Seattle City Pass, Day 3 (with pictures!)

Day 3 of our being touristy in Seattle: December 15. (apologies again for the late posting)

Today's destinations were the Space Needle, and the nearby EMP/SFM.
Like the previous post, there were quite a few photos, and not a lot of time between uploading, emailing, eating, sleeping, and exploring Seattle further! So instead - just like the zoo post - there will be a link at the end of this post to the Facebook album.

First up, we went to the Space Needle. This was our second time together to the top, but the first time for me that the outdoor balcony was open. A few years ago when we came the first time, it was too windy and they locked the doors. You get great views over Seattle from the balcony. TV science fiction fans may recognise the Space Needle from "Dark Angel" - Max sits on top at night in the opening credits.

The really fast lift takes you up in about 60 seconds. Coming down, you're let out at the gift shop - of course. Here I found some more Lego! Lego apparently has an Architecture range, of famous buildings like the Empire State Building and the Space Needle. Only 50-odd pieces in it, but the end result is a not-too-unlike-the-real-thing 18 centimetre version. Quite cool.


Next up, the Experience Music Project. The EMP and SFM are in the one building, but are designed to appeal to two kinds of nerd. The music nerd and the science fiction nerd. And not just the geeks - the casual observers have a lot of fun as well...

Last time we were here, there was a large Jimi Hendrix exhibition on. This has now moved downstairs into what appears to be a permanent display. Costumes, various items of historical significance (such as Hendrix's own copy of Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" LP, or letters/postcards he wrote while in the Air Force), and guitars. A video screen plays live concert footage in one part of the room. Next to the seats in this area are several small end tables. Built into each one is an iPod - containing EVERY Hendrix studio album, together with lots of live albums and rare recordings. If they'd let me, I could've stayed there for days.

The really big drawcard for the museum this time (for both Kara and myself) was the new special exhibition - Battlestar Galactica! We've just recently made our way through all four seasons of the 2003 TV show.

A handy flowchart synopsis of both versions of the TV show.

After standing on this, a speaker overhead starts playing a certain Dylan cover...

The exhibition covered both the 1978 series and the 2003 series, with plenty of authentic costumes and props from each version. These included three full-size ships: a battle-scarred Mark II Viper, a Mark VII Viper, and a Cylon Raider complete with scanning red light.

The Science Fiction Museum side of the building was undergoing renovations for next year's Avatar exhibition. This meant that only one display hall was open on that side. To make up for this, the Music side of the building had given up one half of its top floor for the Battlestar Galactica exhibition to keep us sci-fi geeks happy.

After leaving the museums, and having some dinner at a nearby McDonalds, we used our second Space Needle stub to go up to the top and take some night shots of downtown.

Speaking of shots, here is the link to the pictures!