The South Sound has a number of great museums and many small ones. If you're a Pierce County Library member, ask about museum passes available for check out. If they're available, they will get free entry for up to four visitors. Small museums worth visiting include Tacoma's Working Waterfront Museum or Olympia's Olympic Flight Museum.

Here are some of the biggies ...

Tacoma Art Museum

If you go to see one local museum, pick the Tacoma Art Museum. Right now, you can see Mexican folk art, glass art by local artist Dale Chihuly and Northwest native canoes. The lineup changes frequently, and the location is excellent-within walking distance is Union Station, the Bridge of Glass and the Washington State History Museum.

Location: 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, http://www.tacomaartmuseum.org/

Washington State History Museum

The two coolest exhibits at the Washington State History Museum are the Great Hall of Washington History and a gigantic model train. The Great Hall uses traditional exhibits, video and 35 life-size human sculptures to tell the story of Washington State, while the train is the largest permanent model railroad in the state.

Location: 1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, http://www.wshs.org/wshm/default.aspx

Museum of Glass

While the art exhibits at the Museum of Glass are worth checking out, it's the Hot Shop that takes the cake. The Hot Shop is where glass is blown and MOG's has theater-style seating so spectators can watch the process. Whenever the museum is open, the Hot Shop team is in, along with an "interpreter" who explains the process and answers questions.

Location: 1801 Dock St. Tacoma, http://www.museumofglass.org/

LeMay Museum

Most people have noticed the flashy new LeMay Museum in progress near the Tacoma Dome, but there is still the original location out in Spanaway, too. Take a tour and learn about the vast collection of cars and other vehicles the LeMay collection has to offer. Even if you're no car fan, you might be surprised how interesting this place is.

Location: 325 152^nd Street E, Tacoma, http://www.lemaymuseum.org/

State Capital Museum

The State Capital Museum pairs nicely with a visit to the Washington State Capitol building, as it's just seven blocks away. Native American history intertwines with Olympia's history as our state capital. Current exhibits include Northwest Treaty Trail and the Ethnobotany of Western Washington.

Location: 211 SW 21st Ave., Olympia, http://www.washingtonhistory.org/scmoc/default.aspx