This Top Pick was written on special assignment for The Ticket through the TeenTix Press Corps, a teen arts journalism program run by TeenTix, a youth empowerment and arts access nonprofit organization.
📆 On thru Sunday, June 2nd
🎟 $0 – $22
📍 Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI): 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle
Many intriguing things hang from the ceiling at the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI)—a recent addition being two rowing shells (AKA boats) with glossy bottoms.
Those glossy shells are part of MOHAI’s latest exhibit, “Pulling Together: A Brief History of Rowing in Seattle,” available through June 2nd of this year. A visit to MOHAI artfully complements the release of The Boys in the Boat, the new George Clooney-directed movie focused on the University of Washington’s most famous rowing team and their win at the 1936 Olympics, based on the book of the same title by local author Daniel James Brown. MOHAI’s concise yet informative exhibit, presented in collaboration with UW, Northwest Maritime Center, and the Pocock Rowing Foundation, guides visitors to discover lots aboat (a pun!) rowing’s presence in our local waters. UW also hopes attention on the film and exhibit can bolster their fundraising efforts to restore the historic ASUW shell house.
From trading cards of the 1936 Olympic rowing team from UW to archival footage, the exhibit illustrates the sport’s growth since the Pocock family’s establishment as rowing icons here in the PNW. The rowing shells and their stories gleam with their impressive handiwork. During my visit, I valued how the exhibit’s timeline expanded beyond the specific Olympic competition to emphasize the presence of women in the sport, as well as brief mentions of Indigenous boating.
If you explore the rest of the museum, the 1930s and ’40s exhibits add even more depth and context to the famed 1936 win. For opportunities for free or reduced tickets, learn about MOHAI’s Community Access, or check the Seattle Public Library to borrow ticket passes.
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