Back to the Future

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a ray gun, a robot and an Atom-Bomb house.

Visitors of the Museum of Snohomish County History can explore the history of the future in a new exhibit, “Yesterday’s Tomorrows, Past Visions of the American Future,” opening Saturday.

The traveling Smithsonian exhibit is on view at the museum for eight weeks.

The exhibit explores how people in the past envisioned the future — robots, flying cars and space travel — and how these predictions often missed the mark.

The exhibit uses popular cultural objects such as toys, books and movie stills, and World’s Fair memorabilia to examine the way Americans of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries envisioned the future.

“It has a lot of very familiar imagery for a certain age group that was exposed to popular culture in comic books and Popular Science magazines,” said Eric Taylor, Museum of Snohomish County History executive director. “There’ll be a familiarity in the images they see and in the concepts.”

Additional items of the exhibit include car designs, advertisements and models of architectural designs. Examples on display include futuristic vehicles ranging from atomic-powered automobiles such as the Ford Nucleon to wheel-less, air-propelled vehicles.

In addition to the Smithsonian exhibit, the museum mounts a related exhibit with local significance, “Back to the Future of Snohomish County.” Taylor said the exhibit focuses on how planning for the future happens all the time. Local business and government organizations contributed memorabilia of past plans, schemes and dreams for the region’s future to the exhibit.

The newly expanded museum will present several special programs as part of the exhibit, including a lecture series in October, November and December, and a science fiction film festival on Nov. 5 and 6 featuring sci-fi classics such as “Metropolis,” “Fahrenheit 451” and “Brazil.” Events are free and take place at Everett Public Library.

Taylor said an interactive element was added to the exhibit with the arrival of a flight simulator, installed courtesy of a Microsoft employee.

“There’s a chance to fly different aircraft over different locations,” Taylor said.

One option, he said, is to fly a jet-propelled backpack above New York City.

Taylor hopes the exhibit will raise awareness of the museum within the community and draw a large crowd.

“We’re hoping to get new people in the door and tap into the pedestrian traffic,” he said.

The museum will be open late during home Silvertips games on Wednesdays through Saturdays.

This is the traveling Smithsonian exhibit’s last stop in a year of touring small and rural museums in Washington. Last summer, the exhibit was on display at Shoreline Historical Museum.