The Spheres: A Seattle Must see!

Everyone has heard of the Seattle Space Needle, but there is rarely mention of The Spheres located in Seattle. If you head out to Seattle on vacation, you do not want to miss heading into this enchanting indoor plant home. Read on to learn why you’ll want to head out to The Spheres, and get some tips before you head out!

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What are The Spheres?

I came across The Spheres while doing a search of things to do in Seattle. I had never heard anyone talk about The Spheres and was curious.

The spheres were created by Amazon. That’s right, the very company that only delivers to my home once a month 😉 Amazon created The Spheres in order to create a work environment that includes and embraces nature (source: The Spheres website).

The Spheres are made up of three large sphere-shaped glass structures. According to the website, The Spheres contain over 40,000 plants from over 30 different countries.

This means that you will likely see plants you have never seen before. I know that we did!

When can you go inside The Spheres?

The Spheres are open to the public only two Saturdays each month.

You must obtain reserved tickets to enter The Spheres on either of these days.

Tip: Tickets are released 30 days before a date that The Spheres are open to the public. These tickets go quickly, so I highly recommend that you set a reminder on your phone to visit the website the morning that the tickets are first released.

How much does admission cost?

Tickets are FREE! The only catch is that you have to reserve them before they sell out 😉

What is it like inside The Spheres?

I felt that walking into The Spheres was like walking into a scene from Avatar.

You walk in and immediately find yourself surrounded by multiple levels of greenery, including a huge wall of living green plants.

There are multiple walkways and paths within each floor. It is really fun to walk through the paths and find moss covered rocks and exotic plants.

There are docents available throughout The Spheres to answer any questions you might have about the building or the plants!

Temperature

I would describe the temperature as a tropical climate. It is warm enough to walk around without a jacket or sweater.

Is this place kid friendly?

Absolutely! My kids loved it and were just as amazed as we were when we walked in. However, be aware that nobody is allowed to touch the plants! This wasn’t a problem for us, but I can see how this might be problematic for others.

The kids loved the little stepping stone area, and seats shaped as large rocks. I mean, wouldn’t you?!

The kids also loved the tree house feel of one of the upper levels. You could walk on wooden bridges around the tree, sit inside a wooden seating area, and even get a bird’s eye view of the building.

Helpful Tips for your Visit:

Travel light: There is no bag or coat check, and bags must be limited to 12″x 12″ or smaller.
Take a camera or fully charged phone! I think it’s obvious, but you’ll want to take plenty of pictures 😉 You can stand in front of a wall of plants for an Instagram-worthy picture, or just get beautiful pictures of the plants and the buildings.

If you’re hungry: You can grab food at the café inside if it’s open during your timed pass.
Get a picture with The Spheres sign: The Spheres sign located on the top floor. Be sure to verify that the person taking the picture includes the sign between you and your party. There was a huge line, and we failed to communicate that we wanted the sign in the picture 😉
Visit EVERY single level! We honestly had no idea that each level has a different set up or thing to see. For example, we would have missed seeing the beautiful tree tops and the bird’s eye view if we hadn’t climbed to the top! There is also a nice sitting area and “The Spheres” sign on one of the top floors.