I am always amazed at how few kids we see at our local art museum, the Seattle Art Museum (SAM)_. Kids under 12 are always free with a grown-up and there is a neat little place to play on the 3rd floor. (I wish they had pictures of the art screened on the tv in this area-maybe even set to music from local Seattle bands…..hint hint. This might make parents sit for a while and actually feel like we’re visiting the art museum too) There are many interesting toys and books and sometimes we just enjoy sitting and watching out the window at the people bustling in the streets below.
The TASTE Restaurant at the Seattle Art Museum (it’s Now the Market restaurant in 2022)
** the play area is not there anymore because of covid times and the restaurant is now the Market restaurant***hoping that the play area will come back when things get better, it was so good!
If you don’t even go into the Seattle Art Museum there is a little play area outside the Taste Restaurant that is full of toys and art materials. Most of the time, we’re the only people there and we’ve eaten at the restaurant before and used that toy area to entice the kids to behave. (After we eat, we’ll go play. Remember that play area that is RIGHT OUTSIDE THE DOOR????) It’s also an easy place for group family meals so grownups can take turns watching the kids while the others socialize. The food is also quite tasty and nicely presented so it makes for a lovely outing.
The museum itself is definitely worth checking out. We go quite often and we really enjoyed a Peru exhibit that we finally got around to seeing. There were complimentary headsets and the guys have fun practicing their numbers by dialing the corresponding art numbers into their phones to hear about the art. According to one of the docents, the pelican sculpture in the exhibit has been assembled for the first time here in Seattle (it’s usually split into 6 pieces so it can’t be stolen. This story is SO romantic) and it’s absolutely stunning. My guys really enjoyed some of the altarpieces that had really tiny figurines and now they definitely want to go and visit Machu Picchu.
Where to Park for the Seattle Art Museum
Usually I just park at City Target because we pop in for about 30 minutes before we shop, but I read here that you can get up to 4 hours of parking at this garage for $6 if you get a voucher from the SAM ticketing desk. I’ll totally have to try that next time we go with guests.
When is the Seattle Art Museum closed?
The only thing to watch for is the opening times. Mondays and Tuesdays the museum is closed and I’ve accidentally shown up on these days and been really sad. Thankfully it’s near Fran’s Chocolates and the Pike Place Market, so the disappointment only lasted momentarily.
We have a Patron membership because we like the free passes for family and friends and the Reciprocal museum memberships for travel but even just the dual membership would work if you have a family with kids under 12. If you stop by the SAM Website between now and Black Friday they have a 20% off coupon you can use Friday to buy a gift membership. I love how this would make an awesome experience gift!
(PS. we’ve used our Reciprocal membership for the Denver Art Museum and it was an incredible museum for kids and grownups too.)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)