Upcoming events.
3rd Saturday at Karshner Center - Roots, Shoots and Blooms!
What’s so important about plants?
Spring is starting and with it so many plants are coming to life. Join us to learn the importance of plants! Activities will run throughout the whole time, so drop in whenever works for your schedule. As always, admission is FREE for all!
Roots
They’re hidden under the dirt most of the time. We’ll have them on display so you can see the intricate structures that bring water and nutrition into plants. Leave with your own root-growing experiment!
Shoots
Plants are around us all the time, but spring is when many plants emerge from a dormant phase in their life cycle. An interactive hands-on game will teach you the parts of the plant life cycle. A hands-on craft will send you home with your own “head” that will grow shoots of “hair” in the coming days!
Stems
Plant stems are so cool! They’re a superhighway of water and nutrients, they hold leaves closer to the light, and they can even tell you how old a plant is! Stems come in so many shapes and sizes. Everything from a stalk of celery to a trunk of a big tree. We’ll have stems for you to examine and better understand how they work.
Blooms
Flowers are pretty but they also serve a purpose. Learn about the parts of a flower and dissect a bloom to find those parts in real life. This is the mess your parents will never let you make out of their bouquets and flower beds! Take home a drawing of what you’ve learned about flowers.
Food
Our food is entirely made up of plants or things that have eaten plants! All vegetables and fruits come from plants. Have some fun making art with fruits and vegetables!
This event will be held from 12-5 p.m. on Saturday, April 19th at the Karshner Museum, 309 4th St. NE.
Just like all Karshner Museum events, admission is FREE for all!
Artists in Action Festival
This Culture & Arts Festival will feature Puyallup School District students demonstrating their art and music, various family-fun art projects, and community artists and groups with interactive projects.
Also, we will host the Annual Vesey/Munson Art Show, featuring artwork from junior high and high school students from across the district.
Join our mailing list to get updated on the specifics we’ve cooked up for this Festival!
SCHOOL’S OUT - No 3rd Saturday at Karshner Center this month!
Usually we’re always here on a 3rd Saturday, but school is out! Have fun this summer and we’ll see you next year!
Living Voices "Fly for Freedom" Performance
This unique troupe of performers brings history to life! Living Voices provides dynamic solo performances combined with archival film transform history into a moving, personal journey. This newest performance celebrates the Unsung Heroes of World War II.
Who were the real “Rosie the Riveters?” How did Black Americans fight for democracy on two fronts?
In “Fly for Freedom” you’ll learn the little-known contributions of Black women in World War II aviation, as one trailblazing young pilot flies for Double Victory— championing democracy at home and abroad.
Antoinette and her family join the millions of Black Americans serving their country in the defense industries while bravely confronting racism, sexism and fascism on every front. Learn more about this show on their website.
Join us in celebrating National Rosie the Riveter Day!
This event will be held from 7:30-8 p.m. on Friday, March 21st at the Karshner Museum, 309 4th St. NE.
Just like all Karshner Museum events, admission is FREE for all!
“Happiness is…” Festival
Let’s spread happiness—one smile at a time!
Get ready for a day of joy, laughter, and community spirit! The Karshner Museum and Center for Culture and Arts is bringing the UN’s global movement for happiness to life with an exciting festival for all ages!
Happiness isn’t just a feeling—it’s a global movement! The United Nations established this day to inspire positive change by focusing on three key goals: eradicating poverty, reducing inequality, and protecting our planet. Now, we’re bringing that mission to life right here in our community!
What’s Happening at the Celebration?
Live Performances – Enjoy music, dance, and cultural acts that will lift your spirits and get you moving! Featuring Flambuoyant Productions with face painting, stilt walkers, jugglers, and a spectacular circus performance. Plus, Eli Rosenblatt, a well-known Seattle Children’s musician brings high-energy rhythms and a heart-centered musical experience with music from around the world.
Interactive Art Stations – Get creative with Partners In Print by designing and printing your own “Happiness Is” poster and contribute to a collaborative happiness mural.
Museum Exhibits & Hands-On Activities – Five exhibits to explore with scavenger hunts, games, and interactive fun throughout the day.
Hula Hoop Play Time & Photo Ops – Strike a pose, play, and experience the fun of hooping and stilt walking.
This is your invitation to celebrate happiness with us! Bring your family, bring your friends, and bring your smiles. Let’s make March 15 a day to remember!
Admission is FREE, and everyone is welcome!
