Museum of Pop Culture

This sheet-metal fever dream by architect Frank Gehry is like a rock-and-roll Guggenheim, home to interactive exhibits that span music, sci-fi, fantasy, animation, video games, and other scrambled bits of modern life. A hands-on studio lets kids and grown-ups mess with real instruments and studio hardware. Originally intended to honor Jimi Hendrix, the building’s design echoes one of the legend’s smashed guitars (most obviously when viewed from atop the Space Needle). Critic Herbert Muschamp once accused it of “looking like something that crawled out of the sea, rolled over and died,” but visitors often enjoy the jumble of color and distorted reflections—perfect for quirky selfies!

This sheet-metal fever dream of architect Frank Gehry is like a rock ’n’ roll Guggenheim, home to interactive and innovative exhibits that span music, sci-fi and fantasy, animation, video games and other scrambled bits of pop culture. A hands-on studio lets kids and grownups mess with real instruments and studio hardware. Adult entrance costs $25, with some temporary exhibitions costing extra.

Seattle Center’s most well known attraction is, of course, the Space Needle. Yet make sure you mark out plenty of time in your day to stroll over to its young, brash neighbor: the EMP Museum. This sheet metal fever dream of Frank Gehry is home to a museum of rock and roll, sci-fi, and other scrambled bits of pop culture. A hands-on studio lets kids and grownups mess with some real, live instruments and studio hardware.