Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum

Neat place to kill some time in Leavenworth.

If you love nutcrackers, this will be your Valhalla. And if there’s ever a world shortage on nutcrackers, you’ll know who to blame & where to go. Holy cow, there were a lot of them. We watched the 14 minute video then took about that long to walk through the place. $ 5 per adult. I’m glad we went.

Fun little museum to go to, especially if you like nutcrackers. You get to learn the history of nutcrackers and get to see lots of cool different ones. My husbands and I’s favorites were the muppet and star wars ones, but there is way more than just that.

Few things do I enjoy as much now that I’m a «responsible adult» as I did back when I was a little kid. I know now that chocolate chip cookies contain calories and sugar. Beauty and the Beast reminds me of dry college lectures on Stockholm syndrome and other psychological phenomenon. Jungle gyms and playgrounds have transformed into nightmarish portents of sore backs, knees, elbows, and so forth. To be clear, I didn’t visit the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum as a kid, but I can easily imagine myself relishing the experience as much then as I do at my advanced age.
Walk in, pay the pittance of a fee the museum charges for entry (but two and a half American dollars!), and feast your eye on nutcracker, after nutcracker, after nutcracker! New nutcrackers! Old-​timey nutcrackers! Wooden nutcrackers! Metal nutcrackers! Tiny nutcrackers! Human-​sized nutcrackers! Santa nutcrackers! Civil War nutcrackers! Sesame Street nutcrackers! Snow White and the seven nutcrackers! The Nutcrackers of Oz! Nutcrackers with crazy noses, crazy eyes, evil grins, giant noses, no noses… and on and on! Literally thousands of nutcrackers! Varied enough, interesting enough, of such superior craftsmanship to captivate adults and children alike.
Each one of these fantastic little figures attracts attention not because they needily demand attention as a paining in an art museum does but because they’re such aesthetic departures from our everyday experience. Around (honestly) Halloween, we in America might start to see nutcrackers in the windows of stores trying to foist knickknacks of various kinds upon us, but these nutcrackers come in but one aesthetic scheme and easily blend into the general Christmas-​themed background. The idea of nutcrackers as art simply didn’t exist in my mind.
I’d estimate that a quick viewing of the contents of the museum might take 45 minutes to an hour. A more thorough walkthrough could easily reach 90 minutes plus. For $ 2.50, I can’t think of a better value museum that isn’t free. The Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum is easily the most interesting and best value location to visit in Leavenworth, WA and quite likely one of the best of both in the greater Seattle area.

If you are here for the day, this is a good place to spend an hour.
Kids friendly and lots of different nutcrackers to look at, price for admission is minimal. They are open at 2pm on Saturdays.

Great place for Nutcracker fans!

I stumbled into the Nutcracker Museum amidst a trip to Leavenworth. It was only open between 2 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., meaning I had to hang out at the Frojo frozen yogurt shop around the corner waiting for the museum to open. The $ 2.50 admission seemed reasonable — but there is little in the way of explanation or text to guide you through this collection of nutcrackers.
The elderly woman at the cashier did not offer much in the way of guidance, except telling me where to start, and admonishing me not to take photographs of the nutcrackers in the glass cabinets. There is a viewing area/​gift shop with a TV/​video screen, but the cashier was not motivated to start the movie for me or the two other guests in the museum. It was 10 minutes into my stay when she remembered to turn on the cassette player with music.
The museum claims to have the world’s largest collection of nutcrackers and I cannot dispute that. The breadth of the collection is amazing, but I would have liked some historical text, background information or context or perhaps a quick, personalized introductory tour.

If you are a fan of nutcrackers this place is definitely for you. This place has a vast collection of nutcrackers collected over time. From the little handheld type to the type we see during Christmas, this place has it. Thousands of them! It’s actually pretty neat.
This place is a bit dated. While walking through they play a medley of songs on a cassette player (which is also for sale on cassette OR CD :). Also, there is a short video on VHS that gives you a brief history about nutcrackers and proudly promotes the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum at the end of the clip. We were in and out in less than 30 min. Cute little museum.

We had a great time, who would of thunk it!
I thought it was going to be really dumb! But I think when you put a million of anything on display it makes it interesting.
I did not watch the movie, I think I may of offended the lady, but we were on a deadline!
Visited November 2011

HUGE collection! Definitely worth a visit. The staff are very friendly too. Prices are high but looking is free!

Is exactly what you’d imagine. Glass cases full of nutcrackers. Lots and lots. Interesting history, some really rare models, one of the best collections outside Germany.

This museum is like the Tardis of museums… it’s actually bigger inside than the outside. Amazing collection of nutcrakers of all sizes, styles and ages. There’s a really old Roman one. There’s a video you get to watch (old but it is what it is).
I’m kind of inspired now to collect nutcrackers. The kids enjoyed it (ages 2 – 9). It’s kind of hard to keep little hands off the items since some items are not behind glass so if you know your child is extra energetic, I wouldn’t take them just yet… but definitely take them at some point. They all loved roaming the rooms and checking everything out.