Schedule of Live Performances
12:00 - 2:00 PM – Flambuoyant Productions Face Painter
12:30 PM – Greetings, What is International Happiness Day? How can we contribute to Happiness around the world.
12:30 - 2:00 PM – Flambuoyant Productions: Stilt walkers, Jugglers, Hula Hoops Walk Around Greeting and Interacting with Visitors
12:30 - 3:30 PM – Partners In Print Letterpress Printing of Happiness Is Posters designed by visitors. One copy of poster is made into an exhibit of Happiness Is ….
2:00 - 3:00 PM – Eli Rosenblatt, Musician - “Deeply Rooted Rhythms-Heart Centered Experience”. Eli combines music of the world, movement, and imagination in a high-energy mix that creates a fun time for everyone.
3:00 - 3:45 PM – Flambuoyant Productions Circus Time, jam-packed performance with lots of fun, magic, lights, and action
3:45 PM – Celebration of Happiness Is Poster Exhibit
3:45 - 4:30 PM – Flambuoyant Productions Hula Hoop Play Time, Stilts Walk Around, and Photo Ops
Museum exhibits and scavenger hunts are active throughout the event.
MID-WINTER BREAK - No 3rd Saturday at Karshner Center this month!
Usually we’re always here on a 3rd Saturday, but the school district is on mid-winter break. Stay cozy at home and we’ll see you next month!
3rd Saturday at Karshner Center - Life in Puyallup in 1865
What was Life Like In Puyallup in 1865?
160 years ago there was no electricity, no running water, and definitely no internet. What did folks do for fun? How did they live?
At 4 pm we’re hosting a performance by the Seattle theatre company Living Voices. This unique troupe of performers brings history to life! "Klondike: The Last Adventure," the story of a determined young lady who goes on a great adventure to Alaska to find gold. Learn more about what to expect on their website.
Arrive before that to get a look at what life would have been like for native people and white settlers. The team from the Meeker Mansion will come in period costume with their Oregon Trail interactive display. Our own Pioneer Room will be freshly remodeled. We’ll have hands-on activities that replicate the era whether living a transient lifestyle like a trapper, or a stationary lifestyle like a homesteader. You’ll even get to see what life was like as a kid! We’ll have craft stations set up where you can make toys kids played with in 1865.
Dr. Karshner grew up on the frontier and lived in Puyallup in 1865. His dad went on to Alaska during the Klondike gold rush. Dr. Karshner wrote down all the stories from his youth and they’re published in the book Bearkiller. Buy your own copy and take home wild stories from the pioneer era!
Don’t miss all the fun:
4 pm: Living Voices Performance
Grand reopening of the Pioneer Room
Meeker Mansion’s Oregon Trail
Try your hand at carding or spinning wool
Craft a cornhusk doll
Build your own button twirl toy
This event will be held from 12-5 p.m. on Saturday, January 18th at the Karshner Museum, 309 4th St. NE.
Just like all Karshner Museum events, admission is FREE for all!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS - No 3rd Saturday at Karshner Center this month!
Usually we’re always here on a 3rd Saturday, but the school district is on winter vacation. Stay cozy at home and we’ll see you next month!
Gathering of Families Celebration of Native Culture
Join the Karshner Museum as we host a culture and arts festival celebrating the history and arts of the Coast Salish Tribes.
According to the Puget Sound Regional Council, The Coast Salish Tribes have settled in various areas throughout the Pacific Northwest in Washington State and British Columbia for countless generations.
Indigenous groups that are Coast Salish Tribes include:
Muckleshoot
Nisqually
Quinault
Puyallup
Snoqualmie
Stillaguamish
Suquamish
What Kind of Activities Will Be At the Event?
Event attendees will be able to watch various fine arts performances, view Coast Salish displays, and participate in interactive learning experiences.
Storytelling
Music
Puyallup Tribe Cultural & Heritage Departments: Singing, Drumming and Dancing
Guest Speaker
Washington Humanities Speakers Bureau Member John Halliday presents, “What is a Chief? How Native Values Can Teach Resilience”
Exhibits
Secretary of State’s Legacy Washington - "We’re Still Here: The Resilience of Washington Tribes"
“From the Salish Sea to Mt. Tahoma: The Culture and Artifacts of Coast Salish Culture”
“Washington Tribes Today”
Arts, Crafts, and Educational Activities
Scavenger Hunts
Native American Artist Coloring Pages
Making Beaded Necklaces, Bookmarks, and Cattail Mats
Interactive Stations through the Museum
This event will be held from 12-5 p.m. on Saturday, November 16th at the Karshner Museum, 309 4th St. NE.
