Harbor History Museum

Harbor History Museum The Harbor History Museum inspires curiosity about local history and cultural traditions. The museum has a resource room and gift shop.

The museum provides visitors with a journey through the history of the Gig Harbor Peninsula. The museum contains: permanent exhibit galleries, a Special Exhibitions Gallery with 4-5 changing exhibits each year, a restored 1893 one-room schoolhouse, a 65-foot purse seine fishing vessel, and the first Thunderbird sailboat ever built. A dedicated collections storage area provides safe and secure permanent storage for the museum's permanent collection.

Set sail into the fascinating world of maritime history with Nautical Curiosities! This interactive workshop features a ...
08/04/2026

Set sail into the fascinating world of maritime history with Nautical Curiosities!

This interactive workshop features a hands-on show-and-tell of historic navigational equipment, explores the surprising origins of famous maritime superstitions, and unpacks the colorful nautical jargon that has found its way into everyday language.

Whether you’re a seasoned sailor or simply curious about life at sea, you’ll leave with a deeper appreciation for the traditions, tools, and tales of the maritime world.

Did you know the Harbor History Museum offers a living history program called the Midway School Experience? ✏️ Students ...
07/28/2026

Did you know the Harbor History Museum offers a living history program called the Midway School Experience?

✏️ Students step back in time to attend class as it would have been in 1915 inside our historic one-room Midway Schoolhouse.

📚 While this immersive program is typically reserved for school field trips, we’re opening the classroom to everyone for one special day this summer!✨

Children will experience what school was like in early Gig Harbor as they’re taught by a traditional schoolmarm or schoolmaster, complete with historic lessons and classroom activities.

The fun doesn’t stop there! Family Fun Day also includes:

✨Storytime
✨Old-fashioned crafts
✨Classic games
✨A history hunt
✨Hands-on artifacts

Bring the whole family and join us for a day of history, discovery, and fun!

No RSVP needed! Just show up!

Learn the time-honored skill of salty sailors everywhere in this hands-on splicing workshop! Create a durable splice to ...
07/22/2026

Learn the time-honored skill of salty sailors everywhere in this hands-on splicing workshop!

Create a durable splice to be used on your boat, your kayak, as a dog leash, or any other project where a spliced line could come in handy.

Each participant will leave the workshop with their very own spliced line.

Details👇

🗓️ July 25, 2026
🕚 11am & 3pm (no rsvp needed! Just show up!)
📍Harbor History Museum
💰Included in the price of admission!
HHM members are always free! Ask our front desk staff about becoming a member.

Gig Harbor Waterfront Alliance Gig Harbor Chamber Of Commerce Visit Gig Harbor

✨Have you found your round rock yet?! Join the fun and celebrate 75 years of The Round Rock Competition! Submission peri...
07/14/2026

✨Have you found your round rock yet?!

Join the fun and celebrate 75 years of The Round Rock Competition!

Submission period is July 15 - August 1.

All rocks must be accompanied by a submission form (available online or at the museum front desk) and be dropped at the Harbor History Museum during open hours.

👉 Be sure to visit our website to read the full contest rules: https://harborhistorymuseum.org/roundrockcontest

📸: Original Round Rock Promo Image, Harbor History Museum Collection -08.2

Duck…Duck…Glass Medallion! The Harbor History Museum has a glass medallion that needs to be found by YOU! Here’s your hi...
07/10/2026

Duck…Duck…Glass Medallion!

The Harbor History Museum has a glass medallion that needs to be found by YOU!

Here’s your hint: if you’re a good student and pay close attention while playing games during recess, you may be rewarded 🦆

If you find it, don’t forget to tell the person working the front desk!

Visit Tacoma-Pierce County Visit Gig Harbor

Do you know how to tie a knot? Or do you just tie a lot?! Sail on in to the Harbor History Museum this Saturday to parti...
07/09/2026

Do you know how to tie a knot?

Or do you just tie a lot?!

Sail on in to the Harbor History Museum this Saturday to participate in a knot tying workshop with our shipwright, Riley Hall.

There’s two to choose from - 11am and 3pm. And both are free! No registration required!

It’s also our Free Second Saturday so you can wander through the galleries as well!

As the Gig Harbor Kid & Pet Parade returns in 2026, we’re looking back to where it all began: June 14, 1952, at “the hea...
07/02/2026

As the Gig Harbor Kid & Pet Parade returns in 2026, we’re looking back to where it all began: June 14, 1952, at “the head of the bay.”

The original parade route started at the Gig Harbor Library, which was near the corner of Harborview and Peacock Hill, and wound its way south along Harborview.

Children ages 1 to 14 were invited to participate, competing in categories like Best Dog, Best Cat, Best Costume, Best Float, and Most Unusual.

With 57 entries, the very first Grand Prize of $10 was awarded to Gordon Pearson, whose decorated bicycle and “exceptionally patient dog” - riding proudly on the handlebars in full costume - won over the judges. (*Photo not available. If anyone in town has this photo, the Museum would love to see it!)

More than 70 years later, the Kid & Pet Parade will return on July 4, 2026 to bring smiles, creativity, and community spirit to Gig Harbor.

Here’s to honoring our past and celebrating the traditions that bring our community together!

Date: June 14, 1952
Photographer: Frank Owen Shaw
Source: Shaw Family

✨Contest Announcement!✨Submit your handmade aprons for our Community Apron Making Exhibit! Aprons can be anything and ev...
07/01/2026

✨Contest Announcement!✨

Submit your handmade aprons for our Community Apron Making Exhibit!

Aprons can be anything and everything from waist and bib aprons to historic replicas.

✨Please note: All aprons must be handmade and be wearable and functional.

Each entry must include a 200-word (or less) Apron Story.

Aprons will be exhibited in our Lobby Gallery between August 14 and September 30, 2026, with voting open for the People’s Choice Award through September 17th.

Winner will be announced at our History Rocks event on September 19th, 2026.

✨Visit the Museum website to read the full guidelines!

Happy July! 🇺🇸Come visit us this month for one (or all 🤗) of our events!
07/01/2026

Happy July! 🇺🇸

Come visit us this month for one (or all 🤗) of our events!

✨Special Presentation✨Permanent Ink: Why We Love Print in the Digital AgeWe once depended on handwriting for recording a...
06/23/2026

✨Special Presentation✨

Permanent Ink: Why We Love Print in the Digital Age

We once depended on handwriting for recording all information. Today, we get information from millions of websites in milliseconds with search engines and AI.

What lessons do earlier technologies, like print, hold for us today in the age of digital overload? And why, despite the speed and convenience of newer technologies, is print more popular than ever?

Join us at the Harbor History Museum to find out!

At the end of the talk, audiences will have the chance to try printing on a portable press.

🗓️July 15, 2026
🕥6:30pm
📍Harbor History Museum
💰FREE!!
👉Space is limited. Please RSVP to [email protected]

Address

4121 Harborview Drive
Gig Harbor, WA
98332

Opening Hours

Wednesday 11am - 4pm
Thursday 11am - 4pm
Friday 11am - 4pm
Saturday 11am - 4pm

Telephone

+1 253-858-6722

Website

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