A Place to Play: Greentrike creates fun — and connection — in Pierce County

By Polly Jirkovsky, PEPS (Estimated reading time: 3 minutes)

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Children’s Museum of Tacoma, now known as Greentrike. While those four decades have brought many innovations and changes, the organization’s deep commitment to “intentionally listening to children” has remained steadfast, explains Rolfe Bautista, Chief Communications and Engagement Officer at the nonprofit.

Founded as a nonprofit in the early 1980s, the Museum was a feature of Downtown Tacoma, offering rotating exhibitions and educational opportunities for families across the South Puget Sound region. After continuing to expand programs and locations, the organization was renamed Greentrike in 2019, with the name reflecting the broader range of community offerings as well as a spirit of creative movement and imaginative play.

Greentrike’s second location, the Children’s Museum at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), is the culmination of 10 years of conversations. The idea started when a mobile “Play to Learn” group visited the base to offer activities and engagement to families living there. Greentrike’s leadership had a vision of bringing a museum to the base, and through much persistence and collaboration, the site opened in 2021.

This year, Greentrike joined forces with PEPS as a Community Partner; the two organizations share a commitment to equity and inclusivity. The downtown Tacoma Greentrike location recently offered a new Baby Peppers Group, and the museum located on JBLM hosted a PEPS Affinity Group for Military Families. These weekly gatherings expand upon Greentrike’s commitment to offer its services to all families.

“We wanted to make sure that every child has an opportunity to play, and we built our museums with many features to reflect that.”

Rolfe Bautista, Chief Communications and Engagement Officer, Greentrike

For example, Greentrike offers low sensory hours at both locations, creating a more comfortable environment for individuals with autism or sensory processing disorders. Through a partnership with KultureCity, noise-cancelling headphones and weighted vests are also available to borrow.

In addition, Greentrike offers a unique admissions policy called Pay As You Will, where visitors are invited to donate in lieu of a traditional admission fee. This policy grew out of observations over many years, explains Bautista. The museum had always offered free admission nights or free passes available at the library—and while popular, these still created barriers. Once Pay As You Will was implemented, attendance at the museum doubled, and in 2023, they celebrated their one millionth visitor.

Alternatively, supporters can consider purchasing a paid annual membership with differing price tiers and benefits, such as discounts at local businesses, reserved parking options, and special “member only” days.

“Half the people who join the membership program find value in the benefits, and for the other half, they want to support the mission and values of the museum,” Bautista said. “Sometimes people stay members even after their kids are grown, because they want to support what we do.”

This commitment to inclusivity was also reflected in the JBLM PEPS Group. Participant Ashley Sellers, who attended the group with her 13-month-old, said it was refreshing not to have to explain all the nuances of her parenting experience when meeting fellow parents, as is often the case with military families.

“The [military family] community is such a small but diverse community,” said Sellers, who has spent 25 years in the area. “It is so helpful to talk to people who just get it.”

PEPS and Greentrike are two organizations that deeply believe in the importance of supporting families and creating communities for parents. By working together in Pierce County, they continue to ensure that no parent is alone and that children have joyful places to play.

Do you know of a Pierce County-based organization interested in partnering with PEPS? 
Contact us at programs@peps.org.  If you’re interested in joining a PEPS Group in Pierce County, find the right one for you here or contact us at 206-547-8570.