Indoor Activities in Seattle

Hands-on museum for ages 0-8 in the lower level of the Armory at Seattle Center. Global village play areas, construction zone, art studios. Under 1 free. 6% revitalization fee added to tickets.

Big science museum at Seattle Center. Hundreds of interactive exhibits, planetarium, laser dome shows, butterfly house. General admission includes unlimited planetarium and daytime laser shows. Prices vary by date. Toddlers free.

175+ aircraft and spacecraft including a Concorde, Air Force One, and space shuttle trainer. Flight simulators and a kid-friendly aviation pavilion. Under 4 free. Free first Thursdays 5-9pm.

Pacific Northwest marine life on Pier 59: sea otters, harbor seals, octopus, jellyfish. Touch pools for tide pool creatures. Ocean Pavilion has tropical reef and shark exhibits. Under 3 free. Prices vary by day and time.

Rem Koolhaas building with a dedicated kids floor. Free storytime, crafts, and STEM activities. Weekly story times for ages 0-5 include Spanish sessions. Kids love the bright-red escalator spiral.

Natural history museum on the UW campus. Dinosaur fossils, live butterflies, Pacific Northwest cultural artifacts. Open labs where kids can watch scientists work. Under 3 free. Free first Thursdays.

Hands-on children's museum in downtown Bellevue for ages 0-8. Kid-sized grocery store, waterways, construction zone, art studio, toddler areas. Open late Fridays until 7pm. Under 1 free. King County Library museum pass gets you a discount.

Free waterfront museum on South Lake Union with classic wooden boats kids can climb on. Two free rowboats daily, first-come first-served. Free Sunday public sailings. Rentable pedal boats, rowboats, and sailboats. Seasonal kids boat building workshops.

Seattle history museum with interactive exhibits on the Great Fire, Boeing, and tech boom. Full-size seaplane on the ceiling, periscope with live lake views. Kids 14 and under always free. Free for all first Thursdays 5-8pm.

50+ playable pinball machines from the 1960s to today. Pay admission, play everything, no quarters needed. Best for ages 5+ since younger kids can't reach the flippers. Good rainy-day option.

Indoor play space at Woodland Park Zoo for kids 8 and under. Tree canopy climbing, wetlands area, toddler zone. Included with zoo admission. Useful on rainy days. Adjacent Family Farm has goats and chickens.

Frank Gehry building with hands-on exhibits on music, sci-fi, fantasy, video games, horror. Kids can play guitar, drums, and keyboards in the Sound Lab recording booths. Nirvana exhibit and superhero galleries for older kids. Under 4 free, WA residents 15% off.

Free Victorian greenhouse on Capitol Hill with five rooms of tropical plants, orchids, cacti. Warm and humid, good rainy-day stop. Volunteer Park around it has a playground, a water tower you can climb, and the Asian Art Museum.

Mexican cafe on Portage Bay that rents kayaks and paddleboards. Calm water with houseboat views and the UW campus. Single kayak $25/hour, double $30/hour. Kids 5+ to paddle. Get fish tacos on the patio after.

1,100-capacity art-deco music venue near Pike Place, open since 1939. Duke Ellington, Nirvana, Billie Eilish have all played here. Standing-room floor and balcony with good sightlines. Sister venue Showbox SoDo handles larger shows south of the stadiums.

Multi-room music venue that helped launch the grunge era. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and R.E.M. all played here. Main stage plus a smaller back bar with free shows and a pizza counter. Indie, rock, hip-hop, electronic, and comedy nightly.

Art house cinema in a 1915 Masonic Temple on Capitol Hill, run by SIFF. Screens indie, foreign, and repertory films. Ticket prices include all fees. Teen Tix members pay $5.

Frank Gehry building with exhibits on music, sci-fi, fantasy, video games, and pop culture. You can play instruments in the Sound Lab. Ticket prices vary by date so book online. Kids 4 and under free, WA residents 15% off.

Downtown art museum with global collections from ancient to contemporary, strong in Native American, Asian, and modern art. Look for the hammering man sculpture out front. Free First Thursdays, kids 14 and under always free. South wing closed through Dec 2026 for renovation.

Basement comedy club in Pioneer Square with local and touring stand-up. All-ages Sun-Thu, 21+ Fri-Sat. Two weekend shows (8pm and 10:30pm). Box office opens 30 minutes before showtime.

Dinner-theater venue downtown with two stages. Mainstage has ticketed concerts, cabaret, burlesque, and comedy. The MQ Lounge has free live music nightly. Asian-fusion menu served during shows. Located below Wild Ginger restaurant.

650-capacity venue on the Pike/Pine corridor with excellent acoustics. Indie rock, electronic, hip-hop, and experimental acts. Connected to Barboza, a 200-capacity venue downstairs for smaller shows.

2,807-seat Beaux-Arts theater from 1928, run by Seattle Theatre Group. Touring Broadway, major concerts, comedy specials. The lobby and auditorium are genuinely gorgeous. Box office Mon-Fri 10am-6pm and 90 min before showtime.

Restored 1,000-seat Art Deco theater in the U-District, also run by Seattle Theatre Group. Former movie palace, now concerts, comedy, film, and spoken word. Every seat has a decent view. Plenty of restaurants and bars nearby.

Always free. 19th and early 20th century European and American paintings plus rotating contemporary shows. Quieter and less crowded than SAM. Open late Thursdays until 8pm.

Watch free live in-studio performances through a glass-walled gallery at KEXP's Seattle Center space. Up to 70 visitors per session, free tickets 90 minutes before each show on a first-come basis. Cafe on-site.

Ballard dive bar with a back room stage, live music seven nights a week since 2000. Room holds about 150, sound is surprisingly good. Most shows $10-20.

Seattle history museum on South Lake Union. Covers the Great Fire, Boeing, Amazon, Starbucks. Full-size seaplane hanging from the ceiling and a periscope with live lake views. Kids 14 and under always free. Free for everyone first Thursdays 5-8pm.

Nonprofit arts center in a converted church in Fremont. Concerts, modern dance, comedy, film screenings. Sliding-scale pricing so nobody gets priced out. All ages.

Free waterfront museum on South Lake Union with classic wooden boats. Two free rowboats daily, first-come first-served. Free Sunday public sailings on larger boats. Sailboats, rowboats, and pedal boats also rentable.

Seattle's oldest theater, built in 1907, 1,800 seats. Same Seattle Theatre Group that runs the Paramount and Neptune. Concerts, comedy, film festivals. The lobby and auditorium have been well preserved.

Asian art collection spanning centuries, in a renovated Art Deco building in Volunteer Park. Kids 14 and under always free, free first Thursdays. The park around it has Space Needle views and a water tower you can climb.

400-capacity roots music venue on Ballard Avenue. Americana, country, bluegrass, folk, singer-songwriter. Good acoustics, warm room. Monday night square dancing is a local tradition. Tickets usually $12-30.

2,130-seat theater with ornate Chinese-inspired interior from 1926. Produces original musicals (some have gone to Broadway) plus revivals and touring shows. Student rush tickets $25 day-of.

50+ playable pinball machines from the 1960s to today. Pay admission, play everything, no quarters needed. Small space, gets crowded on weekends.

Only US museum devoted to the Asian Pacific American experience, in a historic hotel in the International District. Community-curated exhibits on immigration, identity, neighborhood history. Guided tours of the preserved 1910 hotel rooms upstairs are worth doing. Free first Thursdays.