The collection here is huge and varied. It's really all about life in Black Diamon and is staffed…read moreby local volunteers with lots of stories to share. You can take a quick stroll through or spend a couple of hoirs here. Black Diamond was a company owned town. Coal mining company that is. They owned everything. Miners came from all across Europe to mine coal here. Welsh, Croation, Italian and many more. The company eventually closed and sold the property. Many of the shops in business during the company days are still here and many decendants of those miners live here still. Exhibits include local history, mining history, day to day items. Just so much information. We spend a fair amount of time looking through the several rooms and speaking with the volunteers. They have so much information to impart and were all lovely. Parking is street side, just past the museum. Be sure to check out the out building and the memorial garden as well. If you are really keen, drive down the hill and check out the Union Stump memorial. Definitely worth a stop to learn the local history. Open Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

Fife History Museum is a small museum, but it's a great place to spend an afternoon. It's packed…read morewith tons of history and interesting artifacts. They have historical military uniforms and memorabilia from Fife's service-members throughout history. They have an entire collection of beautiful, ornate miniature paper umbrellas folded by Japanese-Americans in the nearby internment camps during WWII using discarded cigarette wrappers. They have recreated schoolrooms, historic school yearbooks, and rotating exhibitions - right now it's one about the history of the QWERTY keyboard. It's a really cool spot that really took me by surprise. And the staff is really knowledgeable and helpful.

My husband loves bonsai trees and while I think they look nice, I don't really know much about…read morethem. When I saw that we would be in the area of the Pacific Bonsai Museum on our most recent travels, I was super excited to put it on our itinerary. Unfortunately, while I was researching, I noticed that although this is an outdoor museum, they have a " service dogs welcome but no pets" policy. It was disappointed because we travel with our small dog so I decided to take it off our list of stops. When my husband noticed he was visibly saddened and I knew I had to do my best to see if we could make it work. I messaged the museum here on Yelp and explained my situation to them. They responded immediately, and said that although that is their policy, because my dog is small, well behaved, always on a leash and has no behavioral issues, staff would likely not approach me to ask me to leave or show my credentials. I truly appreciate their fast response and understanding. They have amazing customer service here. Our visit to the museum was lovely. Our dog enjoyed the shady walk along the path to get there and sat patiently while we looked around. The museum is not only gorgeous, but laid out by region, so it's almost like walking through the world showcase at EPCOT but better because there were no crowds and the environment was incredibly peaceful. It was so interesting to see all the bonsais displayed and to learn about them. Masterfully designed and curated and incredibly tranquil, it was definitely one of the highlights of our stops in the area. I encourage you to stop by and to donate to this amazing museum if you have the opportunity.

The Bonsai Museum is a hidden gem. We had a few hours to kill before picking up dinner and heading…read moreover to my cousins house. Since she and her family live in Fife, I ordered and scheduled pickup for 2:30 pm in Federal Way. We weren't what to do in the meantime and so I looked up botanical parks. The bonsai Museum and the Rododendron botanical Park came up. We noticed they were across from each other and so we headed over to the parks. It's a nice drive over there as everything is so green and lush. Once we parked, we noticed that we needed to walk a bit to get to the exhibits. Once we got to the exhibits, the Rododendron botanical park was on the left side with $12 entrance fee and on the right side was the bonsai Museum with free entry. On the outside, they do have restrooms available before heading into the bonsai museum We didn't know what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised with all the bonsai displays they had by the different artists from different countries, and there were a lot. It took us about 30 minutes to get through the entire exhibit. We would've stayed longer to read all the information, but we were running short on time and we still wanted to visit the botanical park across the way. I highly recommend the Pacific Bonsai Museum if you're in the Federal Way area especially because it's free.

Such a cool museum! I never have enough time to look at all the cars and read about their history…read more The first floor is a rotating exhibit whole the door floors below are permanent. It's so cool seeing the designs of cars across decades and manufacturers, and how that defined the soul of not just a subset of people at the time but culture (mostly American culture). I also enjoy the little movie theater they have as a nice break from walking and starting at static cars. The oddest but rather niifty car I saw was this German amphibious car. Bummed they don't still make this! Would be perfect around lake Washington! Is recommend this museum to anyone, young or old, male to female. It's a welcoming space that lets you enjoy at your own pace and has never seemed too busy when I've gone. The people there are friendly and the Justin itself hosts lots of fun events both for the community and members. There used to be a cafeteria up top overlooking the special exhibit but I believe this is now upgraded as a Korean fast casual place. I didn't get to try it last time but wouldn't mind trying it out next time I'm wandering the museum. The gift shop has a fun selection of items too. Cards and prints by local artists and photographers, car related toys and useful gadgets, clothing, trinkets, souvenirs... Fyi, As a member you get 10% off in the shop.

Always a fun time !…read more Car enthusiast, a must ! We loved the first floor display, it changes from time to time. Recommend following the recommended walking route. Start at top right hand side walk ramp down and loop back up! Plenty of bathrooms, parking, cafe, & gift shop!

This is a gorgeous and intriguing museum that I highly recommend - although be advised that right…read morenow they are renovating. They will re-open their main galleries in the fall of 2026. To help soften the blow, they have lowered admission price in the interim. The hot shop is also still open and you can watch live glass making there. There are a few exhibit cases on view. There are lots of fun works that kids' designed that are also on view on the main lobby and down the hall. We went for a glass making class, which was tons of fun. I'm sure attendance varies widely - ours was not crowded. The person monitoring the class, Audrey, was friendly; she explains everything and then you have at it. She is there to help, which includes cutting glass pieces to suit whatever design you are making (this probably depends on the style of glass you are making). FYI the gift shop is really nice and is available even if you don't go into the museum. You can purchase works by glass artists who have been at the museum - so it's more than your average gift shop.

