The Washington State History Museum is a

history museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these i ...

located in downtown Tacoma,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, United States. It is operated by the

Washington State Historical Society The Washington State Historical Society is the historical society of the U.S. state of Washington. Based in Tacoma, it is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is a trustee agency of the state. It was founded in 1891. The board of trustees of the society incl ...

under the official approval of the

Washington State Legislature The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State Senat ...

. The museum opened on August 10, 1996, at a building adjacent to historic

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

that cost $42 million to construct. The museum maintains three permanent exhibits. One is about the history of Washington state and its relation to the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

, featuring artifacts from

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

, Native American tribes and items such as Clovis points. The uppermost floor of the museum contains the History Lab, where visitors can explore and learn about history in a more hands-on fashion with multiple interactive exhibits. The top floor is also home to the state's largest permanent

model train Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...

layout, which covers and recreates scenes from Tacoma's

(which is located next to the museum) and other regional railroads. The museum hosts an annual Model Train Festival in December.

References

External links

The Washington State Historical SocietyExhibits at the Washington State History Museum
– Exhibit information on the Washington State Historical Society's website
Educators' Portal
– Information for teachers about field trips, the History Box program, curriculum modules, educator workshops, and the History Day program; plus a link to a free, downloadable version of the Washington State History Museum's ''Field Guide to Washington History''.
WSHS Collections Catalog Online
– Search the Collections Catalog of the Washington State Historical Society
Heritage Resources
– Resources available to support the work of Washington heritage organizations, including workshops, the Heritage Capital Projects Fund grant program, and the Heritage Caucus of the Washington State Legislature. Buildings and structures in Tacoma, Washington Historical society museums in Washington (state) History museums in Washington (state) Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Museums in Tacoma, Washington State historical societies of the United States {{Washington-museum-stub