Museums - Whatcom Museum of History and Art

The Whatcom Museum of History & Art occupies four buildings in downtown Bellingham that feature exhibitions on contemporary art and local, state and Northwest Coast history. The museum’s collection holds more than 200,000 artifacts of regional importance, including a vast photographic archive.
The history collection reflects the richness and diversity of Pacific Northwest history from post-settlement to the present day. The collection ranges from everyday domestic items to the tools and equipment vital to the agricultural, timber and fishing industries that were prominent in the development of the Northwest.
The art collection’s emphasis is on art from the Pacific Northwest, but includes examples of American art from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present.
The ethnology collection’s emphasis is on the material culture of the region’s indigenous peoples. Here the region is defined as the Pacific Northwest, generally recognized as the area west of the Rocky Mountains from Northern California to Alaska. The collection contains objects of everyday utility as well as artworks used during ceremonial events.