Exhibit: Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination
Created by: Boston Museum of Science & Lucasfilm Ltd.
Location: Museum of Science and History, Fort Worth, TX
Presented by: Bose Corporation
Reviewed by Lady Aeryn.
It's not every day that Star Wars comes to you -- or in my case, within three hours of me. When I found out the "Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination" traveling exhibit was coming to the Ft. Worth, Texas Museum of Science and History this summer, I knew there was no way I wasn't going. After going, I can easily say that if you live within reasonable -- or heck, even slightly unreasonable -- driving distance of one of the remaining cities on this exhibit's schedule, it's well worth making the time to check out.
"Imagination" is a self-paced walk-through exhibit that employs an extensive collection of props and costumes from all six Star Wars films to illustrate examples of corresponding advances in real-life modern technology. This exhibit easily had a greater wealth of artifacts than the Lucasfilm Archives at Celebration IV earlier this year (in hindsight, I wonder if this wasn't part of why things were so relatively spare in Los Angeles). Luke's landspeeder from A New Hope, which you see immediately upon entering the exhibit (looking just as beaten-up as it did in '77) is but the beginning. If you ever wanted to see Boba Fett's blaster, Palpatine's lightsaber, the inside of Vader's helmet, or a Wookiee's toenails up close and personal, or design your own Mos Eisley or Artoo -- this is your chance.
The exhibit is organized into sections, each dedicated to a specific aspect of Star Wars life/technology and its modern Earth counterpart: spacecraft/hovercraft, life in extreme environments like Hoth or Tatooine, robotics, and so forth. Near models of Luke's X-wing, the Tantive IV, and the Millennium Falcon are models of Earth hoverplanes and rockets; next to Artoo and Threepio are robots that can speak and recognize faces as well as little Roomba robot vacuum cleaners; next to Vader's suit, Anakin's robotic arm from Attack of the Clones, and a 2-1B Rebel medical droid are real-life self-correcting prosthetic limbs, synthetic skin, and even a prototype for a cybernetic human heart. Looking at these, it's not so hard -- at least it wasn't for me -- to imagine that one day not too far from now we might actually have a "fully functional" Artoo or Threepio walking around our planet.
Most of the displays include an informative behind-the-scenes video featuring interviews and insights from cast and crew of the Star Wars films as well as experts in the scientific fields highlighted in the exhibit. Additional video and sound bites are available on the optional self-guided multimedia tour, which my sister and I purchased at the beginning of the tour for $5 each, and was well worth it.
There're also a number of hands-on displays one can easily lose a lot of time at. In the Tatooine section (not far from costumes for Anakin, Padme, a Jawa, and male/female Tusken Raiders) there's a row of computer consoles where visitors can design their own spaceport or moisture farm as part of a virtual community. Near the end of the exhibit is an area where you can design and test your own robots. The very end of the exhibit is the most dangerous hands-on part of it all (especially for your wallet): the exhibit store! (Afterwards I learned that some stops on this exhibit's tour had included a life-size flight simulator experience of the Millennium Falcon's cockpit, but unfortunately I saw no sign of in Ft. Worth. The Anakin-phile in me was also bummed that his Revenge of the Sith costume had no gauntlet in sight, but these instances were hardly a detraction from the overall impressiveness of the exhibit.)
Prior to visiting this exhibit I wasn't terribly excited about the "real-life" science part of it all -- I wanted to see the the pretty costumes and props. As we walked through, though, my sister and I both found ourselves fascinated by the non-Star Wars side of it too. You can spend an hour in the exhibit and catch most of the interesting material there; we easily spent nearly two hours. Flash photography is allowed, so don't forget your camera. And don't be afraid to show your fannish side -- just as great as getting the chance to be both educated and entertained by our favorite movies, this is a chance to share in the geekery with others just as devoted. Even some of the museum staff had gotten into it, wearing Star Wars t-shirts or Jedi robes. Those who are just casual fans of the series, though, should get enjoyment out of this too.
The exhibit is currently set to leave Ft. Worth on September 3, 2007. Its next stop is at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago from October 2007 to January 2008, with stops in Minneapolis and Philadelphia to come in later 2008.
