If you like Star Trek, you will probably enjoy Star Trek: The Exhibition. It is currently on display at the Arizona Science Center and at the Detroit Science Center, but it is likely to move on to other locations in the future. Star Trek: The Exhibition contains memorabilia and information from every Star Trek movie and television series. It also explores the science behind Star Trek, and gives information on space exploration and Star Trek technology that has migrated into real life. My review is based on my visit to the exhibition located at the Arizona Science Center.
Star Trek Memorabilia
The Star Trek Exhibition contains memorabilia from every Star Trek television series and movie. You can see uniforms worn by many of your favorite captains and characters, including Captain Kirk, Captain Janeway, and Deanna Troi. I was surprised at how large some of the actors were. You can also see phasers, communicators, and tricorders used on the set as well. Many of these devices seem primitive when you compare them to modern technology, and the props are often not incredibly detailed, as the television cameras didn’t pick up the lack of details during filming.
The exhibit contains models of many of the various Enterprises and space stations that were used in the series. A few life sized vehicles and Captain’s chairs are included, as well as a life-sized bridge, where you can sit in the Captain’s chair or pretend that you are the operations officer. In Phoenix, the Next Generation bridge is featured, the Detroit Science Center has a replica of the bridge from the original series.
Star Trek Technology
One aspect of the series that sets this television dynasty apart from many other television shows is its attention to scientific detail. Star Trek was directly responsible for the invention of the cellular telephone, and was probably the inspiration for many other technological advances as well. At this exhibit, you will be able to read about many of the scientific aspects of the series, and will be able to discover some of the aspects of the show that can’t happen in real life.
The exhibition covers real space technology, from Sputnik to the space shuttle and beyond. You will learn details about the Russian’s space program, satellites that we have sent to the far reaches of our solar system, and the voyages that we have made to the moon.
The Movies and Television Shows
If you are a fan of any of the movies or television shows, you can walk down memory lane with the exhibit. There is information about all of the different movies and series, including highlights from some of the more popular episodes, information on some of the alien races, and a timeline. My husband did find one mistake though, on the timeline for Nemesis. They had Data’s death out of order, but were off by only a few minutes.
Kid Value?
The exhibit has limited kid value. While my six-year-old daughter did enjoy sitting in the captain’s chair and playing on the bridge, there are not many hands-on activities here, and young children do not have much patience for reading all the displays. Unless your child is already a Trekkie, they will probably be happy when they get to the end of the exhibit. Teenagers fans might enjoy this exhibit, but this exhibition will have the greatest appeal to adults that enjoy the show.
Fans and science lovers will probably enjoy this exhibit. I did think that admission was a little pricey, so if you are not a fan, it might not be worth your money.
