Why haven’t I heard about this before?
Too bad our vacation plans are already booked.:
http://www.sfhomeworld.org/
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040614/ap_on_sc/sci_fi_museum&e=1&ncid=
aw MAN!!!
I can’t do it, but I know if I don’t, somebody else will!
So i’ll be the first.
‘ahhh, a 1920’s style death ray!’
ok, now that’s out of the way [wipes fevered brow and returns to regular posting]
Wow! Yeah, that’s going on the list of vacation spots to visit someday. Is anyone near this? Any opinions yet? I’m really curious whether it’s a cool intersting museum or a rich computer guys splurge.
I may get to it while I am in Washington next month. Its definitely on my list of things to attempt!
It’s another Paul Allen creation…and EMP is, well, underwhelming. No plans to go.
I like the sound of this place.
I sure hope, though, that they don’t give short shrift to the comic book genre. From the looks of the web site, it seems to be completely ignored, although I’m willing to make allowance for the face that the place is new and those elected to their Hall of Fame are the titans of science fiction literature.
I’m only two to three hours south of there; I’ll definitely have to make a trip up there to see this, if nothing else.
This may decide our plans for our trip to the PNW. We were going to drive out… but we may fly out, rent a car and see the sights.
However, if we’re already going to drive 1800 miles, what’s another 300?
EMP has it’s good spots… some interesting tidbits, and honestly the Skychurch is amazing for concerts.
I might go see this later this month. If I do I’ll report back.
I’ve never been to the EMP (I have trouble working up $19.95 worth of interest in the subject–I’d definitely go if it weren’t for the high admission price), but I signed up to be a member of the SFM. It’s way too small for the subject, and I don’t trust Paul Allen all by himself, but look at the Advisory Board they’ve signed up. The chair is Greg Bear, presently the most sucessful SF author living up here, and they’ve got all the names. I’m particularly interested in Forrest J. Ackerman, since he owns the world’s largest collection of Sci Fi and SF memorabilia. If they can get him to bequeath that collection (or a significant part of it), they’ll really have something. Of course, they’ll need to build the museum its own building to display all that, but that’s cool with me. The lot across 5th Ave. from the EMP is ripe for some urban renewal, and they can build a nice skybridge with moving walkways a la The Jetsons.
Members were given a beer/wine/hors d’ oeurvre preview. Unfortunately, I got there a little late and had to rush through the exhibit areas. They do indeed have some cool stuff. Much of it comes from Paul Allen’s own collection (as does a lot of the EMP stuff). I want to be a billionaire, so I can have so many great tchotchkes.
In an hour or so, I’m going down to the Grand Opening to get a better look, and to attend the presentation by Lawrence Krauss (the physicist who wrote The Physics of Star Trek). I’m afraid I don’t own any of the books by the great authors they’re having down there for a huge autograph session as I write this, so I didn’t bother to go. I do a lot of my reading from the library nowadays, which means I lack the necessary substrates for signing.
If your local NPR station gets the show Science Friday, they taped a show from the grand opening this morning. It seems most stations air that show in the evenings, so you can tune in later to get the opinions of the host.
“Mostly, SFM is a collection of junk that could have come straight off the floor of a 17-year-old Paul Allen’s bedroom…” – from the Stranger, Seattle’s best free alternative weekly. Further comments:
To me, it sounds like yet another Paul Allen wankfest. I think I’ll have to pass.
Actually, the Hot Wheels package in question is a minature model of the same rover. Still not too important, but not too far off the theme of that particular display.
I’ve just gotten back. I got a surprise when I picked up my ticket–for today only, SFM tickets also got you into the EMP. I knew this would probably be the only time I’d go through it, so I tried to spend as much time on the music side as I could. But I still couldn’t get too interested. There’s some great stuff there, but still less than twenty bucks of fun for a music-addled person like me. I sure wished I’d gone through with one of my musician friends–that would have enhanced the experience for me.
I think that the SFM is cool, but I don’t think I’d recommend anyone coming to Seattle just to see it. If you’re here anyway, however, it’s worth a couple of hours. Check the website for any special events. I think I’ll be going to as many of the free-for-members things as I can manage to attend. The Lawrence Krauss lecture was fun.
I did, however, find an error in one of the displays. They refer to the protagonist of Ender’s Game as “Ender Wiggins.” Nitpicky, but annoying.