natural history museum dating from 1899
The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture has been on the record since 1899, making it the oldest institution on this list, and it sits at 4303 Memorial Way Northeast in the 98105, open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00 and closed on Monday. It is a natural history museum, and the name carries 2 subjects: natural history and culture. The pairing is the point, specimens and human stories under one roof. Don't spend the visit sprinting past the big skeletons, which is what most visitors settle for. Pick one half of the name and give it your full attention. Details of what is on view are at burkemuseum.org.
Dates from 1899
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11 The Museum of Flight
9404 East Marginal Way South, Seattle, WA 98108An aerospace museum dating from 1965
Dating from 1965, The Museum of Flight is the aerospace museum on this list and the entry that asks the most planning of you. The address is 9404 East Marginal Way South in the 98108, and it is a trip you make on purpose: we hold no verified opening hours for it and no official website in our sources, so we will not guess at either. Confirm both yourself before you travel. Skip the idea of treating this as a quick add-on to a day of galleries; aircraft need space and so does the time to look at them properly, so give it a dedicated half day, or leave it for a trip when you can.
Dates from 1965
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12 National Nordic Museum
28th Avenue Northwest, Seattle, 98107An ethnic history museum with a Thursday late opening until 20:00
The National Nordic Museum sits on 28th Avenue Northwest in the 98107, an ethnic history museum in operation since 1980. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday through Sunday it opens at 10:00 and closes at 17:00; Thursday runs to 20:00, and that is the visit we'd plan. Monday is the one day the museum is closed, so there is nothing to work around there. The subject is narrow by definition, treated at full length, and that combination is the argument for going; Thursday evening's longer hours let you read the walls at your own pace rather than race a 17:00 close. Programme details are at nordicmuseum.org.
Dates from 1980
Hours: Tu-We,Fr-Su 10:00-17:00; Th 10:00-20:00
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