Seattle's Science Fiction Museum

Looking for some indoor educational fun now that the rain is back? This winter, check out Seattle's new Science Fiction Museum. Small enough not to be overwhelming to the little ones, the museum is filled with eye candy and interactive displays to delight the entire family. Even if you don't consider yourself a science fiction fan, it's fascinating to see how this literature of ideas has shaped popular culture, politics, and scientific exploration.

Stepping into the museum, you enter a softly lit room with a video globe displaying clips from science-fiction movies and documentaries. Across the room is the Hall of Fame, with laser-cut images of illustrious science fiction writers like Isaac Asimov and Ursula K. Le Guin. High above, LED stars twinkle. The walls are lined with props from famous movies and television shows, as well as vintage books and memorabilia. Included in the collection are Captain Kirk's chair from the original Star Trek, costumes from Babylon Five, Harlan Ellison's typewriter, and much, much, more.

All the artifacts are protected behind acrylic panels, and the exhibits go down to toddler eye-level, so you can let the little ones out of the stroller to explore.

Older children can research books and authors in the interactive Hall of Fame workstations. There's also a timeline mapping science fiction ideas to real-life events. A Mars exhibit discusses how exploration of the red planet was inspired by science fiction.

The second level of the museum is equally child-friendly. Rumbling speakers under the floor give you the feeling you're stepping onto a moving space ship. A virtual space-dock animates dozens of famous ships from science fiction stories and movies and lets you pull up a heads-up display of each ship. The controls are intuitive and easy enough for a toddler to use.

Use the spacesuit exhibition as a jumping off point to discuss space exploration, or simply enjoy the humorous conversation between Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet and the robot from the Lost in Space television series (created from actual dialogue clips). Observant visitors will notice the queue of robots is vainly trying to pass through a metal detector into the "spaceport" section of the museum.

Breastfeeding moms and parents of sleepy children and will appreciate the gallery tucked away in a side alcove. Padded benches invite you to linger and listen to soothing instrumental music while you view gorgeous paintings by some of science fiction's best artists.

The museum has bathrooms halfway in, and padded benches throughout where harried parents and weary children can rest. Elevators make stroller access easy.

The only potentially scary thing for young ones is a full-sized model of an alien queen from the movie Aliens at the end. Children who have not seen the movie, however, tend to react to it as they would a dinosaur display.

Overall, the Science Fiction Museum has a peaceful, dreamy quality. Filled with wondrous things and fun and educational displays, it's the perfect rainy-day outing, or wind-down after a whirlwind of other Seattle Center activities.

From September through May, the museum is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday-Thursday, and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday (closed Mondays). Admission for adults is $12.95, children seven and older, $8.95, and best of all, kids six and under are free! For more information, see the Science Fiction Musuem's website.