The Washington State History Museum in downtown Tacoma will mark Veterans Day by offering free admission to active and retired military members.

In addition to the museum’s current exhibits, including Cooper and David Douglas: A Naturalist at Work, special event programming is planned for the holiday.

The day will begin at 10:30 a.m. with a presentation of Historical and Scientific Toy Making by master toy maker Rick Hartman. Participants of all ages will construct and keep captivating wooden toys that hearken back to an earlier era and demonstrate timeless principles of science.

Additionally, Bryan Willis will present a stage adaptation of the best-selling novel If All the Sky Were Paper. Local actors from the Northwest Playwrights Alliance will read from a collection of war-time letters that reveal a full range of emotions, from the humorous to the dramatic and devastating, experienced by veterans, those currently in the military and their loved ones.

Finally, visitors are invited to participate in a special edition scavenger hunt in honor of Veterans Day, which will send them searching for answers to military and war-related questions found throughout the museum’s exhibits.

The Washington State History Museum will be open between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Mon., Nov. 11, Veterans Day. More information is available online at washingtonhistory.org.