Pacific Science Center

The Pacific Science Center is best enjoyed with kids—or those who act like kids, which is pretty much everyone, once they get through the front door.

The Center’s exhibit’s change a few times a year, and focus on promoting interest in different  areas of science, such as chemistry and biology (one of the most popular  installations was its “Grossology” theme, which featured, well, you guessed it…blood and other kinds of awesome body goop).

The permanent collections are always worth a look, even if the current exhibit doesn’t excite you (or turns your stomach). The Center is hands-on, interactive, play-style learning at its best.  Insect Village lets you get close up with tiny arthropods by manipulating giant robot versions.

The 100-square-foot scale model of Puget Sound allows you to see (and in some cases, touch) the animals that call our region home and see how currents, tides and weather affects them. Drive the controls of the animatronic Pneumoferrosaurus in the Dinosaurs hall or play the games in the Body Works area to learn firsthand about your own anatomy and physiology.

The Center is also home to Seattle’s IMAX theater and the Willard Smith Planetarium, and you can choose whether to include tickets to the latest showing or sky show along with your admission.

The highlight of any trip to the Center however, is a walk through the 4,000 square foot immersive Tropical Butterfly House. The house contains literally hundreds of different species of butterflies, all at various stages of development. It’s an unbelievable experience, particularly on a typical gray, rainy Seattle day to stow your coat and bags at the  first door and enter into a tropical ecosystem of exotic plants and dizzying numbers of butterflies.

HelloSeattle Tip: Watch out for puddles on the ground and the plates of fruit tucked around the exhibit to get a good look at a stationary butterfly as its stop for a drink or a snack.

- by Caren Gussoff Sumption, Seattle Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Caren Gussoff Sumption

Caren Gussoff Sumption is a freelance writer and editor from Seattle, WA. She's written for USA Today, the Seattle Times/NW Source, MSN and AOL, and her fiction has been published worldwide. She received her MFA in writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.