SEATTLE
CALLING
IS
Conference host
city beckons
with captivating
adventures the
whole family
will enjoy.
www.naesp.org
Y
ou already know that Seattle
will host the only national
conference you’ll need
in 2012: NAESP’s Annual
Conference and Expo—Best
Practices for Better SchoolsTM March
22-24. But you should also know that
the Emerald City offers far more than
coffee and rain; right outside the
convention center, Seattle is calling.
Make the most of this exciting destination by planning a Seattle experience
for yourself and your family.
Must-See Attractions
The Museum of Flight. From the
Wright brothers to outer space, the
wonder of flight comes alive at one
of the world’s largest air and space
museums. With more than 150 historic
aircrafts on display, interactive exhibits,
and activities for the whole family, The
Museum of Flight offers an exciting
experience for the aviation enthusiast
and general visitor alike. Museum
exhibits include a retired British Airways Concorde jetliner, one of three in
the world on display; Air Force One;
and the Personal Courage Wing, which
showcases 28 rare and restored World
Wars I and II fighter aircraft.
Olympic Sculpture Park. This nineacre park features a 2,500-foot descending, Z-shaped path connecting the
Belltown neighborhood in downtown
Seattle with a beach on the waterfront.
The path takes visitors past a range of
permanent and rotating sculptures and
major works by world-renowned artists such as Richard Serra, Alexander
Calder, and Mark di Suvero, while allowing you to take in the scenery offered by
Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. The Gates Amphitheater sits adjacent to the pavilion, featuring descending grass terraces for outdoor films and
performances.
Experience Music Project and
Science Fiction Museum and Hall of
Fame. The brainchild of Microsoft cofounder Paul G. Allen, Experience
Music Project (EMP) is dedicated to
exploring creativity and innovation
in American popular music, from rock
‘n’ roll, to jazz, soul, gospel, country,
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blues, hip-hop, punk, and other
genres. Visitors to the Frank O.
Gehry-designed, 140,000-square-foot
museum can view rare artifacts and
memorabilia and experience the
creative process by listening to musicians tell their stories.
The Science Fiction Museum and
Hall of Fame, which is co-located with
EMP, is a one-of-a-kind collection of
artifacts and memorabilia that includes
works by Isaac Asimov, Ursula Le Guin,
H.G. Wells, George Lucas, Gene Rodenberry, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, and other luminaries of the genre.
Pike Place Market. One of the oldest
continuously operated farmer’s markets
in the U.S., Pike Place Market presides
over a nine-acre historic district in the
heart of downtown Seattle. The market
features fresh fish and produce stands,
arts and crafts, ethnic groceries and gift
stores, vintage clothing, antiques and
collectibles, international restaurants,
and cafes and food bars. Street musicians, sanctioned by the Pike Place
Market Preservation Development
Authority, entertain at designated
locales throughout the market.
Seattle Center. The legacy of the 1962
Seattle World’s Fair, Seattle Center is
a 74-acre urban park and home to the
landmark Space Needle, Pacific Science Center, EMP and Science Fiction
Museum and Hall of Fame, Seattle
Opera, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle
Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre,
Seattle Children’s Theatre, and The
Children’s Museum, Seattle. The Seattle
Center also hosts many of the city’s largest festivals, including Bumbershoot,
the Seattle Arts Festival, the Northwest
Folklife Festival, Magic Giant children’s
festival, the Comcast Bite of Seattle, and
other community events.
Space Needle. The 605-foot Space
Needle observation tower is an everfuturistic icon of Seattle. The Space
Needle features an observation deck at
the 520-foot level with 360-degree views
of the Seattle skyline, Puget Sound, and
the Cascade and Olympic Mountains.
Just below, SkyCity restaurant rotates
on the hour and specializes in Pacific
Northwest cuisine.
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the former U.S. Army’s Fort Lawton,
Discovery Park is Seattle’s largest park
at 534 square acres. Features include
a children’s play area, tennis courts,
picnic tables, wooded trails, and a
visitor center. Stop by the Daybreak
Star Cultural Center to view original
Native American arts and crafts.
Source: www.visitseattle.org
Family Fun
Seattle boasts an abundance of
family-friendly attractions, most of
which are in walking distance from
one another. With more than 400
parks and open spaces, as well as
easy walkability, Seattle is often
considered a top family destination.
The Children’s Museum, Seattle
offers a fun, interactive learning
environment for families with exhibits
such as a Global Village, Mountain
Forest, Imagination Studio, and
Discovery Bay.
Seattle Aquarium features a stunning 40-foot, 55,000-lb. viewing window into a 120,000-gallon aquarium
filled with salmon, colorful rockfish,
vibrant sea anemones, other native
Washington marine life, and interactive divers. Other exhibits include
two pools filled with sea anemones
and sunflower sea stars, a Pacific
coral reef exhibit, marine mammals,
and an underwater dome, the
aquarium’s largest exhibit.
Woodland Park Zoo,
often ranked among the
top zoos in the country, is
famed for setting international standards for animal care and its realistic
landscape exhibits that allow animals
to thrive and be seen in naturalistic environments. Popular exhibits
include an African Savanna, Northern Trail, Tropical Rain Forest, Bug
World, Temperate Forest Zone, Willawong Station, and Australasia Zone.
Discovery Park is located in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood overlooking Puget Sound and the Olympic
Mountain ranges. Occupying most of
GETTING
AROUND
T
he Washington State
Convention and Trade
Center and most of the
convention hotels are located
in downtown Seattle, within
easy walking distance of many
attractions. It’s hilly, so if you
need a rest—or it starts to
rain—you can duck into one
of the city’s ubiquitous coffee
shops, including the original
Starbucks in Pike Place Market.
If walking isn’t your thing,
enjoy free bus rides in the
downtown area. Get on and
off as often as you like. Or
you might take a ride on the
Seattle Center Monorail
that connects downtown with
the Space Needle and other
Seattle Center attractions.
How about a 90-minute
guided land and water tour
of the city on Ride the Ducks,
which carries passengers on
World War II-vintage amphibious vehicles? Or an inexpensive
round trip to nearby Bainbridge
or Bremerton on one of the
Washington State Ferries,
which depart from the
Seattle waterfront?
If you want to try something
different, board the Lake
Washington Dining Cruise
for an unforgettable dining
experience.
www.naesp.org