Seattle, Washington: Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's great wealth of sci-fi props and memorabilia from TV, movies, and books.

The upper floor of the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame is now an exhibit about the film Avatar. The lower floor, according to its press spokesperson, is hosting an exhibit titled, "The Lure of Horror Films."

At some point in 2012 some of the former sci-fi exhibits will return, although the museum hasn't yet figured out how many or how much space they'll be allotted. And the Hall of Fame part has to be crammed in there somehow, too. When we asked why the old museum disappeared, the spokesperson said: 1) "to let the artifacts rest" (for preservation); and 2) because the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame had remained relatively the same since 2004, which was long enough -- although we can't figure out why it couldn't just swap in some new exhibits, like most museums, rather than blowing itself up.

Update: In June 2012 most of the classic artifacts were put back on display for good, according to the museum.