The Seattle city center area is home of the Space Needle, the Museum of Pop Culture, the Chihuly Garden and Glass installation and the “Artists at Play” playground. Also in the area were several other attractions that we didn’t have time for in our allotted day. It was quite a lot to take in; I about wore out the shutter button on my camera as we bounced from exhibit to exhibit.
Before we started our vacation, we had a few hearty debates as to whether actually venturing up into the Space Needle would be worth the admission price. Hands down, that answer is yes. The perspective offered from the Needle anchors the geography and general layout of some of the city streets in my head in a way that Google Maps could never do justice. The breathtaking views of the cityscape along with various installations of art and culture from above were icing on the cake.
We had a lot of fun posing against the glass and generally just taking in the sights. Probably could have spent the whole morning up in the clouds observing everyone. The mid-century modern vibe was really interesting especially within the interior circular ramps and staircases.
The Museum of Pop Culture is an amazing modern looking museum that should have been equally impressive on the inside. The exhibits inside didn’t exactly wow us with any one collection. The design and experiences within the Indi Game Revolution exhibit was a kid favorite, but the playable games within that room were hard to understand and experience. The science fiction and TV horror exhibits delivered on the nostalgia front and the playable musical instruments in the Sound Lab exhibit upstairs was a good way to close out the afternoon.
We were all exhausted by the time we arrived back at our hotel. But the family had just enough good spirit left for one last portrait in front of the monorail sign before headed back. I had to promise not to take any more photos for at least twelve hours after all the shutter bugging. =)
