Exhibits

Our playful learning galleries are inspired by Snohomish County and our regional economy, geography and history. Each area is especially designed to engage children aged 1-12, with open-ended activities that develop a range of cognitive, physical, social and emotional skills.

Journey with a child through imaginative playscapes that inspire make-believe, creativity and critical thinking.

Woodlands Adventure

People playing in the interior of a children's museum, modeled on a woodland forest with rope bridges above.

Start your journey in a larger-than-life indoor forest! Climb over rope bridges to find hidden places in the tree canopy. Explore our Bird Watch Lookout and Mount Pilchuck Fire Lookout. Fish for trout in our pond and walk through the Snohomish Bicycle Tree. You might even spot Bigfoot from his treetop hideout!

Wildlife Rescue

Kindle a love of animals and the natural world as you immerse yourself in wildlife rescue and care as a veterinarian or technician. Learn about animal health and conservation as you examine ailing wildlife with X-rays, bathe the animals and examine microscope slides of cells and hair.

Camp Imagine

Everyone can go camping year-round at Camp Imagine! Gather around the campfire to tell stories or simply have fun roasting marshmallows and hot dogs.

Air-Mazing Laboratory

Two girls smile at each other next to an interactive exhibit made of clear tubes. A bright pink and blue scarf float down into one of the girl's outstretched hands.

Experience the power of air in this wildly interactive exhibit exploring air movement! Everyone delights in watching colorful scarves whip through a maze of transparent tubing. It’s so much fun jumping to catch scarves as they shoot out into the air!

WaterWorks

Young children are supported by adults as they play in an interactive water exhibit

Expect to get wet with water play in this popular area for visitors of all ages and abilities. Four separate areas introduce visitors to different effects of force, gravity and lift while manipulating simple machines. Use water to shoot balls up into the air, watch the swirl of a giant vortex, build a fountain or a raceway.

Early Childhood Seashore

Young children play in a room with durable foam climbing structures with a beach and waterways theme.

This area is designed just for children aged three and younger. Take off your shoes and have fun exploring soft sculptures and hands-on materials. A small-scale Air-Mazing delights little guests.

Imagine-Air

A child runs up a ramp into the open door of a children's museum exhibit designed to look like an airplane, while a girl cranks a conveyor belt loaded with luggage.

Step into the world of aviation, an industry with strong roots in our region! Take the controls in the cockpit of our Imagine-Air plane and feel the thrill of being a pilot. You can also take a seat and experience the journey as a passenger. Load and unload cargo as a busy ground crew member.

Monte Cristo Railway + Cascade Trail Collector Train

An interior scene at a children's museum with a large black train engine emerging from a mountain tunnel.

Choo-choo! Watch the Cascade Trail miniature electric train speed through an elaborate setting of early Snohomish County. Be a train conductor in our kid-sized train cab. Use wooden trains to wind and weave your way through the Cascade Mountains along the Monte Cristo Railroad.

Everett Transit Bus

Interior scene of a children's museum exhibit made from the front of an actual bus.

Climb aboard our full-sized transit bus cab. Sit in the driver’s seat, wear a uniform and pretend to take fare from the passengers.

Piccolo Café

A little girl tries on a chef's hat.

Take orders, then prepare and serve your own yummy feast at this child-scale restaurant! The kitchen is packed with a variety of food and drinks for unlimited play.

Imagine Theatre

A child and adult stand on the stage in a child-size theatre lit up in a dark interior.

Imagine Theatre is the perfect place to become a singer, dancer or actor for a day. You can choose to work at the ticket booth, run the lights, create sound effects, observe as a theatre guest or dash backstage and dress up to star in an impromptu production.

Movie Studio

A toy robot and dinosaur stand in front of an illustrated backdrop.

Become the director of your own stop motion animation film in our Movie Studio. Choose a backdrop, select your characters and play back your movie for your family and friends!

P.J.’s Place

The interior space of a log cabin with books on shelves

Snuggle up and choose your next adventure in P.J.’s Place, a cozy reading nook filled with books and comfortable seating for all ages. This is a great place to take a quiet break.

