The museum offers 7,000 square feet of permanent galleries showcasing the rich, unique heritage of the Gig Harbor Peninsula. Unique artifacts, video kiosks, hands-on exhibits, computer interactives, and a small theater bring Peninsula history to life in our permanent galleries.

The Hostess with the Mostest - The Art of Making Much with What’s on Hand

A new exhibition exploring the traditions of hospitality, ingenuity, and community connection opens to the public on Saturday, March 14 at the Harbor History Museum. Hostess with the Mostest: The Art of Making Much with What’s at Hand draws from a 19th and 20th-century collection of aprons and household items that reflect how local families balanced old-world traditions with the evolving rhythms life in “New World” Gig Harbor.

Centered on a collection of aprons worn by Gig Harbor women throughout the 20th century, the exhibit explores the domestic spaces where hospitality and community life intersected. In kitchens and dining rooms across the harbor, traditions carried from European homelands met new ideas about entertaining, convenience, and social organizing.

Aprons—both practical and decorative—tell the story of this transition. Some reflect older traditions of ornate handwork and thrift, while others represent the bright optimism and new consumer culture of the modern era. Together, they tell the story of women who balanced inherited traditions with the opportunities and conveniences of a changing century.

The exhibition also highlights how gatherings in private homes often served a larger purpose. “These artifacts remind us that hospitality is both an art and a form of community building,” said museum director Stephanie Lile. Over coffee, card tables, and carefully set dining rooms, local women organized major civic initiatives that helped shape the Gig Harbor Peninsula including the area’s first library, the Museum, as well as the establishment of FISH Food Bank, among many others.

This Spring, our Lobby Exhibit features a micro-look into the midcentury fashion photography of Jini Dellaccio, a groundbreaker who dared to go where women had rarely ventured. Dellaccio got her start in fashion photography then later ventured into photo shoots for local bands. A small selection of her remarkable work will be on display through May of 2026.

Please see our School Resources page for classroom lesson plans and historical content to support your investigations of Washington State history.

All of our school programs are fully facilitated experiences led by a team of trained staff and volunteers. We work hard to make sure that your students are engaged and enthralled with their venture back in time!

For all field trips, our maximum group size per day is 60 students. We are happy to welcome homeschoolers with a group of at least 10 students. For any questions about field trips, please contact the Education Manager at education@harborhistorymuseum.org.

Midway School Experience

The award-winning Midway School Experience, in the restored Midway Schoolhouse and museum galleries, is an opportunity for school groups to step back in time, learn local history, and relive schoolhouse life at the turn of the century.  Participants are immersed in four hours of continuous programming with curriculum designed to meet several Washington State Education Standards. In this program, students visit our permanent galleries special exhibition gallery, and participate in a lesson circa 1915. This program is for 3rd - 6th grade students, minimum of 8 students.
Price: $10 per student
Program Available W-F (10:00 a.m. – 2:00 pm; program is 4 hours)

“My students definitely loved their time in the Midway schoolhouse! I don't think they will ever forget their experience!”

“Our students LOVED the Midway experience. It is a memory of a lifetime.”

“It's PERFECT for 4th grade standards in Washington State History!”

Primary Museum Experience

During the Primary Museum Experience students in grades K-2 enjoy a fast-paced introduction to the museum. With an interpreter guide they explore the museum galleries and visit the Midway Schoolhouse and Shenandoah. They get hands-on experience with artifacts and begin to learn what museums are and how they tell stories of people in the past.
Price: $6 per student
Program Available: W-F (Available during museum hours; 1.5 hour program)

“I will recommend this field trip to other kindergarten classes.”

“The kids loved it and had a wonderful time!”

General Museum Visit

Ideal for middle and high school-aged students working on a special project, students explore our galleries and investigate artifacts through docent, teacher, and self-guided experiences. Learn Washington State, local, and maritime history, as well as how to uncover stories of the past. We are happy to work with teachers to customize the field trip to your specific needs. Best for 6th grade and higher.
Price: $5-7 per student
Program Available W-F (10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.)

“Thank you! Our students were guided, directed, and entertained at a very high level. We are very pleased. Your staff exceeded our expectations!”

“The docents were lovely, informed, and patient. You put on an amazing, welcoming program.”

“We really enjoyed the exhibits and appreciated the knowledgeable guides.”

