Exhibits

MOHAI is committed to presenting exhibits that illuminate, educate, provoke and inspire. Tracing the 150 year history of the city, Essential Seattle takes the visitor on a journey through the core of the museum, telling significant Seattle stories, beginning with Captain Vancouver’s exploration of Puget Sound, through the heyday of the 1880s and the Great Seattle Fire and continuing through World War II. The transformation of Seattle from frontier settlement to major metropolis is emphasized by stories from the modern era: the environmental movement, grunge music, the Kingdome’s rise and fall, and more.

MOHAI has hosted numerous exhibitions from significant institutions around the country: Rivers, Edens, Empires: Lewis and Clark and the Revealing of America from the Library of Congress; Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War from The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden from the Smithsonian. Bringing such exhibitions to the Puget Sound and allowing a greater number of people to experience them is an important element of MOHAI’s mission. MOHAI often complements these national traveling shows with a companion exhibit that illustrates connections with this region. The award-winning exhibition Blue vs. Gray: The Civil War in the Pacific Northwest brought to light astonishing information about slaves, the suppression of civil liberties, and the secession movement here in the Northwest.

MOHAI exhibit staff also work with guest curators to develop and build exhibitions on relevant topics. Staff worked closely with Larry Kreisman and Glenn Mason, authors of The Arts and Crafts Movement in the Pacific Northwest, to create a beautiful exhibit that will tour other venues in the Northwest upon the completion of its run at MOHAI.

Featured Exhibits

MOHAI Moves History

Learn the story of MOHAI’s 59 years in the Montlake neighborhood and how the history of King County has been collected, preserved and shared, while looking forward to the museum’s exciting future at Lake Union Park.

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Now & Then

This exhibit delves into the rich and diverse history of Seattle through “repeat photography”—the practice of using historical and contemporary photographs to reveal the changes in our world. Now and then comparisons are proven delights where two images of the same place telescope the time that transpired between them. The repeat photographs include the work of local icon Paul Dorpat and his collaborators, Jean Sherrard and Berangere Lomont. More Info

And Now for Something Completely Different: Unexpected Artifacts from the Museum’s Collection