Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Spread over five rooms with highly interactive exhibits, the center lays out the
Gates' bios and shows examples of their work around the world (including fighting
malaria in Africa and notable philanthropic activities inside the US). It also offers scope
for plenty of visitor involvement. Various screens and notepads invite visitors to jot
down ideas, help solve tricky problems and lend their own brainpower to the founda-
tion's 'intellectual bank.'
The Gates Foundation transferred over to this new 900,000-sq-ft, $500-million cam-
pus in 2011. Over 1500 staff are accommodated in two sustainable LEED-certified
buildings (with green roofs and recycled rainwater), where they coordinate the ongoing
development work.
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM
MUSEUM
( 206-441-1768;
www.thechildrensmuseum.org
;
305 W Harrison St; adult & child/grandparent
$8.25/7.25; 10am-5pm Mon-Fri, to 6pm Sat & Sun; Seattle Center)
In the basement of
Center House near the monorail stop, the Children's Museum is an anachronistic learn-
ing center that offers activities and displays seemingly imported from an earlier time;
it's a museum that might itself belong in a museum. But it's all very charming, if lack-
ing in modern-day bells and whistles.
INTERNATIONAL FOUNTAIN
FOUNTAIN
( light-show schedule 206-684-7200; Seattle Center)
This is the place to be on sunny
days. With 287 jets of water (recycled, of course) pumping in time to a computer-driven
music system, the International Fountain at the heart of the Seattle Center is a great
place to rest your feet or eat lunch on a warm day. On summer nights there's a free
light-and-music show.
PACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER
MUSEUM
(
www.pacsci.org
; 200 2nd Ave N; adult/child exhibits only $18/13, with Imax $22/17;
10am-5pm Mon-Fri, to 6pm Sat & Sun; Seattle Center)
This interactive museum of science
and industry once housed the science pavilion of the World's Fair. Today the center fea-
tures virtual-reality exhibits, a tropical butterfly house, laser shows, holograms and oth-
er wonders of science, many with hands-on demonstrations. Also on the premises is the
vaulted-screen
Imax Theater
, a laserium and a planetarium.
