Star Trek – The Exhibition
by Philip Chien
A travelling display, “Star Trek – The Exhibition”, has been thrilling “Star Trek” fans at various museums, buoyed by the interest in the new “Star Trek” movie. The exhibit, produced by Premier Exhibitions under license from CBS consumer products, includes a variety of costumes and props from the various “Star Trek” television series and movies and very realistic replicas of classic sets.
The Detroit Science Center in Michigan has had the exhibit since February and it’s scheduled to run through November 2009. Does “Star Trek” have a place in a science museum? From the museum’s point-of-view it’s a way to get more visitors through its doors and while “Star Trek” fans may come just for the fictional series they may get interested in the other exhibits. In addition the “Star Trek” exhibit includes information on how “Star Trek”’s fictional universe relates to the real universe and where it’s possible (advanced communications and computers, etc.) and where it’s impossible (faster than life travel, inertial dampners, etc.). In addition there’s background information on the actual space program.
The exhibition does vary from city-to-city depending on the physical space available. For example, the Detroit version only features the captain’s chair from “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, but other cities with more space may include a full size replica of the Enterprise 1701-D bridge set.
Costumes are encouraged and many science fiction clubs have gone together in costume.
The exhibit starts with an optional (extra cost) simulator ride, a two-person shake-em-up flight simulator. You can’t be claustrophobic (you’re completely closed in) and you’re shaken like a tennis ball in a dryer. It’s not very realistic (just a two dimensional computer-generated movie) and the science is really really really bad (among other things Jupiter’s moon Io has far too great a gravitational field). It’s just an action ride where you’re in a small shuttle being attacked by the Borg and the Enterprise comes to your rescue. *yawn*.
Far more interesting is the actual attraction, especially if you’re interested in “Star Trek”’s history. Some of the displays are replicas of the actual props and shooting models used during the making of the television series and movies, not the actual items. There are actual items including costumes, some props, and various set decorations.
There are a many signs with information about the exhibits and information about the real space program. While they are informative there are many mistakes. In particular astronaut Alan Shephard’s name is misspelled “Shepherd” many times; in once case it’s spelled correctly in one instance and incorrectly in another – in the same sentence!
The exhibit includes costumes, props (items the actors handle), set dressing (items in the background), models used for filming, portions of sets, and display models. I was extremely impressed with the incredible amount of detail in a filming model of the Borg cube.
Spend time to look at the incredible amounts of details in the graphics. “Star Trek”’s graphic displays have always had a lot of detail, much of it too small to see on a television screen, or even a full-size movie screen. There are plenty of inside jokes with the names of the production staff hidden in the displays.
You are not allowed to take photos within the exhibit, but there are three places where you can have your photo taken – the original Enterprise bridge, the transporter room from “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, and the Guardian. These are incredibly accurate sets and a lot of fun, especially for families with small kids. It’s hard to believe that the “Star Trek” bridge set was designed over 40 years ago. While it’s certainly has a retro design feel, it looks like it could be a mockup of a functional bridge on a large ship.
The transporter room features a live “special effect.” When you stand on the platform you’re instructed to look at a video monitor where you see a live video of yourself inside the transporter. The transporter operator adjusts a control and you “disappear” on the video monitor. It’s a simple effect and only young kids will find it exciting.
The Guardian is the two story high bagel-shaped artifact from the classic original series episode “City on the Edge of Forever.” In that episode McCoy is transported back in time from the 23rd century to Earth in the 1930s where he accidentally changes history. Kirk and Spock have to follow McCoy through time to restore the original timeline. It’s often cited as one of the best “Star Trek” episodes.
Other items on display include a captain’s chair from a Klingon ship and a curved corridor from the Enterprise from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” where you can look into Captain Picard’s office.
The “History of the Future” features 15 panels – one for each of the five television series and ten movies. Strangely they’re arranged chronologically from right to left.
The last hall features a set of models of the various ships named Enterprise (naval vessels, the space shuttle prototype, and the various spaceships) and the various key ships in the television series and movies (Zefram Cochrane’s first starship, NX-01 Enterprise from the series “Enterprise”, NCC-1701 Enterprise from the original television series, the later versions of Enterprise from the movies and “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, the Deep Space Nine space station, and Voyager.
A model of “Constellation”, NASA’s planned replacement for the space shuttle, is mounted above the exhibit’s exit.
The museum’s website has a scavenger hunt, with the answers on various displays throughout the exhibit, but the author of the scavenger hunt needed to do some better research – and better grammar. One question reads, “The transporter is a key invention for Star Trek but the Star Fleet never said what phrase on the Show?”
There are teacher’s guides you can download through the museum’s website. It’s questionable how much real science is being taught. One question reads, “Calculate how many gallons of gas it would take to drive your car to the planet Venus.” It’s a simple math problem for an elementary school student. But in terms of rockets it’s an absurd question that has no meaning. It’s about as absurd a question as “You’re on a 1000 foot long ferry going across a bay which is 5 miles across. If you’re at the back of the ferry and walk at 5 miles an hour how long does it take for the ferry to cross the bay? Chemical rockets work by a sudden burst where all of the propellant is burned as quickly as possible and then coast to the destination. The Earth and Venus are both moving around the sun and their relative distances are always changing. Only at certain times is it practical for a rocket to travel between the planets.
Common misspelled words in the teacher’s guide include “Endeavor” for the space shuttle “Endeavour” (it uses the British spelling because it’s named after Captain James Cook’s ship) and Chekhov for “Star Trek” character Pavel Chekov.
The mistakes are minor annoyances, overall the “Star Trek” exhibit is a lot of fun.
photos copyright 2009 Philip Chien.
Links
Detroit Science Center "Star Trek" exhibit.
Franklin Institute, Philadelphia "Star Trek" exhibit.
About the author
Philip Chien has been a “Star Trek” fan since the 1970s.
© 2009 neatinformation.com. All Rights Reserved.
Home
