Museum of Glass

Never met a Museum we didn't enjoy and The Museum of Glass delivers. Originally intended to be an homage to Tacoman Dale Chihuly, it now encompasses all forms of glass art and artists.

Parking is a nominal $5.

The Hot Shot exhibit was the star for me. Make sure you get 'one' with that schedule. Check the website.

Beautiful gift shop.

i can see why the museum of glass can be fun for some really unique hands on experiences and workshop, but it's a bit small but still offer some cool installations.

upping 1 star because we happened to stumble into the museum the 3rd thursday, which offered free admission with an extended hour from 5-8pm. i don't know if i would pay $20 for general admission...

who knew the "cone" is actually the "hot shop" workshop for glass making, which was super cool, but there wasn't much instructions given on what was happening for the spectators.

overall the experience can be improved and a bit more instructional and interactive. would love to catch a workshop here.

The museum is a lovely place to visit in Tacoma. There is parking under the museum for reasonable price, or street parking. It is on the smaller side, I took about 2 hours to look at everything.
The day i visited, it was not too busy, so it was great being able to explore at your own pace and not bumping into others.
The glass blowing studio is a must stop! Also the gift shop was worth checking out they are expensive but unique gifts and souvenirs.

If you love blown glass and always wanted to see it up close, this is the place.

There are classes to take and do some cools things and the museum is full of awesome art displays. The gift shop can be pricey but "HEY" it's professional art and worth it.

If you go I suggest becoming members as it's well worth it. There are daily activities to see and weekends are worth a visit or two or more a month.

Go, see and enjoy!

Lovely museum with nicely curated exhibits. Lots of different glass works including blown (incl. Chihuly) pieces. Themed Black history exhibit was very insightful but the Kids-designed pieces stole our hearts. The Hot Shop was well-designed bit anticlimactic for us as we had just completed a Glassblowing class in Seattle not too long ago. The museum shop has some nice but very pricey pieces for sale. Easy access to the Bridge of Glass and its pieces. Well-worth the $5 parking fee and $20 entry.

I had a grand time when I came here. The museum is a bit small, but they have a beautiful exhibit. I didn't know that glass art could have so many expressions. The biggest exhibit featured neon structures created by a variety of women, some of whom were international. I'm not sure if black women were represented, though. That would have been nice.

But the main thing was the exhibit where the team was making something. It's possible that I entered in the middle of the project and had no idea what was happening. It's similar to a movie, I have a hard time dropping into a movie with out knowing what it's about, who's in it, etc. For context. When I entered the people were on the floor doing something and I think the woman who was hosting was talking to a small group of people and seemed to forget that she was hosting an audience. I do know that she only said one more sentence before I lost interest. I found the photo exhibit documenting the designing and building of the museum was much more interesting so I went up there. Thanks to the kid who gave me the idea.

But a script for those who come in mid-demo
"Welcome to the Museum of Glass, Tacoma. What we have here is a demonstration where they are creating a glass. The glass bowl has been created and put into a chamber to keep it warm. Now, they are working on the stem. Once it's completed they will join the bowl to the stem so that we have a completed glass. Any questions?"

Another option would be to introduce the people and provide a brief bio of them. There were some closeups, but there were better angles (to me) and I didn't know until they were shown later. But all in all, I may not feel the need to go back to this one. But, I'm glad that I came this one time.

Also, their gift shop is amazing and beautiful, so if you want to save some money and get a sampling of what they do, you could do that. Also, the gift shop should have a discount for current day ticket holders - 10%-15% off. That seems fair.

First time visiting the Museum of Glass and it was very enjoyable. I must add that my admission was free on the day I visited and I would definitely take advantage of going on a free day if you're skeptical or just want to enjoy a free activity. The first place I checked out was the glass blowing studio and you're able to see how they make the glass pieces. The exhibits are very beautiful and after viewing the glass blowing studio it really makes you appreciate the work even more. My kids (6 and under) were with me and there's a small kids area they enjoyed a lot. Don't forget to go outside to check out the Chihuly Bridge of Glass too - it's awesome.

I was a little disappointed and thought this museum is the same or similar to one in Seattle. Maybe I expected too much since I went to Seattle one 1st and started to compare.
The day I went there was free entrance but it was open later than usual. It is MOG @ 20 anniversary and there is a celebration with a few vendors.
Parking - there is underground parking. But I park on the street since there are space in early morning
The workers were nice
I should have read the review before I went there. I couldn't find where all the ceiling glass was.
There is 1 room where you can show live how glass is made, theater, gift shop and cafe shop
Overall the place is very small and finishes within an hour unless you read everything.

The museum is okay. Do not plan a full day for the event because it will not take you long to walk through the exhibits. I would say about 2 to 3 hours. There are some cool unknown artist and some cool pieces, however there isn't enough to make super exciting. There's a Chihuly collection, but having this so close to Chihuly's location doesn't make it seem special.

The pic below was one of the pieces I liked and would have loved more information about the artist and details about the method of making and why it was made. This data is missing on a lot of pieces.

The museum is worth a quick walk through.

The place is amazing. The sculptures are beyond reality, they are crazy beautiful. If you go, go and watch the artisans at work, you will be entertained at best!