Jason and I found ourselves in Seattle this weekend, so while Teka explored the geekiness of Rose City ComicCon, we sought out some geekiness of our own in the Emerald City.
.@KallenDewey here, tweeting briefly to say I'm going to @empmuseum today& looking forward to the #scifi exhibit! (I hear there's a dalek)
— GeekyLibrary (@GeekyLibrary) September 22, 2013
The EMP Museum, located in Seattle Center is home to the “Icons of Science Fiction” exhibit, and although it isn’t a huge exhibit, it contains plenty of geeky treasures.

Right next to a Uhura’s dress, worn by Nichelle Nichols, was another artifact from my favorite television show; the Command Chair from the bridge of the original Enterprise.
And how many icons do you recognize? (from the exhibit sign @EMPmuseum) #scifi pic.twitter.com/PwigvF81hu
— GeekyLibrary (@GeekyLibrary) September 22, 2013
Although many artifacts from television and movies were displayed, the contribution of literature was not neglected in any way.
“Each of the featured questions in Icons of Science Fiction highlights two works of literature that explore the question, and are among the most important and enjoyable works in the field.” -From “Icons of Science Fiction” exhibit description.
The questions, artifacts, and books were arranged in a well-curated way. For example, for the question “What if we could explore the stars?” right next to Colonel Jack O’Neill’s ID badge and goggles from the series Stargate SG:1, was displayed the book “Tunnel in the Sky” by Robert Heinlein.
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They even had a section where people could take a break to check the books out for themselves.

The sci-fi exhibit was impressive, and eventually I found what I came for.
I found the Dalek! (GeekyLibrary Crew member @KallenDewey). #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/e2vj99NNGY
— GeekyLibrary (@GeekyLibrary) September 22, 2013
However, the EMP didn’t stop there. In addition to the sci-fi exhibit, they featured even more amazing things in “Can’t Look Away: The Lure of the Horror Film” and “Fantasy: Worlds of Myth and Magic.”
The Fantasy exhibit was extremely impressive, and I’m not even necessarily talking about the displays. It was too dark to take many pictures, but the very architecture is part of the exhibit, from a mythical forest, to a cave with a (very large) sleeping dragon, and a mighty castle.
The displays weren’t shoddy either.
"My name is Inigo Montoya…" (@EMPmuseum) pic.twitter.com/oaFKsmzoJg
— GeekyLibrary (@GeekyLibrary) September 22, 2013
All in all, it was an exciting trip. If you are thinking about going, I would definitely recommend it!
- I admit, I spent a long time staring at this and testing my geek cred.
- Crew member Jason is standing next to the suit worn by Christopher Reeve in Superman IV. Suit is cool, even if the movie wasn’t.
- The Terminator Skull from Terminator 2 is still very very scary in person.
- The outfit of Xena, Warrior Princess in all it’s glory.
- Apparently, the cowardly lion costume(featured here) is made out of real lion pelts and was therefor extremely heavy and difficult to act in.
- Always consult your periodic table of magic.
What! You went here without me 🙁