Teenaged in Seattle: mom, dad, two boys, and Jimi Hendrix��a recipe for bliss or disaster?

An awesome adventure--that's what I swore we'd have when I took my 13- and 15-year-old sons, James and Sam, and my husband, Jeff, out for a day of family fun in Seattle, even though I knew nothing of the sort. Because teens are notoriously fickle, I plotted a day of cool based on the diverse attractions at or near the Seattle Center: the Experience Music Project, the Space Needle, and the Pacific Science Center. Most important, our day involved a single car trip. If you're staying downtown, you can just hop the Seattle Center Monorail ($3.50 round-trip; www.seattlemonorail.com or 206/905-2620), then let your teens skulk about. Here's how it all went.

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1 Experience Music Project

Arrive early if you want to get your hands on a Fender Stratocaster or jam on drum sets in the Sound Lab. The current star exhibit (through April) is Bob Dylan's American Journey, 1956-1966, with artifacts ranging from rare concert foot-age to one of teen-age Bob's high-school papers (he got a B). It wowed us--as did the Costumes from the Vault exhibit. "Whoa, Jimi Hendrix was short!" James exclaimed. 10-6 Tue-Sun; $20, $15 ages 7-17. 325 Fifth Ave. N.; www.emplive.org or 877/367-5483.

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GRADE:

James: B+ On the swooping Frank Gehry-designed building, "It's supposed to be a smashed guitar, duh."

Sam: A- "The Hendrix exhibit is tight; he was such a cool guy."

Jeff: A "Honey, can I buy an electric guitar?"

2 Space Needle

The Space Needle is so iconic that we had never taken ourselves to the top. The $39 prix fixe brunch menu at the revolving Sky-City at the Needle priced out our family of four. Instead we zoomed up to the Observation Deck (43 seconds), marveling at the 360[degrees] view while helicopters buzzed below us. Open daily, call for hours; $13, $6 ages 4-13. 400 Broad St.; www.spaceneedle.com or 800/937-9582.

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GRADE:

James: B+ "It makes me dizzy."

Sam: B+ Glued to the Observation Deck telescope, "You can totally spy on people with these."

3 Pacific Science Center

I was curious to see how my teenage kids--who as second graders loved the hands-on exhibits here--would fare. All I can say is the human-powered hamster wheel in the outdoor Water Works area hasn't lost its allure, but the rest of the place was a bust. Next time we'll know to buy tickets for an Imax show ($8, $7 ages 3-12). 10-5 Tue-Sun; $10, $7 ages 3-12. 200 Second Ave. N.; www.pacsci.org or 206/443-2001.

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GRADE:

James: B "The naked mole rats are cool."

Sam: B "I really liked this place when I was 6."

Jeff: C+ "Needs a coat of paint."

4 Easy Street Records

After failure, triumph. Easy Street Records is a landmark independent record store with a colossal selection and hipster attitude. Jeff shopped for esoteric CDs, Sam and James lost them-selves in headphone nirvana, and I perused magazines and tried not to stand out like a mom on steroids. A fitting end to a family day that had begun with Dylan's steel-string "Subterranean Homesick Blues." 20 Mercer St.; www.easystreetonline.com or 206/691-3279.

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GRADE:

Sam: A "What a totally cool store with cool posters."

Jeff: A "The staff can find the most obscure CD instantly; they're like human computers who love their jobs."

ILLUSTRATIONS BY TIM CARROLL

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