Star Wars. From it's early days of yester-year to the generation of today, this amazing story and movie series by George Lucas has played a big role in pop culture. But even after the movies were finished many years ago (with the exception of the quite new Clone Wars CGI film), fans everywhere keep it alive. And recently, a Star Wars exhibit has been traveling across the US stopping at all sorts of science museums so that all can look into the science aspect of our favorite movies. We also get the chance to learn that these things that happen in a galaxy far, far away might not be so far-fetched as we once thought...

Thursday, August 14, 2008. I arrived at the Science Museum of Minnesota with my aunt and two sisters armed with my digital camera. I'd never been there before so it would prove to be an interesting excursion. We payed no attention to anything that we passed by as we made a bee-line for the Star Wars exhibit. We bought our tickets, donned our wrist bands, and took the elevator to the lowest floor (For some reason, we got in on level 3...). When we got there and entered the exhibit, the first thing to catch our eyes was the imitation of a dwelling outside wall that had been weathered by the harsh conditions of Tatooine. On this wall hung a plaque. In case you haven't figured it out by now, it's the image you see above. Below I've linked to certain pictures that are relative to the current topic, but you can view all those pictures and more in the gallery (I apologize for the blurry ones. The lighting wasn't very encouraging to sharp pictures).

Coming around the other side we got to see the landspeeder that Mark Hamil used in Episode IV: A New Hope. There was also a video playing explaining all the various aspects of the craft from the way the sound was engineered, to the inspiration for the detailing, and even how a real landspeeder of this type would have used magnetic repulsion (I forget their technical term for it) to keep it floating above the ground. Now this is a science museum so obviously they're going to have a way to demonstrate how this works by letting you put together a little model with built-in magnets. And when it comes right down to it, who could possibly do that job better than . . . LEGO.

In the same room were all sorts of models of just about every major vehicle that played a role in the Star Wars movies. Most had an accompanying video explaining most of the same information as was shown with the landspeeder. What inspired the design (Star Wars tidbit #357: Triangles = Bad (thought this obviously wasn't the case with Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter in Episode II)), how the sound was created and why that particular sound (Star Wars tidbit #694: The rumbling for the Star Destroyers was originally supposed to be the sound of a specific aircraft engine. However, the rumbling AC unit in the room of the run down hotel the sound engineer was staying at proved much better and has been used repeatedly throughout the six movies.), and even factoids about the model and how they made it appear larger on screen than a model of the same size in the same scene. There was even a Millenium Falcon model that was made several times smaller than the original model JUST for the asteroid belt scene in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. This was because they needed a light-weight model that could be moved in complex maneuvers without the machine moving it having to support a heavy model for such movements. Also in this same area were models and a video about real transportation vehicles today that look like something right out of a sci-fi flick. Short, quick visits to the outer edge of the atmosphere are likely possibilities in the conceivable future.

The next section was all about robots, droids, and the like. Everything from a larger than life Droideka to real robots of our world could be found in various display cases. There was even a Jawa Sandcrawler (well, part of one anyways) that one could enter to watch a short show about the similarities and contrasts in abilities between the droids in Star Wars and the robots that scientists are currently attempting to design. There were also more interactive whatchamadoodles that let you get some hands-on fun. You'd never believe how hard it is just to get a pair of robotic legs to walk forward.

The next area was all about the costumes, props, and other such 'cetera. Here you could find a scale model of a tree used for a Wookie tribe, the three separate pieces of Darth Vader's helmet, all sorts of costumes (Stupid me forgot to take a picture of Anakin's and Obi-Wan's. Oh well, my sister took even more pictures than I did, she's bound to have one), and my personal favorite, the lightsabers!

And that was basically it for the main exhibit. We explored the rest of the museum over the course of the day but I didn't bother to take any more pictures. Though I must say, watching a real, miniature tornado form right before my eyes was truly amazing. Especially the fact that it wasn't cased in by glass or anything. It was completely out in the open. We did pause for lunch and, while trying to find a restaurant we'd never heard of on a map full of them, we stumbled into a Subway and decided that was a far more attractive option. Not too long afterwards we participated in a Star Wars trivia show (well, not all that much really) and went on to what I feel was the highlight of the day...

The Jump to Hyperspace! We got to sit in an exact replica of the Millennium Falcon cockpit (Minus the windshield panes that are supposed to be fitted into that framework. Not to mention the fact that none of the buttons, knobs, and levers could be used.) and watched a show about the cosmos narrated by none other than Anthony Daniels (A.K.A. the voice of C-3PO). It was done using the latest technology developed by Bose 3Space audio systems using "psychoacoustics" to truly immerse the guest in the adventure across the galaxy. The combination of the "psychoacoustics" and the wrap-around screen were even able to fool the senses into detecting movement (banking, traveling lightspeed, etc.) when there never was any. The show explained all sorts of interesting facts about galaxies, nebulae, and the like. We even got these really cool pins we can wear that have the Millennium Falcon on them. They also say "I Made The Jump!" which to me sounds more like something that you'd put on a t-shirt if you went bungee jumping over the Grand Canyon, but it's really cool either way. We also got to see an image of the farthest out into space that scientists have been able to view. It wasn't really much of an image though. It just looked like the blurry swirling of red, blue, green, and yellow that you'd see in a close-up of a severe storm being tracked on the seven o' clock news. It's just that this time it was surrounding you from the outside of a correlian smuggling ship and there wasn't some crazy chick waving her arms around if front of it and rambling on like we all have masters degrees in meteorology. But it was an awesome show nonetheless! Sure, we waited in line for forty-five minutes, had to pay three dollars each (that's in addition to what we already paid for the main exhibit), and the show was only four-and-a-half minutes long, but it was worth it! I just can't believe that some people would complain about waiting only fifteen minutes for a show that was surely longer and far more immersive (Yes, that means you Torhuki! ).

When all is said and done, I had a blast. I'd gladly go back and do it all again, even if just to make the Jump to Hyperspace!

May the Force be with you... always...

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