Spock is represented. Kirk, too.

Deep Space Nine and the Millennium Falcon are docked on the premises, and Rick Deckard's flying police car from "Blade Runner" is parked inside. Darth Vader is in the house, as is the alien from "Aliens" and Robby the Robot from "Forbidden Planet." Should malfeasance take root among these nefarious characters, there's no shortage of projectile launchers, plasma rifles and plain old ray guns on display in the armory. If things get out of hand, the tree of eternal life from Darren Aronofsky's "The Fountain" is stashed away in the attic.

I first visited the Science Fiction Museum shortly after it opened its pod-bay doors in June of 2004. I liked it well enough, but at the time I couldn't imagine paying another visit. The admission price was too steep, the collection too "Star Trek"-heavy, and the space itself was simply too small for a subject so, um, universal. But if reading and watching science fiction has taught us anything, it's that reality has a way of changing before our eyes.

Recently the SFM lowered its admission price ($15 now admits you to both the SFM and the adjoining Experience Music Project) and even began offering free admission on the first Thursday of every month. The space problem was addressed with the opening of a big upper-level temporary-exhibition gallery, currently hosting "Out of this World", a show of classic sci-fi and fantasy costumes and props.

In the wake of my second visit, I am pleased to report that efforts are being made to keep the museum current. The Hall of Fame wall adds new names every year. Props from recent movies and television shows, including "I, Robot" and "Battlestar Galactica," have found their way into the collection. And the thing I like most about SFM -- namely, the way it brings every starship and ray-gun prop back to its origins on the printed page -- has only strengthened over time. The real stars of the SFM are the unremarkable typewriters, first-edition manuscripts and scribbled notes belonging to Heinlein, Bradbury, Le Guin, Lucas. They're displayed with the reverence due to crown jewels.

As for the collection's dominant "Star Trek" aspect that so annoyed me on my first visit -- well, that hasn't changed. There's still more "Trek" stuff than anything else, from tricorders to Tribbles. The bulk of SFM's collection comes from Paul Allen's hobby room, and as the construction cranes around town remind us daily, Paul Allen is a Vulcan. Still, he should be commended for allowing the Science Fiction Museum to live long and prosper.

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