Just like all Karshner Museum events, admission is FREE for all!
3rd Saturday at Karshner Center - Mysteries and Disguises
Mysteries and Disguises
The past is full of so many mysteries, can you help us solve them? We’ll have historic hands-on artifacts that you get to solve the mystery of its purpose (and learn how it relates to today!) There will also be hands-on artifacts from different continents. Use the "Around the World in 80 Days” exhibit to solve the mystery of where they come from. We’ll have an arts and crafts activity where you can make and take your own disguise. Just in time for Halloween!
This event will be held from 12-5 p.m. on Saturday, October 19th at the Karshner Museum, 309 4th St. NE.
Just like all Karshner Museum events, admission is FREE for all!
3rd Saturday at Karshner Center - Rocks, Fossils, Insects, and Spiders!
Rocks, Fossils, Insects, and Spiders!
Join us for hands-on fun with rocks, fossils, insects and spiders! In addition to the museum’s exhibits, we’ll have 3 stations set up to interact with REAL samples. Try your hand at being a geologist, paleontologist, entomologist or arachnologist! We’ll also have a scavenger hunt around the museum, and an arts and craft activity. The mess stays with us, but the final craft product can come home with you!
Planes, Trains, Automobiles And Boats!
A STEM collaboration between the Karshner Museum, America’s Car Museum, Foss Waterway Seaport Museum, and Snoqualmie Train Museum.
All four museums will have make & take projects, and fun interactive displays.
Send a telegraph, learn Morse code, and build a trestle bridge in a challenge to see who can build the biggest!
Make and take a derby car model, a Native canoe, a train, and more.
Experiment with the technology and make motors start, fans blow, and lights come on.
See cars, trains, tractors and model boats, and the history of transportation!
There will be Exhibits to see, Projects to make, Inventions to invent!
The event will be held from 12-5 p.m. on Saturday, May 18 at the Karshner Museum, 309 4th St. NE.
Just like all Karshner Museum events, admission is FREE for all!
Dan Vesey/Deb Munson Art Show Reception & Awards
Artwork from Puyallup School District secondary students.
Free and open to the public!
Saturday at the Museum! - Earth Day
Join us to celebrate the earth with some fun activities! We’ll be filling the main hall with a variety of activities. Make new friends or spend more time with the ones you brought. Join a scavenger hunt and find secrets hiding within the exhibits.
As always this event is free and family-friendly.
This is also a chance to see the other exhibits at the museum. This includes Dr. Karshner’s Wonderful World of Science exhibit in Gallery Two with biological specimens from the Karshner Collection. Gallery three has the winners of the Vessey-Munson art show from 2022 and 2023.
The event will be held from 12-5 p.m. on Saturday, January 20 at the Karshner Museum, 309 4th St. NE. Just like all Karshner Museum events, admission is FREE for all!
Celebrate The World! Music, Dance And Arts From Around The Globe
Join us for the “Celebrate the World” Culture and Arts Festival at the Karshner Museum on Saturday, March 16 from 12-5 p.m. The festival will celebrate Indigenous cultures, music, dance and storytelling from round the world.
Featured performances include:
Raven Clan Singers – A song group of four generations from the Haida Raven Clan, Double Fin Killer Whale Crest and Brown Bear House descending from Hydaburg, Alaska will share the songs and stories of their elders and ancestors.
Indigenous author and illustrator Sondra Segundo will share Kúndlaan, the first of three children’s books in a series that celebrates Haida culture and language. Kúndlaan tells the story of a wolf pup who takes an exciting trip to the moon! Inspired by ancient Haida stories, each original tale in the series weaves in Haida language and song to help encourage the revitalization of her Indigenous culture.
Huehca Omeyocan is a music and dance group dedicated to promoting cultural practices of the Pre-Hispanic (Aztec) Mesoamerican peoples. Huehca Omeyocan is an organization dedicated to promoting cultural practices of the Anahuac (Mesoamerican) people, primarily focused on Anahuaca (Ancestral Meshica Chichimeca Aztec) dance, music, art, and cultural education base on ancestral values. They will perform and have a cultural display.
Awal Alhassan and Sohoyini - Awal Alhassan is a master drummer, dancer, choreographer, and teacher from Ghana, West Africa. Awal has worked throughout Africa with some of Ghana's best traditional groups such as the Ghana Dance Ensemble, the National Theatre of Ghana, and the Center for National Culture Dance Troupe. Since moving to Seattle in 2005, he has led his own African drum and dance group Sohoyini. They will perform and lead a drum circle and dance audience participation session.
