Experience Music Project
Jun 20, 2008, 10:31 AM | Updated: Mar 27, 2011, 10:24 am
At the Experience Music Project not only can visitors learn about the creativity and technology used in popular music, they’ll learn about musicians unique to Seattle.
The Experience Music Project is an interactive museum that includes rare artifacts, memorabilia, and audio stories straight from the musicians themselves.
EMP, developed and funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, opened in 2000. The 140,000 square foot Frank O. Gehry designed building received mixed reviews from architecture critics over its shape and colors. Locals either love it or hate it.
Inside, the building is broken up into different levels and rooms. The permanent exhibits include Northwest Passage, focusing on the Seattle area’s musical history, Guitar Gallery, exploring the history of the modern guitar, and Sound and Vision, a collection of videotaped interviews. Interactive areas include sound labs with instruments and recording technology. The stage allows you to show off your newly discovered talents.
In 2004, EMP added the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, which celebrates science fiction media and literature and new ideas about the future. The Hall of Fame recognizes science fiction’s writers, artists and filmmakers.
After touring the musical past, testing your own talents and paying homage to the past and future of science fiction, it might be the perfect time to take a ride on Seattle’s monorail. You might have noticed that the quick moving train travels right through the middle of EMP.