Treehouse

Interior of a plywood treehouse with windows, where an adolescent boy peers through a periscope.

Enjoy a bird’s-eye view inside a treehouse! Venture inside at ground level and host a puppet show with forest critters. Scamper across a suspension bridge, which will take you inside the treetop where you can peek at friends below through a periscope.

Marble Maze Madness

Two tables have wooden blocks of different sizes in front of a purple wall.

Use our wooden marble runs to create a unique path. Can you make a marble maze that runs the length of the whole room? How about a tall tower with lots of twists and turns?

Rise and Shine Farm

Children and older adults play in an interior scene made to look like a farm. A child drives a pretend tractor.

Take a journey to the farm, inspired by the agricultural heritage and working farms in our region. You can ride a horse, drive a vintage tractor, milk a cow, count milk bottles, feed baby piglets and collect eggs from chickens and send them through a fun vertical maze!

Recollections Room

A toddler stands in a dark room looking at an illuminated screen.

Dance to the music while watching yourself splashed on the big screen in waves of color. Write or draw pictures on the wall using light pens. The Recollections Room is a multisensory adventure that will spark everyone’s creativity!

The Lodge

Children dance to music in a big room.

This versatile gallery offers various playful learning activities, including Story Time, Playing with Music, RAD Science, performances and special events. Check our museum calendar to see what’s happening today!

Puget Sound Ecosystem

An interior scene in a children's museum with an illuminated sand table, aquarium, microscopes and whale skeleton.

Encounter the skeleton of a real gray whale and walk through its huge rib cage. Peer through the glass of our 500-gallon cold water aquarium to observe live marine animals that inhabit the shallow waters of the Puget Sound. Uncover intricate details of natural fauna with digital microscopes. Make flowing rivers and erupting volcanoes in an augmented reality sand table.

Engineer It!

Children concentrate at a table while grown ups and children stand at a large wind tunnel.

Experiment with aerodynamics as you design and make a flying contraption out of recycled materials then send it flying in our wind tunnel. Will it reach the ceiling? Try other inventions with no fear of failure – just have fun and try again! Engage in hands-on exploration as you learn the mechanics of basic machines with cogs and pulleys. Don’t miss the chance to step into our crane cab, which extends outside of the museum!

Worldwide Distribution

Interior of a children's museum where children gather around and place boxes into a conveyance system with a modified forklift in the background.

Explore the world of global trade happening right here in Snohomish County! Lift, sort and move boxes destined for far-off destinations using kid-friendly conveyance systems. Through playful activities, you can get an innovative introduction to geography and logistics as you plan to ship items in our globally connected economy.

Import, Export, Our Port

An interior scene in a children's museum, with a pretend tug boat, crane and row boat.

Get a glimpse of our bustling local port and the fascinating workings of maritime trade and transport. Take the helm as a tugboat captain, piloting an accessible 20-foot tugboat through Possession Sound. Operate a crane, learning to balance and lift materials with expert precision. Put on life jackets and learn about water safety in our rowboat.

Tinker Shop

Children and adults stand at child-size workbenches.

Join a session in the Tinker Shop for an exciting hands-on experience to learn how to use real tools. After a short safety briefing, select a piece of wood and go to your own workbench to learn the basics of how to use a hammer, saw, vise… even a power drill. Get ready to learn valuable skills in a safe and supervised environment!

Art Hangout

A woman and a child make art at a table in front of a colorful background.

Our Art Hangout is where families create together in a laid-back and welcoming atmosphere. With each daily project, children and grown-ups use unique art materials to create something new to take home. Whether painting, sculpting or crafting with recycled objects, your originality is celebrated here!

Rooftop Adventure

An exterior play area with large jungle gym on a sunny day.

Our rooftop offers families over 9,000 sq. ft. for active, outdoor play. Play with boundless enthusiasm as you ascend to new heights in the Tall Timbers wooden play structure. Pretend to be a paleontologist as you dig for dinosaur bones underneath a Stegosaurus skeleton. In our Rooftop Rhythms music area, learn about pitch, note and tone as you try a range of instruments.