On January 14, 2022, the Children’s Museum of Tacoma celebrated the ten-year anniversary of its move to 1501 Pacific Avenue. The Museum first opened up for play in 1985, with 2022 marking 37 years of service to the community.
Starting with local festivals, the Museum formed as part of a grassroots effort to provide indoor arts-based activities for families with young children in Tacoma. Presently, the Museum has expanded to a second location, the Children’s Museum at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), and implemented multiple outreach programs that serve children and youth of Pierce County.
The Children’s Museum of Tacoma is currently located in its third and largest home. Previously, the Museum was housed at 936 Broadway, its second home for 12 years. In 2012, the Museum relocated to the Tacoma Museum District — at the time, the district included the Tacoma Art Museum, Museum of Glass, and the Washington State History Museum.
The new location more than tripled the space for play to 10,000 square feet and more than doubled its attendance in the first year to over 115,000 visitors.
Since opening their doors, the Children’s Museum of Tacoma continued to grow its innovative learning programs, interactive museums, and inclusive community events. In many ways, the Museum became more than just a museum.
Follow the path of the Children’s Museum of Tacoma, as the organization transformed into Greentrike, with this timeline of meaningful milestones from the past decade. Such spirited growth was only possible with gracious support and unwavering dedication from the friends of Greentrike.
Time flies when honoring children and youth, and championing play!
Click the events below for more details.

