Cutting edge science facilities, most of the time, look way cooler than science fiction. If you want to see some really stunning pictures you might want to start with this list of 5 facilities. Also, Popular Science has this incredible gallery of badass lab pictures. Finally, I would like to contribute my own picture from the Very Large Array, inspired by the movie Contact:
—
O would that we could turn back to our base
now that we realize what our space-ship is:
a little bubble in the glass of Godhead.
-Aniara
Minus Two Fish 