Neat museum!
I love this museum! I did not have much time to explore in this museum but it was worth a visit!
For admission, adult is $ 2.5 per person and youth pay $ 1, perhaps? I remember, if correctly, young kids could go in for free.
The collection is absolutely amazing and mind blowing! You are not allowed to take photos of exhibits that are behind the glass. However, there is an extensive collection at the gift shop section that you can also purchase.
During winter times, they open from 2pm to 5pm daily (or weekdays only? I cannot really remember!)
I will for sure to come back again!

I was impressed with their array of nutcrackers on display! They have a variety of different kinds that I was surprised like star-​wars to duck nutcrackers. It is 2.50 each for adults and would take you about 20 – 25 mins to see the whole thing if you take your time and look at the displays carefully.
If you’re a fan of nutcrackers, definitely a place to go.

The Nutcracker Museum is completely unreal. I thought it would of been boring, however, there is so much to see. There were thousands of nutcracker statues, historical nut cracker machines, other related antiques, pocket knife collections, Indian Art and some more…
The admission was only $ 2.50, which was a complete shocker. So I purchased merchandise (t-​shirt, but they have other things too). It goes towards maintaining the museum. If you’re in Leavenworth, The Nutcracker Museum is worthwhile.

This has got to be one of the most amazing collections of nutcracker figurines that I’ve ever seen. It has everything from star wars, wizard of oz, firemen, soldiers, to just about anything you can imagine. The store is filled from floor to ceiling with nutcrackers and other cool things to look at. I’d highly recommend paying them a visit when in Leavenworth. Especially during the holiday season.

Unlike some of my fellow Unilocalers, I didn’t find this museum creepy at all (then again, I do love dolls and clowns, so if that makes me a weirdo, then so be it). I loved all of the nutcrackers! I especially loved the Disney themed ones. There were even Star Wars themed nutcrackers. All sorts of nutcrackers! I was surprised there were so many.
For those of you who are Conan fans, Arlene Wagner, the curator of the museum, was Conan’s first guest on his show! I was a bit star struck and I even got a photo with her!

Back in the fall, I took a road trip to Leavenworth, WA to do some shopping, dining, and to take in the local sights in the cool autumn weather. I really enjoy the feeling of being in a Bavarian themed village in the US, no passport required. Leavenworth is very similar to another Bavarian-​like city (Frankenmuth, MI), back east.
While I was in town, I visited the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum, which is open at 2PM to 5PM. It’s very facinating to see lots of colorful and decorative nutcrackers, especially around the holidays! I was excited and «humming» the Nutcracker Suite to myself as I strolled into the museum at opening time (2PM).
Climb up a steep set of stairs and see the biggest collection of nutcrackers on display in one place. There are literally thousands of nutcrackers (wood and metal) on display here. After going through admission, I watched a short video giving an overview of the nutcrackers and the history. The chronology and evolution of the nutcracker dating back to prehistoric times is displayed on the wall. The main purpose of the nutcracker was just that, a tool used to crack open nuts. It is also a collectible as well. The early nutcrackers were most likely two hinged pieces of wood with leather straps. Metals such as bronze, wrought iron, cast iron, and brass were also used in early times to make nutcrackers. I won’t ramble on, so you’ll have to visit the museum.
Afterwards, I took a walk past several long rows of glass display cases of limited edition and unique one-​of-​a kind handcrafted nutcrackers from across the United States and Europe. Many nutcrackers on display here are over a hundred years old and in pretty good condition. I was in awe about how much time, work and dedication goes into crafting the perfect looking nutcracker. It did feel sort of freaky being surrounded by many wooden soldiers staring from behind the glass, almost like being in a sci-​fi flick. On another note, similarly, one of my coworkers has the one of biggest Pez dispenser collections in his home with thousands of little Pez dispensers staring at you, Attack of the Killer Pez, a short film.
Okay, the museum also exposes the counterfeit nutcrackers (made in China) side by side with the real ones and it’s very difficult to tell the difference between real and counterfeit. The counterfeits are typically made with inferior materials and glues and mass produced. I can even go my local Christmas store and buy some colorful nutcrackers at a good price, but most likely made in China.
As for taking photographs, this is not allowed in most of the display areas with a few exceptions clearly marked. I spent a little over an hour here and had an enjoyable time.
I would definitely return to the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum next time I visit Leavenworth again for some good Bavarian shopping and dining.
Review #1900

Do you like stores filled with knick knackity crap?
Do you especially love nutcrackers?
How about overpriced junk?
This is the place for you. Get on it.

Truly one of the scariest places EVER! If you like Nutcrackers you’ll probably like the Museum. If they scare you, you probably won’t.
However the Nutcracker Museum is handicapped accessible.