Best Arts and Culture Places in Kirkland

"Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, rang in the new millennium with a cutting-edge and interactive music-themed institution. For its exterior, he envisioned a colorful and energetic collection of metal and aluminum – and who better to successfully bring it to life than Frank O. Gehry, architect of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. For some, this wavy, reflective metallic exterior is considered an eyesore; for others, it represents a creative blend of color and texture."

"Museum of Pop Culture, which is known locally as MoPOP, was initiated by Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder. The pop culture enthusiast envisioned a fun museum experience for the whole family. Seattle Center campus is home to both the Space Needle and adjacent MoPOP."

"The Museum of Popular Culture (or MoPOP) started life as the Experience Music Project. Its building, designed by Frank Gehry, is supposed to resemble deconstructed guitars. A post shared by Alina Kocięcka (@alinakoc) on Nov 13, 2017 at 3:21am PST"

"The Seattle Art Museum is a more traditional art museum that features an extensive collection of works including, oil paintings, photography, watercolor, sculpture to name a few. While some of it may be a little too “high brow” from the younger set, there's plenty for kids to enjoy and interact with. Be sure to check out the Chase Open Studio, where you'll find everything you need to create your own piece of art inspired by major themes in SAM's current special exhibition, and the Ann P. Wyckoff Education Resource Center, which has been considered a "launchpad to explore works of art and spark creative learning"."

"The Seattle Art Museum is Seattle's premiere public art museum, showcasing more than 25,000 significant classic and modern artworks throughout three museum facilities in the city's downtown region. The museum operates its main downtown Seattle campus, along with Capitol Hill's Seattle Asian Art Museum and the open-air Olympic Sculpture Park on the city's Puget Sound waterfront. Notable collections include works by Italian painters such as Camille Pissarro and Luca Giordano, along with 20th-century American works by Mark Tobey and Jacob Lawrence and a substantial collection of Aboriginal Australian works."

"The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) is actually a trio of museums that are scattered around the city. They all have different exhibits and activities, so depending on where you’re traveling and what you’re interested in seeing, you can hit up any of the three locations. The collections include everything from African paintings to Asian woodblocks and silkscreens."

"Olympic Sculpture Park is an award-winning free public sculpture park owned and operated as part of the Seattle Art Museum, originally opened to the public in 2007. The park spans nine acres along the city's downtown seawall beachfront at Myrtle Edwards Park and was designed by Weiss/Manfredi Architects on the site of a former industrial area. As one of downtown Seattle's only urban green spaces, the park is open to the public daily between dawn and dusk, with free tours available at select times throughout the year."

"Olympic Sculpture Park, an ingenuous feat of urban planning, is an official offshoot of the Seattle Art Museum and bears the same strong eye toward design and curation. There are more than 20 sculptures to stop at and admire in this green space that sprawls out over reclaimed urban decay. You can also enjoy them in passing while traversing the park's winding trails."

"The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture is the official state museum of Washington, originally founded in 1899 as the Washington State Museum, though its roots date back to the Young Naturalists Society, which was established two decades prior. Today, the museum is housed on the campus of the University of Washington and showcases a collection of more than 16 million specimens and artifacts across significant ornithology, biology, geology, and anthropology collections. Three long-term exhibits display the evolution of the state over 545 million years and present the fifth-largest collection of American indigenous art in the world."

"The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture is a natural history museum where you can find a large collection of specimens from nature. More than 16 million items are included in the museum's collection, including biological, cultural, and geological objects such as spiders, insects, reptiles, fish, mammals, birds, plants, minerals, fossils, and archaeology. It's a huge and interesting collection, which is why this is really one of the best museums in Seattle."

"The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture is the state of Washington’s oldest public museum which has been open for over 130 years. At this amazing museum, you’ll find some astonishing natural collections, like their giant artifacts of dinosaur bones, stunning fossils, and more!. This museum also offers a ton of other exhibits to check out such as their “Northwest Native Art” exhibits, “Culture is Living” exhibits and more."

"Located on the street level of Seattle Art Museum, First Avenue between Union & University Streets 206-343-1101 | samgallery.org. HOURS: Fri-Sun 10 am-5pm"

"GeorgetownCharlie Dunmire and her team of all-women bakers offer flavors like London Fog (earl gray cake held together by bergamot mascarpone cheese) and the chocolate-rich 9lb Porter in the form of soaring cakes (the vanilla bean custard reaching heights of nine layers of milk–soaked pastry). Dunmire takes special orders and can add a smattering of gold leaf or fresh flowers. These confections require careful prep, so get your order in seven days before pickup."

"Seattle’s favorite airstream cake shop — a staple for years at the Georgetown Trailer Park Mall — moved in to a bigger, more stationary home in the fall of 2018. The shop now operates out of a historic market space on Carleton Avenue and still slings fan favorites like the London Fog and 9LB Porter. It’s currently on winter break, but reopens February 4."

"The London Fog (above) figuratively stands above the other tall rounds at this breathtaking Georgetown bakery. Owner-baker Charlie Dunmire invented the oddly lovely, gray-frosted layer cake after being inspired by looseleaf Earl Grey tea. Her goal: figure out how much of the flavor she could recreate in cake form."

"WallingfordIn a compact brick storefront, baker Kara Burfeind builds fanciful creations out of a range of classic cake flavors like chocolate peanut butter and lemon cream. The SweetSide has a stable of go-to specialty designs, from a spray of tasteful frosting flowers to mermaid or macaron themes. But Burfeind’s happy to put her pastry degree to use on mega-custom cakes shaped like Lego characters or a fondant-wrapped calculator."

"Green LakeYou can’t go wrong with Tsui Sushi Bar’s happy hour, which features a number of its most popular rolls and sets at a much lower cost than usual. The chic spot also has several beers on tap, along with a great selection of sake and inspired cocktails."

"Ghostfish Brewing is one of the few pubs in the state that make small batch gluten-free beer in Seattle and ship globally. Try their flagship Vanishing Point Pale Ale, Shrouded Summit Belgian White Ale and Peak Buster Double IPA or seasonal blends such as Gosefish Hibiscus-Cranberry Gose and Fresh Hop Release. The taproom has both indoor and open-air sweating along with comfort dishes like fish & chips and 3-cheese mac, wings and chilli cheese fries that complement their beers!"

"Yes, good gluten-free beer exists, and Ghostfish Brewish Company has certainly mastered the art of it. Using some “unusual” grains like millet, brown rice and buckwheat, this company has been able to turn out some excellent IPA’s, Stouts and ales for beer lovers to try (even if they have a gluten intolerance). Considering that this brewery is less than five years old and is already making waves, that’s pretty impressive."

"Ghostfish serves up top-notch beer that just so happens to be completely gluten-free, even die-hard beer fans can’t taste the difference. Washington’s first and only gluten-free craft brewery ditches the barley and instead crafts their small-batch beers using grains like buckwheat, brown rice, and millet . On offer they have five flagship beers and a handful of seasonal and limited-release beers."

"Many breweries in Seattle are kid-friendly now (for better or worse), but this low-key spot for spiked seltzer fans has leaned into the family vibes. There’s a designated play area for kids, situated well in the spacious taproom, with bright colors, games, and a tent. Adults can enjoy flights of San Juan’s fruity, bubbly beverages and a seafood heavy menu from Ethan Stowell that includes crab rolls and salt cod hushpuppies that the little ones may want to munch on as well."