Third Thursday of Every Month

It’s one of our favorite days! The third Thursday of every month is Tacoma’s Artwalk and when three downtown Tacoma museums offer free admission from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., thanks to some generous sponsors. The Tacoma Art Museum, the Museum of Glass, and the Washington State History Museum are all within easy walking distance of each other and some great restaurants are in the area to make for a fun and affordable night out.

We have been attending this on a regular basis for about a year now. The museums offer special events on these nights so there is always something new to do or see.

The Washington State History Museum building itself is an architectural marvel and worth the visit just for that reason.  Inside you will find an array of exhibits and kids will love the hand-on features. It takes more than just a few hours to truly absorb all the information here.

Behind the History Museum is the amazing Chihuly Bridge of Glass, a pedestrian bridge linking downtown Tacoma to the thoroughly modern Museum of Glass. The bridge itself is magnificent with Chihuly works surrounding you on all sides.

One of the highlights at the Museum of Glass is watching artists at work live in the Hot Shop, located in the 90 ft. high stainless steel cone that has become a Tacoma icon. Music blares while the audience views the process from bleachers above or from a catwalk that surrounds the workfloor. Several huge ovens heat the glass and groups of glass artists craft masterpieces before your eyes. A large screen gives an up-close view of the amazing work these people do.

Through out the museum are exhibits by various artists. Our personal favorite is one where children drew pictures then the artists created glass likenesses from those. I can’t believe how close the glass works are to the drawings and the stories written by the children about what they drew are priceless.

Back across the bridge, a short stroll north will take you to the Tacoma Art Museum. They always offer a variety of activities on these free admission nights, often with a common theme. One of our favorites was a Japanese-themed evening with art, music, movies, performances, and food. Another highlight was the opening of the Norman Rockwell exhibit. We were surprised to learn he did so much more than just Saturday Evening Post artwork.

We have found that it’s impossible to take in everything offered on these evenings between the Artwalk and all three museums. We do a little research beforehand and come up with a plan before we go. It’s good to know that there is always next month to catch some of the things we missed!