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Museum of Pop Culture facts for kids

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MoPOP
EMPPano11.jpg
View of MoPOP from Seattle Center with the monorail traveling through it
Established 2000
Location 325 5th Avenue N
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Type Popular culture, music, science fiction, video games
Monorail in EMP
Monorail tracks going through the MoPOP building

The Museum of Pop Culture, or MoPOP for short, is a cool museum in Seattle, Washington. It's all about modern popular culture, like music, movies, video games, and science fiction.

The museum was started by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in the year 2000. Back then, it was called the Experience Music Project. MoPOP has created many awesome exhibits, and 17 of them have even traveled to other cities and countries!

MoPOP also hosts fun events. One is "Sound Off!", a music competition for young bands (under 21). Another is the "Pop Conference," where experts, musicians, and fans talk about music. MoPOP also teams up with the Seattle International Film Festival to put on the Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Film Festival every winter. Since 2007, MoPOP has given out the Founders Award to amazing recording artists who have made big contributions to music.

Awesome Exhibits and Activities

Night Exterior EMP
Nighttime view of MoPOP
Guitar Art at the EMP
Guitar sculpture at MoPOP

MoPOP is packed with exciting exhibits and hands-on activities. You'll find cool art, interactive stations, and lots of ways to learn about pop culture.

  • Amazing Building: The museum building itself is super unique! It was designed by a famous architect named Frank Gehry. It's about 140,000 square feet and has several galleries. Inside, there's a huge screen called the Sky Church, which is one of the biggest indoor LED screens in the world.
  • Pop Culture Fun: The exhibits cover all sorts of pop culture topics. You can explore fantasy art, horror movies, video games, science fiction books, and even costumes from famous films and shows.
  • Get Hands-On: In galleries like the Sound Lab and On Stage, you can try out musical instruments. You can even perform music in front of a virtual audience! It's a great way to feel like a rock star.
  • Guitar Sculpture: Look for "IF VI WAS IX," a giant guitar sculpture. It's made from over 500 musical instruments and 30 computers!
  • Music Legends: MoPOP has the world's largest collection of items from Seattle music legends. You can see artifacts, handwritten song lyrics, personal instruments, and original photos from Jimi Hendrix and the band Nirvana.
  • Learn and Create: MoPOP offers many educational programs. These include workshops, camps for kids, and workshops for teen artists. There's also "Write Out of This World," a sci-fi and fantasy short story contest for students.

MoPOP was also the first place to host a concert and demo program for NIME (New Interfaces for Musical Expression). This became a big international conference about new music technology.

Science Fiction Museum Fun

The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame was also started by Paul Allen, along with his sister Jody Patton. It opened in 2004. The museum had different areas like "Homeworld" and "Fantastic Voyages." Each area showed off cool movie props, first edition books, costumes, and models. People said, "From robots to jet packs to space suits and ray guns, it's all here!"

Famous people like Steven Spielberg, Ray Bradbury, James Cameron, and George Lucas were on the museum's advisory board. Some of the amazing items in its collection included Captain Kirk's command chair from Star Trek and the Death Star model from Star Wars. While the original Science Fiction Museum collection changed in 2011, a new exhibit called Icons of Science Fiction opened in 2012.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame began in 1996. It honors important creators and works in science fiction and fantasy. At first, it only inducted writers and editors. Later, it started to include artists, filmmakers, and other media.

Since 2012, when the "Icons of Science Fiction" exhibit opened, a new Hall of Fame display has been part of MoPOP. The public can suggest who should be nominated for the Hall of Fame.

In 2016, for its 20th anniversary, the Hall of Fame started to include not just creators but also famous works from movies, TV, and games.

Recent Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame Inductions

Many other creators and works were also inducted to celebrate the Hall of Fame's 20th anniversary. These include creators like Jim Henson and George Orwell, and works like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Dungeons & Dragons.

MoPOP's New Name

In November 2016, the EMP Museum announced it was changing its name. It became the Museum of Pop Culture, or MoPOP for short. This new name better reflects all the different types of pop culture the museum celebrates!

Cool Architecture of MoPOP

The Sky Church
An exterior view of the building

MoPOP is located right next to the famous Space Needle in Seattle Center. The Seattle Center Monorail even travels right through the museum building!

The building's design, by Frank Gehry, is very unique. It's made of shiny sheet metal and looks a bit like a smashed electric guitar. Gehry himself said he was inspired by guitar shapes when designing it. The inside of the building also shows off many of its building materials. The central area, called the Sky Church, is named to honor the famous musician Jimi Hendrix. It's a concert venue that can hold up to 800 people.

Aerial view of EMPSFM
Design by Frank Gehry

People in Seattle had mixed feelings about the building's look. Some loved Gehry's bold design, while others found it a bit strange.

Founders Award Celebration

Since 2007, MoPOP has given out the Founders Award. This award celebrates artists who have made important contributions and inspire new generations. The annual event helps raise money for MoPOP's educational programs, community activities, and exhibits.

In 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the award ceremony was held online for the first time. It honored Seattle's own band, Alice in Chains. This online event raised over $600,000 for MoPOP!

Founders Award Recipients
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