Student marimba groups - Maplewood Elementary and Zeiger Elementary student marimba groups will both perform.
Just like all Karshner Museum events, admission is FREE for all!
We hope to see you there!
No Saturday at the Museum this month
Due the President’s Day school holiday there will not be a Saturday at the Museum! Event this month.
Join us next month for our big Celebrate the World! festival.
Saturday at the Museum! - Games & Puzzles
Are your board games at home feeling a little stale? Love puzzles but no one in your house is into them? Come to the Museum for fresh puzzles, fun games, and good times!
We’ll be filling the main hall with a variety of options. Make new friends or spend more time with the ones you brought. Join a scavenger hunt and find secrets hiding within the exhibits.
As always this event is free and family-friendly.
This is also your last chance to see the Browsing the Stacks exhibit by Legacy Washington and the Washington Secretary of State (main hall), as well as the Karshner Museum’s parallel exhibit of our favorite things (gallery 1). Gallery two features Dr. Karshner’s Wonderful World of Science exhibit with biological specimens from the Karshner Collection. Gallery three has the winners of the Vessey-Munson art show from 2022 and 2023.
The event will be held from 12-5 p.m. on Saturday, January 20 at the Karshner Museum, 309 4th St. NE. Just like all Karshner Museum events, admission is FREE for all!
Saturday at the Museum - Winter-themed Arts and Crafts!
Join us for an afternoon of fun-filled with scavenger hunts and winter-themed arts and crafts making. We will have supplies on hand.
This is a free, family-friendly event. Grab grandma and grandpa, cousins, neighbors, everyone and come on down.
The event will be held from 12-5 p.m. on Saturday, December 16 at the Karshner Museum, 309 4th St. NE. Just like all Karshner Museum events, admission is FREE for all!
Celebrate America! Music, Dance and Arts Festival
From bluegrass to country and rock, music honoring our veterans, and country line and square dancing.
Secretary of State's Legacy Washington Browsing the Stacks Exhibit Opening and Reception
The Browsing the Stacks exhibit is on loan to the Karshner Museum from the Legacy Washington through January 2024.
We invite you to join us for a reception of the exhibit opening. Musical entertainment will be provided by Puyallup School District student performers. Deputy Secretary of State Randy Bolerjack and staff from Legacy Washington and the Washington State Archives will also join to share information about the exhibit. Cookies and punch will be provided courtesy of the Friends of the Karshner Museum.
We also created a companion exhibit, Karshner Museum’s Browsing the Stack: Our Favorite Things, that highlights local artifacts and memories from the community, school district and Dr. Karshner’s collection. There are over 300 pieces in the exhibit!
This is a free event.
Pacific Islands and Oceana Culture & Arts Festival
The Karshner Museum, in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Cultural Center, will host the Pacific Islands and Oceania Culture and Arts Festival on Saturday, October 21.
The event will be held from 12-5 p.m. at the Karshner Museum, 309 4th St. NE. Just like all Karshner Museum events, admission is FREE for all!
What to Expect
The "Take Me to the Islands" theme of the event and special exhibit will feature performances, art projects, demonstrations and foods inspired by Samoa and the South Seas. A special exhibit of artifacts from the South Pacific collected by Dr. Karshner and others in the early 1900s will also be on display.
Annual Membership Meeting
The board cordially invites all active members to join us at 4pm on October 10th at the Karshner Museum, 309 4th St. NE. We’ll discuss the organization’s efforts in the past and coming years. We’ll vote on new board members and board positions.
Not a member yet? Join now!
1st Tuesdays Family Nights @ Karshner Center - Jun 2023
Join us at Karshner Center the 1st Tuesday of each month for Family Night.
In addition to rotating displays and exhibits, 1st Tuesdays will offer the following staring at 4 pm:
Stranger Things - The weirdest artifacts!
Scavenger Hunts
Artifact Detective Games - Win prizes!
Pop Up Exhibits -You bring the artifacts!
Art Projects!
And more!
These are free events! Grab the family and on down! There will be fun for kids of all ages.
Vesey/Munson Art Show & Awards Reception
This reception culminates the Vesey/Munson Art Show. Art on display since May 19th has been evaluated by judges and visitors to the Museum. Join us to take in the art and see who wins! The Vesey/Munson Art Show features secondary students’ work demonstrating a variety of different styles and mediums.
This event includes an Empty Bowls fundraiser. Revenue from the ceramic bowls created by students and teachers will benefit the Puyallup Foodbank.
open to the public
art created by students and teachers
awards - did your favorite piece win an award?