If you would like more information or to schedule a field trip please fill out our Field Trip Form.

We have compiled some helpful pre-visit information and a pre-visit activity for your to complete with your class. Download them here:

Field Trip Overview and Pre-Visit Information

Pre-Visit Slideshow and Sensory Guide

Pre-Visit Activity (hands-on activity) — 3rd grade and up

Pre-Visit Activity Slideshow — 3rd grade and up

Clothing and Lunch Suggestions

Post-Schoolhouse Experience Reflection

Can’t come to the schoolhouse? Check out these sampler videos of Miss Bennett’s lessons with your class!

Opening Exercises: Welcome to Midway School https://www.harbormysterymuseum.org/post/visit-to-midway-schoolhouse-lesson-1-with-miss-bennett

Lesson 2: History and Reading https://www.harbormysterymuseum.org/post/visit-to-midway-schoolhouse-lesson-2-with-miss-bennett

Lesson 3: Penmanship, Arithmetic, and Music https://www.harbormysterymuseum.org/post/visit-to-midway-schoolhouse-lesson-3-with-miss-bennett

Virtual Learning Options

Please contact education@harborhistorymuseum.org to arrange your session or with any questions. We look forward to meeting your students!

Virtual Midway School Experience

Experience a virtual version of our popular immersive field trip to school in 1915! While your students sit in their regular classroom, our schoolmarm will teach them directly from our 1893 Midway Schoolhouse. Over the course of an hour your students will engage in lessons and activities that take them back in time – learning through living history! At the end they will have the opportunity to ask questions about their experience and schooling of the past. For 3rd – 6th grades.

Virtual Artifact Exploration

Explore artifacts from daily life in the late 1800s and early 1900s – what clues will you find to help you uncover the story of the object? Our educator will guide your class to understand what artifacts are and how to examine them while showing students items from our collection. Students will learn how to look carefully at artifacts using good questions and critical thinking skills. They will learn about daily life in the past as well as how and why we preserve artifacts. Our virtual artifact exploration sessions are for 3rd – 12th grades and last 45 minutes.

Museum Expert Chats

Would a chat with an expert on local history enhance your social studies curriculum and engage your students? HHM is here for you! We are pleased to offer our staff for virtual classroom visits to share knowledge and answer questions on a variety of topics. See those below, but don’t hesitate to ask about others; we may be able to accommodate you.

Virtual visits are 30 minutes long and dependent on museum staff schedules. All grade levels welcome. (Bonus: for a career-focused chat we are happy to talk about our jobs!)

Topics

• The sx̌ʷəbabš, the Swift Water People, and
txʷaalqəł, the Place Where Game Exists – the
original residents of Gig Harbor and the HHM
site
• Peninsula settlers
• Settler life in the Pacific Northwest
• Education in the late 1800s and early 1900s
• Peninsula fishing industry
• Boat building
• Types of boats
• Local ferries
• Galloping Gertie
• Peninsula farming
• The HHM site: Donkey Creek, Peninsula
Light Co., Austin Mill
• Midway Schoolhouse
• Local crime history
• Local plants
• Artifact illustration
• Artifact collections and care
• Nonprofit management
• Nonprofit accounting
• Nonprofit marketing
• Museum education

Our special “Harbor Mystery Museum” site is where you can find fun stories and history mysteries for kids and families.

https://www.harbormysterymuseum.org/

Thank you to the following organizations for support of our School Programs:
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Gig Harbor Garden Tour
The Baker Foundation
The DV and Ida McEachern Foundation

Estate of Joan Bassett
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The 65-foot wooden purse seiner, built in 1925, was donated to the Museum in 2000 and hauled out of the water in 2003. The fishing vessel was owned by Tony Janovich, who donated it to the Museum shortly after his retirement. We are pleased to have completed the boat’s restoration as well as the enclosure of its gallery. To learn more about the boat’s restoration story, click here. 

Thanks to the following for support of the Shenandoah Project:
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National Park Service Save America’s Treasures

Washington State Heritage Capital Project Fund

City of Gig Harbor

Pierce County Historic Landmarks & Preservation Fund

Port of Tacoma

Maritime Washington National Heritage Area

The M. J. Murdock Trust

DV and Ida McEachern Foundation

Ben B. Cheney Foundation

Fisheries Supply

And more than 430
Individual Donors
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