Pacific Science Center

Get the membership for the special event, come back for the regular exhibits.

Last year, we visited the Pacific Science Center for the Terracotta Warriors exhibit. When doing so, we purchased a family membership. The economics of this are great. Firstly, you are supporting a great facility. Secondly, it is a better deal.
Here is how we managed ours:

Family Membership: $139

• 2 named adults
• 1 unnamed adult (+$20 must be accompanied by a named adult)
• 6 children (must be accompanied by a named adult)
• 8 guest passes
• 15 IMAX tickets

For a single visit we would have been paying:

• 3 Adults @ $23.95 = $71.85
• 5 Youth @ $17.95 = $89.75

As you can see, the price is already above that of a membership. Add into that the discount for event tickets such as the Terracotta Warriors exhibit plus the included IMAX and guest passes and you have saved more than half of the price. 

Even if you were to only want to visit one time with two friends, your admission would be $71.85 for three adults and no IMAX or $98.10 with the IMAX, where you could get a single membership for $89 including the IMAX and 2 guest passes. The value gets better if you come back.

The IMAX tickets are for documentaries, but they are very nicely done and worth catching.

On the Terracotta Warriors exhibit, I will say that it was amazing. In Seattle, early in the American tour, there was only a rope barrier between us and the items on display. Later a sturdier barrier was added due to an incident of theft.

So, our return yesterday was just to take advantage of the last day of our annual membership, free but for parking and fuel. Total bonus. I got to visit the planetarium for the first time in more than a decade. Some of the exhibits are aging, I remember a couple of them from when I was a child. But they are adding some new items on a regular basis. 

If you live in Western Washington, or are visiting Seattle, make it a part of the tour especially if you have younger folk in tow. There are a lot of interactive displays and can be fun for young and old alike. If you do the math, it is usually worth a membership