Don’t miss your last chance to see this year’s art!
Vesey/Munson Art Show
The Vesey/Munson Art Show features secondary students’ work demonstrating a variety of different styles and mediums. Come check out the art and cast your vote for the People’s Choice!
The art show includes an Empty Bowls fundraiser. Revenue from the ceramic bowls created by students and teachers will benefit the Puyallup Foodbank.
open to the public
art created by students and teachers
awards, judged and people’s choice
art projects to channel creative inspiration from the art!
The art will be on display May 19 - 24th.
1st Tuesdays Family Nights @ Karshner Center - May 2023
Join us at Karshner Center the 1st Tuesday of each month for Family Night.
In addition to rotating displays and exhibits, 1st Tuesdays will offer the following staring at 4 pm:
Stranger Things - The weirdest artifacts!
Scavenger Hunts
Artifact Detective Games - Win prizes!
Pop Up Exhibits -You bring the artifacts!
Art Projects!
And more!
These are free events! Grab the family and on down! There will be fun for kids of all ages.
Earth Day Science & Arts Festival
Invest in Our Planet!
Nature's Networks, Endangered Species, Clean Water, Ecology, and Our World!
Burke Museum's Traveling Museum - Nature's Networks - Interactive displays to show how all life is connected through ecosystems and biodiversity.
Puyallup Hatchery - "Salmon Life Cycle" and display.
Puyallup Tribe - Native stories about salmon and Native Art, environmental work by the tribe to save the Salmon, other endangered animals, restore our rivers, and Salish Sea.
Endangered Animals - Multiple activities and projects to explore and learn about why animals are going extinct. About habitat, adaptations of animals and plants. Enter the Endangered Species Art Contest!
Art Exhibit- US Artist Collective handmade prints about clean water and our natural resources. "Wellspring" and "Resourced"
Art Projects, science experiments, and our own exhibit of our natural world artifacts - There will be multiple hands-on ways you can learn how to keep our animals, water, resources, forests and climate healthy to Save Our Earth!!
CANCELLED 1st Tuesdays Family Night - Apr 2023
Sorry folks! I’m afraid the museum has a prior commitment so you’ll have to join us next time!
Open to the Public
Art projects - Kente cloth, adinkra cloth, Maasai necklaces and African masks
Artifact Detective Scavenger hunts regarding exhibit and artifacts and bingo cards
Video of top 15 Civil rights protest and march songs
Martin Luther King JR. Poor Peoples campaign revisited - posters
Other highlights of Black American artists, musicians, leaders, and activities to go with them
some endangered species pieces for those who want to come and explore species for creating art piece for the Art Contest
Find this event on the Karshner Museum and Center for Culture and Arts Facebook page.
1st Tuesdays Family Nights @ Karshner Center - Mar 2023
Join us at Karshner Center the 1st Tuesday of each month for Family Night.
In addition to rotating displays and exhibits, 1st Tuesday will offer the following starting at 4 pm:
Continuation of activities during and for Black History month
Art projects - Kente cloth, adinkra cloth, Maasai necklaces and African masks
Artifact Detective Scavenger hunts regarding exhibit and artifacts and bingo cards
Video of top 15 Civil rights protest and march songs
Martin Luther King JR. Poor Peoples campaign revisited - posters
Other highlights of Black American artists, musicians, leaders, and activities to go with them
These are free events! Grab the family and on down! There will be fun for kids of all ages.
1st Tuesdays Family Nights @ Karshner Center - Feb 2023
Join us at Karshner Center the 1st Tuesday of each month for Family Night.
In addition to rotating displays and exhibits, 1st Tuesdays will offer the following staring at 4 pm:
Stranger Things - The weirdest artifacts!
Scavenger Hunts
Artifact Detective Games - Win prizes!
Pop Up Exhibits -You bring the artifacts!
Art Projects!
And more!
These are free events! Grab the family and on down! There will be fun for kids of all ages.
1st Tuesdays Family Nights @ Karshner Center - Jan 2023
Join us at Karshner Center the 1st Tuesday of each month for Family Night.
In addition to rotating displays and exhibits, 1st Tuesdays will offer the following staring at 4 pm:
Stranger Things - The weirdest artifacts!
Scavenger Hunts
Artifact Detective Games - Win prizes!
Pop Up Exhibits -You bring the artifacts!
Art Projects!
And more!
These are free events! Grab the family and on down! There will be fun for kids of all ages.