The Kitsap Peninsula region has museums for every interest and February is a great month to explore them, especially if you’re a Seattle or Kitsap hotel guest.
Visitors at participating downtown Seattle hotels enjoy half-price admission to more than 40 regional museums during Seattle Museum Month. Among them are a trio of Kitsap attractions. As a bonus, two of those museums – the Kitsap History Museum and the USS Turner Joy – are also extending half-price admission to Kitsap hotel guests who show their keycards.
An additional four Kitsap museums participating in Seattle Museum Month are always free.
Here’s the rundown:
Bainbridge Island Museum of Art
550 Winslow Way East
Close to the ferry terminal
Hours: 10-6 daily
Admission: Free
Focus: Contemporary art from the Puget Sound region
Highlight: Family-friendly A Story Place features 30 life-size ceramic figures listening to a child reading a story about them.
Kids Discovery Museum (KiDiMu)
301 Ravine Lane NE, Bainbridge Island
Close to the ferry terminal
Hours: 10-4 Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon-4 Sundays
Admission: Half-price – $3.50 adults and children, $3 military and seniors over age 65; always free the first Thursday of the month
Focus: Hands-on art, science, cultural and scientific programming for young children
Highlights: Pirate tree house, art studio, a light wall, a magnet wall, a tiny town complete with an electric car and KiDiMu ferry, a tiny tots area for toddlers, babies and breastfeeding moms
Events: Check the calendar for art, math, literacy and science activities.
Kitsap History Museum
280 Fourth St., Bremerton
Close to the ferry terminal
Hours: 10-4 Tuesdays through Fridays, noon-4 Saturdays
Admission: Half-price – $2
Focus: Kitsap County culture, heritage and history
Highlights: Old Main Street, Kitsap arts & crafts, hands-on gallery with technology from the past, Native American longhouse, floating bunk house, stump farm and mosquito fleet routes
Naval Undersea Museum
1 Garnett Way, Keyport
Winter Hours: Open daily 10-4, except Tuesdays
Admission: Free
Focus: Navy’s undersea operations, technology, combat, research and salvage
Highlights: Interactive exhibit about the ocean environment, control room of a Cold War-era submarine
Events: Navy Band Northwest Concert at 2 p.m. Feb. 21; Discover “E” Day, 10-2 Feb. 27, with hands-on engineering activities for the whole family
Puget Sound Navy Museum
251 First St., Bremerton
Next to the ferry terminal
Winter Hours: Open daily 10-4, except Tuesdays
Admission: Free
Focus: The naval heritage of the Pacific Northwest from 1840 to the present
Highlights: Exhibits include submarines, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier and the history of tattoos
Events: Last Saturday Kids and Family program on codes and ciphers all day Feb. 27
USS Turner Joy Museum Ship
300 Washington Beach Ave., Bremerton
Close to the ferry terminal
Winter Hours: 10-4 Wednesdays through Sundays
Admission: Half-price – $7 for adults, $5 for youth (13-17), $4 for children (5-12), $6 for seniors over age 62; always half-price for active military and dependents, always free for active military in uniform, Tin Can Sailors and children age 4 and younger
Focus: The destroyer’s role in U.S. naval history, including participation in the Gulf of Tonkin incident that escalated the country’s involvement in the Vietnam War
Highlights: About 90 percent of the ship is open for self-guided tours
Events: Love letters and Valentine-themed displays Feb. 12-14; Celebrate Admiral Turner Joy’s birthday Feb. 17 with cake on the mess deck
Valentinetti Puppet Museum
257 Fourth St., Bremerton
Close to the ferry terminal
Hours: 11-3 Tuesdays, 11-4 Wednesdays through Saturdays, 5-8 p.m. First Fridays
Admission: Free
Focus: Celebrates the art and history of puppetry around the world
Highlight: Coin-operated Pelham mechanical puppet show from England with dancing marionettes
Events: Recycled Puppet Workshop, 11 a.m. Feb. 20, $10 for the first child and $5 for each additional child in a household, call 360-373-2992 to reserve a spot; Stories from Junk Puppet Land, performance by Bill Jarcho of Zambini Brothers, 2 p.m. Feb. 27, Olympic College Theater (15th & Ohio Streets), $7, For tickets.
For more Kitsap Peninsula museums, galleries and cultural attractions, Click here.
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