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Current Exhibits

What will you see when you the Lacey Museum? Explore our current exhibits below.

Temporary Exhibits

America and its history is a patchwork of many tales which have been woven over time from the voyages of people—both voluntary and involuntary—who traveled from city-to-city, state-to-state and around the world to find new opportunities. Whether by air, land or sea, travel has played a crucial part in our economic and cultural identities.

Journey Stories is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.

Core Exhibits

Shaping Our Community Together: 50 Years as a City

Lacey Museum and Lacey City Hall

Explore the stories that took the small farming community of Woodland and turned it into the city of Lacey we know today.

Find out why you leave and enter Lacey multiple times on Martin Way, what finally forced the residents of Lacey to create a new city, and how Lacey got its name.

Destination: Lacey!

Lacey Museum

In the 1920s, Lacey’s five lakes became a destination for regional vacationers. Entrepreneurial locals developed their property with attractions like water slides, high dives, dance halls, and roller skating rinks. Discover more about this fascinating time in Lacey’s history and what happened to the 20 resorts that dotted the shores of Lacey’s lakes.

Learning in Lacey

Lacey Museum

From its first one-room schoolhouse in 1853 to the largest school district in the county, education has always been an important part of the fabric of the Lacey community. Take a nostalgic trip through the school room, including trying out a slate chalkboard or sitting in school desks from a bygone age.

Saint Martin’s University and the adjoining abbey have been a focal point of the Lacey community since it opened in 1895.

Welcome Pole

Lacey City Hall

A gift from the Nisqually Tribe, this pole is a visual reminder of the historic accord signed by the City of Lacey and the Tribe which hangs on the wall nearby.

Prepare for Your Visit