museum of glass

This was well worth the 30 minute drive outside of Seattle. My recommendation would be to get there an hour and half before they take their lunch (2pm-3pm on weekends) in the Hop Shop and watch them make the glass. We sat there for about an hour and then listened to the visiting artist talk about his experience. It was extremely interesting! Unfortunately we went on a day that was rainy so we didn't get to see the outdoor exhibits but I would definitely recommend doing this on a rainy day to watch them make glass. We went to a brewery after we left the museum and called it a day. Another amazing part about the museum was that it was free for students on Sundays so not only did you get to see an awesome show it was for free too!Visited March 2015

This is a good spot to spend a few hours. Nice date spot. I especially love when they have glassblowers working in the hot shop. You can go watch and ask questions. It's really neat to watch.

This is a relatively small museum, but very well done. Watching the "hot work" - artists actively working with glass in 2300 degree furnaces is quite exciting. The collection of Chihuly is stunning, especially all of his pieces on the outdoor glass bridge over the highway. The highlight for me was the children's artwork. Grade-school kids designed various glass sculptures and explained their rationales. Then glass artists brought their creations to life. Blinky the Crab, Corn Dog and the Sock Ness Monster were three of my favorites.

This is a great place if you are a glass fan Washington has some of the best glass artist and this is a wonderful place to see there work.

Loved the Kids Design exhibit (kid's whimsical drawings recreated into glass) and the Hot Shop (watching artists - live glassmaking). Great selection in the museum shop. Just GO!

Dale Chihuly has iconic status here and in Seattle. We were able to watch the glass blowers make the pincer of a special spider, in connection with a charity for brain tumor patients. The spider connection is related to a treatment against a tumor receptor derived from spider venom. In addition to a room that is exhibiting Chihuly prints, that are impressive and show his versatility in the face of adversity, there is a room devoted to making of pieces from children's drawings. These pieces are for sale, with the money going to museum programs especially outreach that provides videoconferencing capability so kids who are not in the vicinity can still experience the museum. It is important to know that there are additional Chihuly pieces on a bridge linking over some train tracks and in a U.S. Federal court that is housed in a refurbished train station. All the museums are in the same area and it is worth taking a look at the Tacoma Art Museum. The exhibit of Georgia O'Keeffe paintings and some of her SE contemporaries was spectacular!

The Pacific Northwest is known for the excellence of the glass blowing community. This museum has it all--a hot shop where you can comfortably view pieces being blown, and exhibits of glass art by various artists. The gift shop is a great place to find unique glass pieces for all seasons.

Good but nothing like the Chihuly Museum in SeattleWe decided to go to this museum after having an incredible experience at the Chihuly Glass Museum in Seattle. The Seattle Museum is located right under the Space Needle and is absolutely spectacular – vast exhibits of Chihuly’s glass work both inside and out. This museum must be experienced in both the day and night time hours.We went to Tacoma without much research expecting more of the same. This museum is very different from Seattle. Right now is a great time to go if you are a Chihuly fan. There is a special exhibition of his drawings now through the end of June. This exhibit alone is worth the price of admission. The drawings are simply stunning.The other big reason to go to the museum is the hot shop – this is a large amphitheater style space where they do live glass blowing. Great venue in which to see this done and every bit as impressive as what we have seen in Murano, Italy.Finally, there is a display of children’s art that is based on a contest they run at the museum. Kids create drawings and if they are chosen, artists turn them into glass sculptures. It is a cool project and we took some applications for our daughter to use with her class (she is a second grade teacher).Inside the museum itself, there is not much (if any) of Chihuly’s glass work. You can see his work for free on the Glass Bridge. This is a fun walk that connects the Glass Museum to the street across the highway that has both the history museum and the Tacoma Museum of Art.Truthfully, if money is an issue, and you are a glass fan….you can have a great time for free outside the museum. You can see the lovely reflecting pond and the glass bridge.We would have been very disappointed in the museum itself had it not been for the special exhibit of the Chihuly drawings. We have already seen glass being blown and the kid’s exhibit (while cute) would not have been worth the price of admission.Bottom line: Pay to get in if you are a Chihuly fan and want to see the drawings (through June 2015) and/or want to see live glass blowing. Otherwise, enjoy the reflecting pool and the glass bridge for free.We would not suggest taking young children in this museum unless you are going specifically for one of the interactive children's events. Without that, they would likely be bored to tears.We bought the three museum pass (with a discount) and went to the Washington History Museum and the Tacoma Art Museum. Both museums were well worth the price of entry and you can see our reviews should you have an interest.We highly recommend that you do take a trip to Seattle and see the spectacular Chihuly Glass Museum in permanent residence under the Space Needle.

Don't expect to see lots of Chihuly glass at this Glass museum in Tacoma. There are only two galleries and they do not include Chihuly glass. The day we were there there was a children's glass project exhibit and a resident artist exhibit. The main reason to visit this museum is to watch the resident artists blow glass in the large auditorium style glass studio. Unfortunately after paying our entrance fee we found out that the glass blowers were at lunch and would return in a half hour. This was at 1 pm. It took us 15 minutes to look at the two small exhibits and decided not to wait around. If you are planning on watching glass blowers at work check when their break is to plan your visit. There is a small attached cafe and gift shop. I would recommend that you skip this museum (unless you have never seen glass being blown) and either visit the Tacoma Art museum for their glass collection or drive up to Seattle and visit the Chihuly garden and glass. But if Tacoma is your destination there is lots of other places to see great glass work. The bridge of glass is wonderful. It is free, you just walk up the stairs from the Glass museum and walk over a bridge that spans the freeway. Very impressive. Once you walk to the other side of the freeway make a Right and go into the old Union Station, now the courthouse, to see five wonderful Chihuly installations. Again this is free. The court house deserves it's own review so I won't describe it here. There is a parking garage at the Glass museum but we found lots of street parking too. Another plus is that the museum is on the water and there is lots of outside seating.

If there is a visiting artist - and there often are - in the Hot Shop, you can be in for an amazing treat. If there is not a visiting artist, the museum's own Hot Shop Team is also a treat to watch. We live in Tacoma, and go to MOG often, and never get tired of watching the glass artists in the Hot Shop. The exhibits are normally fascinating as well.

The glass museum has a working glass shop where students are taught from master glass blowers. It is always fun to watch them making a beautiful glass piece. They show you what they are going to make and explain the entire process to you. There are other areas to the museum as well. They have glass shows that change several times a year. Oh, and don't forget to walk across the bridge towards the natural museum to look at the glass displays along the way.

Chihuly is one of the best known glass blowers in the world. His work and the work of his students is worth seeing. However, if you have already seen it in other locations or been to other exhibits, then this experience will not offer much more. If however, you have never witnessed the glory that is Chihuly...then you better go...because you are missing out. Big time.

The museum had some amazing sculptures of glass that were very interesting to examine. The galleries are setup to be able to walk leisurely through at your own pace. The furnace area where we watched them form glass was probably the best part.

Interesting museum that is constantly changing the exhibits, also the Hot House where you can watch glass art being made -- next to the waterfront!!

This was a great place to wander around. I loved watching the glass blowing, we sat in the glass blowing area for at least an hour and a half. Fascinating! I loved all the displays - the colors and designs are so vivid. We were visiting from out of town and the museum was a wonderful place to see some unique things.