Events and Programs
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Model Railroad Operators' Hours
First Saturday of every month, 11 AM-4 PM
A model train passes over a bridge in the History Museum's model railroad display,
the largest permanent model train display in the state. (Washington State Historical Society)
The Puget Sound Model Railroad Engineers (PSMRE), the all-volunteer organization which operates
the History Museum's permanent model railroad exhibit, holds a special Operators' Hours on the
first Saturday of every month. Operators' Hours is an opportunity to watch the masters at work
and ask questions of the model railroad experts!
Using a fast clock (a clock six-times faster than normal) PSMRE members operate the trains according
to schedules followed by Northern Pacific, Great Northern, Union Pacific and Milwaukee Railroad
companies in Tacoma in the 1950s. Each train is operated by a conductor, with a dispatcher on radio in
another room to control the mainline. See priority passenger and scheduled freight trains, as
well as local freights, and train make-up and break-down in the yards.
Ghosts of the Great Hall: Icons of Washington
February 6 < 1–3 PM
Search for Sasquatch with Dr. Grover Krantz at "Ghosts of the Great Hall." (Bettmann/CORBIS)
Tours commence every half hour
Interact with iconic Washingtonians in this program that brings historical figures to life.
Meet Ronald Debs Ginther, an artist who painted life during the Great Depression; rock out
with Jimi Hendrix; search for Sasquatch with Dr. Grover Krantz; and work on a railroad with
Anna Lind, a logging camp cook for Northern Pacific Railroad.
This program is FREE with Museum admission.
August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle 4: The Piano Lesson
February 6 @ 3 PM
August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle 4, Feb. 6 @ 3 PM. (Broadway Center for the Performing Arts)
August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize winning fourth installment of the Pittsburgh Cycle, "The
Piano Lesson," follows a family divided by the fate of their heirloom piano. Boy Willie, a
sharecropper from the South, wants to sell the piano so he can purchase more land. His sister,
Bernice, insists on keeping it as their great-grandfather carved onto it the faces of his wife
and son-who were sold into slavery in exchange for the piano. Set in the 1930s Great
Depression, "The Piano Lesson" is a reminder of the importance of heritage during
Black History Month.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit BroadwayCenter.org
and click on "view more upcoming performances" and then "August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle 4,"
or click this link.
Presidents' Day Special Admission
February 15 > 10 AM-6 PM
Extended hours!
In recognition of our nation's chief executives and their spouses, the History Museum offers FREE admission to anyone sharing a first or last name with one of our nation's presidents or first ladies. Please provide picture ID. Sorry, no middle names accepted.
Thursday Night Live!
Learn about life on a lumber camp, much like this one pictured above. (Washington State Historical Society)
Icons Live!–A Ghosts of the Great Hall Production
February 18 @ 6:30 PM
*During FREE Third Thursday
Step back in time with famous Washingtonians. Join us on a theatrical journey through
the Great Hall of Washington History. From lumber camp cooks to rock stars, historical characters
from Washington's past will amaze you with stories about people and events in this state we
call home. This program complements the featured exhibit
Icons of Washington History.
Ghosts of the Great Hall: Unsolved Mysteries
March 6 < 1–3 PM
Percy the pirate will tell his story at "Ghosts of the Great Hall."
(Washington State Historical Society)
Tours commence every half hour
Uncover some of Washington's unsolved mysteries with characters from the past. Hunt for
lost treasure with D. B. Cooper, a Washington skyjacker who disappeared with his loot; hear a
ghost story from Percy Buck, sole survivor of the Andelana shipwreck; search for Sasquatch with Dr.
Grover Krantz, and question William H. Gilstrap, the Historical Society's first curator and secretary
who was locked away during the "Great Tozier Heist."
This program is FREE with Museum admission.
WITH OUR HANDS: World Folk Art Festival
April 17 & 18 < 10 AM–5 PM
Learn traditional Croatian dances with Nicholas Petrish at the WITH OUR HANDS:
World Folk Art Festival April 17 & 18. (Fritz Dent photo)
Master folk artists will be stationed around the Museum teaching their crafts and talking
about their cultures. Learn traditional Croatian dances, dip Mexican wax flowers, paint a
Ukrainian decorated egg, learn Latvian embroidery, and more! Musical performances will take
place throughout the weekend. All activities are FREE with Museum admission.
Learn more about WITH OUR HANDS:
World Folk Art Festival!
Women's Suffrage Pilgrimage to Seneca Falls, NY
July 14 through July 19, 2010
Travel to the heart of women's suffrage (Washington State Historical Society)
Travel with Washington State Historical Society Director and Seneca Falls, NY native,
David Nicandri, and Women's History Consortium Coordinator and Women's Votes, Women's Voices:
The Campaign for Equal Rights in Washington author Shanna Stevenson, for a women’s suffrage
pilgrimage to the Women’s Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls.
Dave and Shanna will lead a six-day tour to commemorate the
100th anniversary of equal voting rights for Washington women. The tour is timed so
attendees can be in the heart of the birthplace of the suffrage movement during the annual
Convention Days Festival that honors the first women’s rights convention, held in July 1848.
This trip includes more than a dozen attractions in New York's
spectacular Finger Lakes region, all transportation, most meals, five nights lodging, taxes,
insurance, and more.
Pricing: $999 includes all of the above, and airfare pricing options are below:
1. Group air arrangements, an additional $719 includes taxes, service, and insurance (Maximum 12 persons at this group price)
2. Custom air arrangements with Travel Leaders
3. Use your own air miles and meet up with the group at the Rochester Hotel, in NY (More information upon request from Kathleen Tansey)
For more information, contact Kathleen Tansey, Travel Leaders-Travel Center agent, at 253-630-7755 or Kathleen@travelcenter4u.com.