Whatcom Museum

The Whatcom Museum is located in the heart of downtown Bellingham’s Cultural Arts District. It features two buildings with fine art galleries, historical exhibits, a children’s museum, a cafe, and a museum store.

Old City Hall: 121 Prospect Street
Thurs. - Sun., 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Lightcatcher: 250 Flora Street
Thurs. - Sun., Galleries 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Family Interactive Gallery (children's museum) Thurs.- Sat., 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and Sun., 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Exhibits

Visit the Whatcom Museum's campus and see a variety of art and history exhibits. The Lightcatcher building features fine art galleries, an exhibit of Coast Salish culture, the Museum Store, Bar Cicotti Italian café, and the Family Interactive Gallery, a children's museum space that provides learn-through play activities for preschool and elementary school students. Old City Hall is the Museum's 1892 Victorian building and features local history and rotating collection exhibits. Check out these exhibits at both buildings:

Un/Natural Selections: Wildlife in Contemporary Art
September 10, 2022 - January 8, 2023
Lightcatcher building
Un/Natural Selection considers the diverse ways that contemporary artists employ animal imagery to address humanity’s interconnectedness and ever-changing relationship with the natural world. Comprised of approximately 50 artworks, c. 2000-2019, traveling exclusively from the permanent collection of the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, WY, this exhibition offers a wide range of works in a variety of media.

People of the Sea & Cedar: A Journey Through the History and Cultures of the Tribes of the Northwest Coast
Lightcatcher building
This exhibit shares the history and art of the Northwest Coast People, blending both historical and contemporary perspectives. It features items from the Museum’s collection, such as Coast Salish artwork and carvings, woven blankets, hand-made tools, cedar hats, clothing, and baskets, as well as contemporary Indigenous art. The exhibit provides hands-on learning experiences, a Lummi language interactive, and videos showcasing Lummi and Nooksack weavers and carvers.

The Scene: A Journey Through Bellingham's Musical Past
Through November 20, 2022
Old City Hall
From string bands on steamboats in the 1890s to alternative/indie rock bands today, for more than 100 years Bellingham’s music scene has embraced genres ranging from folk to classical to rock and roll and beyond. This exhibit presents a timeline of the styles, musicians, and venues that helped put Bellingham on the “music map.”

Not One of the Boys: The Psychedelic Posters of Bonnie MacLean
Through November 20, 2022
Old City Hall
Artist Bonnie MacLean created psychedelic concert posters in San Francisco during the mid-1960s. See a selection of these colorful posters from the Museum’s collection.

John M. Edson Hall of Birds
Old City Hall
Designed in collaboration with the North Cascades Audubon Society, the Hall of Birds features the Museum’s founding collection of more than 500 mounted birds accompanied by interactive opportunities for visitors to learn about bird migration, conservation, habitat, and more.

Maritime History Gallery
Old City Hall
From early steam ships, to fisheries, to notable schooners plying the shores of Bellingham Bay, you’ll get a waterfront history overview through photographs, artifacts, interactives, and model ships while looking through the gallery windows to the Bay.

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