You’ve already seen the fish fly at the Pike Place Market and you have enough pictures of the Space Needle to last you a lifetime. So what does Seattle have to offer the parent looking to entertain their science-loving child?
Here are some ideas:
Pacific Science Center
Nothing will delight your budding scientist more than a visit to the Pacific Science Center. The facility is home to not one, but two, IMAX theaters. There’s also a planetarium, robotic dinosaurs, a butterfly house and an insect village. For the budding broadcast journalist the Pacific Science Center has an in-house kid-friendly TV studio, a tech zone, and for your future veterinarian there is an assortment of animal exhibits, which house ferrets, guinea pigs, reptiles, amphibians and everyone’s favorite, a colony of naked mole rats. The Center is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and until 6 p.m. on weekends. Tickets: $10 for adults, $8.50 for seniors, $7 for kids 3-12, and free for kids under 3.
The Museum of Flight
Just south of downtown Seattle is where you will find the massive Museum of Flight. Your young aviator will be flying high in this museum chock full of mint-condition airplanes. The gigantic building also houses one of the rare and recently retired Concorde supersonic jets, the first Air Force One, a Viking Mars Lander, Wright Brothers memorabilia, motion simulators and a 3 million-cubic-foot, six-story glass and steel exhibit hall that’s home to a Lockheed M-21 Blackbird and 38 other full-size historic aircraft. History buffs will love touring the Personal Courage wing exhibits, which feature 28 rare World War I and World War II fighters, including aircraft from the internationally renowned Champlin Fighter Collection. The museum also hosts a number of workshops and fly-ins. The Museum of Flight is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (open until 9 p.m. the first Thursday of each month). Admission: $14 for adults, $13 for seniors (65 and over), $7.50 for youths 4 and over, and free for kids under 4.
Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame
It’s one stop shopping (or in this case, learning) when you visit the Experience Music Project and the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, which are located in the same building. The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame is filled with out-of-this-world exhibits, including spaceships, spacesuits, space aliens, and numerous interactive displays. Your kids will love seeing Captain Kirk’s Command Chair from the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise, plus the props and costumes from Blade Runner, Planet of the Apes, Lost in Space and other science fiction movies and TV shows. Tickets for the Museum and Hall of Fame are: $12.95 for adults; $8.95 for seniors and youth (7-17); 6 and under free.
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