EMP’s Fantasy Exhibit

Tara Throne

If you find yourself in Seattle, you’ve gotta check out the EMP Museum’s new Fantasy exhibit. This exhibit is the third and final part of their permanent exhibit’s redesign that focuses on exploring our hopes, fears, and dreams. Our hopes are found in the Sci-Fi exhibit,  our fears in the Horror exhibit, and now our dreams can live in the Fantasy exhibit.

I had the pleasure of checking out the exhibit and partaking in opening night festivities this past Friday, and I had a great time! (I swear, I didn’t have to fight anyone to win a seat atop this throne!)

EMP Fantasy

The exhibit itself was well laid out with beautiful features like straw on the floor, metal sheeting on an in-exhibit house, a dragon’s cage (complete with dragon with glowing eyes and a nice soft purr!), and fun secret areas kids or small adults can climb through.

The movie/tv props all look amazing in person–I was impressed with the quality of the weapons and  costumes and enjoyed seeing items from The Princess Bride, Xena, Snow White and the Huntsman, Harry Potter, and many others, up close. I also loved seeing the hand written manuscripts and notes from J.R.R. Tolkien, and the comparison of a page from George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” with the same scene in script form for the show “Game of Thrones.”

In addition to props and artifacts, the exhibit teaches people more about the Fantasy genre, and allows you to complete interactive activities like building your own map. (For those interested, you can then save and print out your map to take home!)

You can find out more about the exhibit and the museum as a whole at EMPMuseum.org. Check it out! (And while you’re there, make sure you also check out the sci-fi and horror exhibits. They’re all extremely well done.)

3 Comments

  1. Boy, you look right at home on that throne! I love the Hopes, Dreams, Fears concept. What a cool museum.
    This is making me want to re-think my next vacation spot… I’ve always wanted to visit Seattle (and Vancouver) and I’m a big sci-fi/fantasy fan.

    (FYI – Excellent reading suggestions in the Icons of Sci-fi part of their website)

  2. I didn’t even know that the fantasy exhibit existed! I’ve only been to the EMP once, and I saw the sci-fi exhibit and the horror exhibit and loved them both, so I guess it’s time for me to visit again.

  3. It sounds like it! Yeah the Fantasy exhibit just opened up; those pics were from the opening night party. You’ll have to let me know what you think next time you go!

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