This is a cool museum. Unfortunately most of it as closed but gave us a discount. We came an hour…read morebefore closure and saw everything. The glass making studio was cool to watch. The bridge in the back was quite a walk over so had to be picked up baby history museum.

As much as I'd love to keep this place all to ourselves... I just can't…read more If you're looking for something fun to do with your kids this summer, you HAVE to check out Briscot Farms in Kent. We stumbled across it recently, and it was honestly one of the best random adventures we've had in a long time. We were back within 2 days with the rest of the fam to keep the fun in the sun going. I couldn't believe how much there was to do for the price! If you arrive before noon, it's just $5 for a day pass ($10 after noon), and the kids can easily spend hours there. Animals to pet (both in enclosures and free roaming!) Berry picking (bring a bucket!) Nature trail Multiple play areas Bounce house Water features to cool off in What really made it special, though, was the owner. She is one of the kindest people we've met. She even keeps clean swimsuits and towels in the shop that families can borrow for free if their little ones unexpectedly want to play in the water. You can tell this place is run with so much heart, and I truly hope they get the recognition and support they deserve. If you're looking for an affordable summer adventure, this is it. We had an absolute blast, and we'll definitely be back! Bonus!- We used the berries we picked to make some homemade jam when we got home. Thank you again!

Stopped in last minute on the way home from a camping trip and so glad that we did. The kids loved…read moreit! They got to feed all the animals playing all the bouncy houses they even have a playground for the younger kids. Blackberry and pear picking. Very friendly owner. Prices were cheap. It was $10/person $5/veggie bucket

As you enter the Karshner Museum and Center for Culture & Arts your eyes will immediately be drawn…read moredown the hallway to a very large wooden welcoming figure. These figures are seen along the Pacific Northwest coastal region welcoming people to villages or homes. The figure is supposed to represent a shaman or some say even Dr. Karshner and it has it's arms stretched out welcoming you. The best thing about this exhibit is you get to put your hands in the hands of the welcoming figure and if you are sad, it will help make you happy. This is a great way to start your visit to the museum. The Karshner Museum is almost ninety years old and was founded in 1930 by Dr. Warner Karshner and his wife as a memorial to their son who died at an early age from Polio. Today, the Karshner is a teaching museum which is actually owned and operated by the Puyallup School District. It contains over ten thousand artifacts which include many from Native American/First Nation People as well as from Dr. Karshner's travels around the world. On the day I went, the Museum was closed and they were setting up exhibits. I explained that I had a friend visiting from Korea and she wanted to see this museum and the staff were kind enough to allow us to explore everything. I really appreciated that the staff were so cooperative and friendly and were also excited to explain some of the exhibits to us. You can see that they truly do love their work and appreciate being able to share stories about some of the pieces. If you have kids, the Pioneer Room is an entire room set up like a classroom with lots of hands on activity for little hands. They even have a stagecoach that the kids can climb on and explore. The room has so many things to see that it will definitely entertain kids for a long time. There are even some work sheets available on the door of this room so kids can also get involved in showing what they have learned. Some of the worksheets which will aid your kids in exploring this room. They can find the basket full of games that pioneer children played, try on clothing, explore goods from the trading post, discover what it was like to go to school in 1855 and lots of other activities. Currently, there is an exhibit entitled Who Are We? - Washington's Kaleidoscope which will be on display until January 2018. This exhibit is great because it tells the story of Washingtonians who have been faced with and have overcome obstacles or hardships and have left a positive impact on our great state. This exhibit is also contains people from different ethnicities which is always a good thing to see. The most beautiful objects in this museum are not the Chihuly glass on display, but the beautiful carved and painted Shamish Nation Panels which were gifted to the museum. There are four panels in total including one of a killer whale and calf, eagle with salmon, native run salmon and raven, wolf & moon (which is my favorite). If you are in the area please stop by the museum and check out all of the displays. It is a very eclectic collection and there is something here for everyone. Make sure to ask questions if you have any because the staff have so much knowledge. Thank you for a great visit and an awesome learning experience.

The Buffalo Soldiers Museum is definitely an overlooked museum in Tacoma and is definitely worth…read morechecking out. Admission is free which is always a plus! If you want to donate however you can by the front door. The Buffalo Soldiers is a term for African American cavalry soldiers. The term was given by Native Americans because these soldiers reminded them of the buffalo due to the fierce and brave nature which was often how the animal exhibited. This museum focuses on 9th and 10th cavalry regiments but the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments. These regiments were involved in several wars. The American Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, Mexican Border War and World War 1 and World War 2. Other wars are mentioned at the museum as well like the Korean War. The museum is relatively small but there is a large amount of information and artifacts and the person that greeted us was very friendly and gave us lots of information which was great! I definitely recommend the Buffalo Soldier's Museum as there are lots of pieces and stories from American history here that is fascinating and educational!

I was told about the Buffalo Soldier Museum by a neighbor friend of mine on a Friday afternoon as…read morewe sat enjoying lunch together. She mentioned her parents who had been visiting from California, went to the museum and found it very interesting and enjoyable. The museum had limited hours they were open. She reached for her phone and looked up the museum hours. Well, it just so happened, the museum was going to be open the next day between the hours of 12pm - 4pm. So, here I am enjoying and learning about the Buffalo Soldiers. I highly recommend going to this little museum in the Hilltop neighborhood and supporting the museum and the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers. Totally loved it!