Three Seattle Museums

Seattle has one of the highest concentrations of museums and galleries in the country. Whether you like representational paintings, speeding hydroplanes, or artifacts, Seattle museums encompass a wide variety of arts and the city’s history.

Here are three great museums in Seattle that you might enjoy.

Frye Art Museum

Frye Art Museum is the first and only free museum in Seattle. It features representational paintings from past to present. Over 230 of those are from Charles and Emma Frye. Most of their paintings are of German and Austrian art.

The Frye Art Museum opened in 1952.

The collection of Charles Frye shows his conservative artistic taste. Today the museum remains to display representational pieces.

A guided tour is available from Wed - Sun at 1:30 p.m. and private group tours at 12:30 p.m. or 1:30 p.m. For group tours reservations call (206) 622-9250 ext.223.

Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum

Opened in 1983, the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum is the country’s only public museum dedicated entirely to powerboat racing. They have over 200 rare, vintage racing films of the hydroplane racing in the 1940’s to the present.

A raceboat enthusiast’s dream, the museum has an outstanding assortment of hydroplanes, some 70 years old, which includes gold cup winners.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Thursday, and 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday. It is located at 5917 South 196th St.

Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture

As Washington’s oldest museum, and the only major Natural History Museum in the Pacific Northwest, the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture has a collection of over 12 million artifacts and specimens, including dinosaur fossils, native arts, and gemstones.

The picture above is from an exhibit at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.

The most interesting part of the museum’s collection includes the nation’s largest collection of Northwest Coast and Alaskan native art, the world’s largest collection of spread bird wings, and the over one million archeological artifacts including extensive collections from around Puget Sound.

The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture is open daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Closed on holidays and it’s located inside the University of Washington at the corner of 17th avenue NE and NE 45th St.

On the first Thursday of every month admission is free and the museum is open until 8 p.m.

General admission is $8 for adults, $6.50 for seniors, and $5 for students and youth (ages 5 and up).

So, if your interest is arts, speeding hydroplanes and natural history, make time on your trip to Seattle to see these wonderful museums.

Image source: Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture