Foss Waterway Seaport is a maritime museum that adds useful depth to a visit to “Tacoma”. It is a good stop when you want the local story told through objects, buildings, art, machinery, or archaeology rather than another broad city overview.
Allow enough time to read the displays instead of treating it as a rain-plan filler. The strongest reason to come is context: after visiting, the surrounding streets and monuments in “Tacoma” make more sense, and smaller details are easier to notice.