SEATTLE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM

SEATTLE, WA

In 2021, the Board of Trustees for the Seattle Children’s Museum reviewed the core statements guiding the organization, eventually updating the museum’s Mission, Vision and Purpose. Working with architect and museum planner Alissa Rupp, who was serving as Acting Director for the museum, the board started from a place of abundance: what does Seattle Children’s Museum have a lot of, where are its deepest resources, and what advantages could the organization tap into as it re-emerged from a pandemic-induced closure?

The board soon found that the abundances were many! Seattle Children’s Museum has over 18,000 square feet of exhibit space, ample storage, sufficient office space and room to expand. It is located at Seattle Center, where there is significant foot traffic; locals and tourists alike enjoy all that the campus and the Armory building have to offer. The other resident arts organizations at Seattle Center offer many opportunities for partnership, and the region’s 20 children’s museums offer a rich source of information, collaboration and connection. The museum has a strong reputation for an engaged, high-energy public facing staff, and forty years of history - and “alumni” families - to draw on when generating support. And finally, city leadership is enthusiastic about having a strong, vibrant children’s museum in Seattle.

The museum re-opened with a new Raindrop Reading Room, a snowy summit on the Mountain Exhibit, a wind-themed Amazing Airways, the Neighborhood PAWS Vet, real theater seats in the Bijou Theater, and a fresh new Orca Cove, just for visitors under 4.

Alissa says: “After moving to Seattle in 1989, one of my first jobs was as Floor Manager at Seattle Children’s Museum. My work there kick-started an interest in design, and was key to my decision to matriculate in the Master of Architecture program at University of Washington in the mid 1990’s. As a graduate student, I worked with Paul Segal Associates, the firm that designed the museum’s expansion to its current size. So my history with, and affection for, the Seattle Children’s Museum has always been strong. It has been one of the highlights of my professional life to see it refreshed, renewed, and re-opened.”

Location: Seattle, Washington 

Client: Seattle Children’s Museum Board of Directors

Size: 18,000 SF Museum, 4,000 SF Support Space, at Seattle Center Campus 

Prime Architect, Landscape Architect and Exhibit Designer: Alissa Rupp, FRAME 

Exhibit Fabrication: Turner Exhibits, Ed Mah, Joe Ferry, Allison CraigSundine, Justin Thongsouk

Completion Date: Re-opened April 2022 

Alissa’s role: Acting Director, Lead Designer