705 Dock Street
Tacoma, WA 98402
USA
Throughout the weekend we will feature the Seaport’s “Mosquito Fleet” exhibit and offer a STEAM event geared to area families and steam enthusiast… We are thrilled to welcome back the Northwest Steam Society who will bring a collection of their steamers to moor at the Seaport’s dock. The boat owners plan to share their steamers with Seaport guests, demo and explain how they work, plus answer all your “steam” questions. They will provide plenty of steam whistle sounds to support this event. If you have never seen these delightful boats, now is the time to come to the Seaport…they are amazing! Some lucky museum visitors will enjoy a short cruise!
Just think, back in the late 1800’s through the early 1900’s, before refined petroleum, gasoline and diesel engines were common, all you needed was something to burn, some nice fresh water, a boiler to change water into steam, and an engine to create the power to turn the propeller. Puget Sound had steam boats all over our waters transporting people and goods, and even using them just for fun! The Northwest Steam Society’s steamers are mostly “steam launches, best suited for taking people from the dock to a ship at anchor or simply to have a leisurely picnic while exploring some back waters. Come and enjoy the sights and sounds of a long lost era of great importance to the development of our region and country!
At the time our building was constructed (1900), steam was not confined to the water. Steam engines brought trains to our building full of wheat. Come see our train exhibit which features a model railroad of a “Stylized” Half Moon Yard matching the one found near our building, an interactive display which challenges visitors with a variety of switching assignments, a “What’s That Sound” board full of railroad sounds, and a 7-1/2” scale switch that will enable visitors to see how tail cars move from one track to another. Enjoy talking with our railroad docents, who are experts on all things related to “trains”.
Additionally, we will offer many steam activities for kids of all ages throughout each day!
Activities include: Part of a Boat (board our kid’s boat moored securely on land), What is Displacement?, The Power of Pressure – the Great Balloon Race, Smash Can Experiment, Blow that Steam Whistle – hourly, and bring that cell phone and take your picture with Hyak crew and passengers – a Mosquito Fleet steamer from the past. We will have model steamboats for kids to race in our wading pond.
