Whatcom Museum

Welcome to the Whatcom Museum

THANK YOU for your interest in our favorite museum! We are committed to serving as both a community magnet and regional destination for cultural experiences rooted in art, nature and northwest history. Here, as part of our vision to connect people to new ideas, old traditions and each other, visitors take part in a vast range of programs and exhibitions designed to get us all thinking about our changing cultural, natural and historical landscapes. The goal? Build strong art muscles. Understand our shared heritage. Stretch minds, inspire preservation and stoke creativity in the name of sustaining Bellingham at its best.

SOUND INTERESTING? Come see us! We are located in Bellingham's growing arts district, where you'll also find the Mt. Baker Theatre, SPARK: the Museum of Electrical Invention, The Pickford Film Center, Mindport and the Jinx Art Space, along with some great Bellingham coffee shops, beer stops and nosh opps.

The Whatcom Museum is a non-profit organization operated jointly by the City of Bellingham and the Whatcom Museum Foundation. Our collection contains more than 200,000 artifacts and art works of regional importance, including a vast photographic archive. The Whatcom Museum is accredited nationally by the American Association of Museums and is a Smithsonian Institution affiliate.

Exhibitions and Collections

THROUGH SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS and our permanent collections, the Whatcom Museum offers visitors the chance to experience a range of cultural expression, from contemporary art to artifacts of Northwest life and history, as well as exhibitions, art and ideas that interpret the natural environment.

Explore this section to find out more about what's on view now, and what's coming up and what's going on the road, as well as the extensive works of art and history the Museum holds in trust for our community. Are you an artist? Be sure to check the artist opportunities section too.

Learn

WE OFTEN THINK "SCHOOL" when we think of learning, but the fact is most learning occurs outside the boundaries of formal education - schools and libraries are just a small part of a much larger (and growing) dispersed network of knowledge sources, including art and history institutions like the Whatcom Museum.

It's a role we wholeheartedly embrace; education is central to the Whatcom Museum's mission as a center of cultural expression and inquiry. Our staff of educators is devoted to developing a rich variety of learning opportunities related to art, Northwest history and nature for all ages.

HOW RICH? Last year, this remarkable team ran more than 1,100 programs designed to engage, enlighten and entertain you and others like to learn something new every day!

In this section, discover more about the Museum's adult, family, school and early-childhood programs, tours, classes and workshops, and be sure to check our calendar for details about current programs.

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