Living Sculptures: Washington’s Pacific Bonsai Museum is one of only a few in the world

Seattle has plenty of well known museums, but do you know about the Pacific Bonsai Museum? It’s one of only two bonsai museums in the United States and one of only a few bonsai museums in the world. With a living, breathing collection of 150 trees, this museum is truly an experience to be had.

These trees are among some of the finest examples of bonsai in the world. The collection is extremely geographically diverse, with trees from across the globe including countries like Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the United States.

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The museum features sixty trees on exhibit at any given time, each with its own unique backstory. Unlike a physical work of art, these trees are never “finished” because they require constant care and pruning throughout their lives to maintain their shape. This means they are truly living sculptures. Upon reading tree labels you may be surprised to find that some of these trees are much older than you, hundreds of years older in certain cases.

Visiting the trees is a unique way to learn about the history and art of bonsai as well enjoy the sun while being in a museum setting. Visiting the museum is by donation and you’ll find the donation box as you exit.

With that, enjoy!

Pacific Bonsai Museum

Where: 2515 S 336th Street, Federal Way, WA
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 10 AM-4 PM
Cost: By donation, suggested donation is $12