The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame is a dark but information-packed place at the foot of the Space Needle. Photos by Reed Parsell/Special to the Review-Journal. The transporter, foreground center, used in the 1960s TV show "Star Trek" is among the artifacts at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. These rubber masks from "The Coneheads" are on display at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame.

SEATTLE --

Science fiction is an acquired taste, as in some people do not buy into the concept of big-headed aliens who want to phone home and starship captains who "materialize" in and out of dodgy situations.

Other people, and you probably know a few, can't get enough of creative intergalactic meanderings, time-traveling mad scientists and people who somehow get trapped in plant pods and emerge as humorless zombies.

The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle definitely will appeal to hard-core sci-fi fans, plus can entertain many of us who have seen a few "Star Trek" episodes and - maybe after a beer or two - have been amused by old "Planet of the Apes" reruns and occasionally were drawn to the old "X-Files" television show for reasons beyond the undeniable appeal of actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson.

Under the shadow of Space Needle a few miles north of downtown, the museum is filled to the gills with memorabilia from old movies and TV programs. Among them:

• Darth Vader's black helmet, as worn by David Prowse (and from whom James Earl Jones' magnificent voice magically came), from "The Empire Strikes Back."

• Four rubber masks that were used in "The Coneheads."

• The "Planet of the Apes" costume worn by Roddy McDowell, whose simian character was known as Cornelius.

• A Star Fleet communicator from the "Star Trek" TV series (1966-69). I overheard one baby boomer say to his friend, as they stood before the exhibit, "As soon as I saw a flip cell phone, I knew I had to have one because of that show."

Earlier, I encountered another reference to that landmark space-adventures show, which starred William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy and inspired several big-screen follow-ups and several offshoot TV series. Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Nyota Uhura on the original show, apparently wanted to quit after the first season. However, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. talked her out of it, saying she had become a role model for black women.

Another display enlightened me about another show from my childhood, "My Favorite Martian" (1963-66). Evidently, it represented some sort of sci-fi evolution for the red-planet crowd.

"In the 1950s, Martians began to lose their menacing reputation and took on more benign roles," an interpretive sign explains. "In this popular television series, the eccentric Martin (portrayed by Ray Walston) provided comic relief."

In general, the museum is an imaginatively arranged homage to all things scientifically speculative. Visitors can breeze through in a half-hour, taking quick peaks at familiar or provocative objects (such as a mesmerizing video tribute to "The Jetsons," "Blade Runner" and the "Matrix" movies on a screen that's as large as a living-room wall). Or they can spend hours in the darkly lit rooms, watching clips from old TV shows (including the 1965 series premiere of "Lost in Space"), clicking computer screens for more information about sci-fi hall of famers (who include Issac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Steven Spielberg, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and Kate Wilhelm) and reading detailed displays that explain how some well-known special effects were realized.

The museum also contains some thoughtful comments from some of science fiction's best writers.

• "The future isn't what it used to be." -- Arthur C. Clarke

• "That which is never attempted never transpires." -- Jack Vance

• "Earth isn't a place, it's an idea." - James Blish

The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, in the Frank Gehry-designed building that also houses Experience Music Project, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays through Sundays (it's closed on Tuesdays). Admission is $12.95 general, $10.95 for military members, and $8.95 for ages 7 through 17 and for seniors. For more information: (206) 724-3428 or www.sfhomeworld.org.