Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination
Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination was a
The exhibit premiered in Boston in 2005, and drew nearly 3 million visitors across the United States and Australia and before making its final appearance in San Jose, California.[1] A companion book was released in 2005.
History
The exhibit was developed over a period of four years, beginning in 2002.[2] It opened to the public at the Museum of Science on October 27, 2005. George Lucas was the guest of honor at the museum's Grand Opening Gala; Anthony Daniels, the actor who plays C-3PO, was the master of ceremonies.
The exhibit left Boston on April 30, 2006, to commence its 20-venue international tour. The final venue of the tour was announced in the spring of 2013, and ended in March 2014 at
Features
The primary focus of the exhibit was the presentation of modern science and technology through the lens of Star Wars. Topics ranging from
Interactive displays
The exhibit included a reproduction of the
The "Living on Tatooine" section of the exhibit featured three augmented reality kiosks in which visitors interacted with a virtual environment on a large screen. The environment included reflected imagery of the visitor and computer-generated elements from the Star Wars universe which were attached to the props in the video. Visitors moved physical props in order to complete tasks of increasing complexity to build communities in the environments. The kiosks were developed by ARToolworks, Inc.[5] When the user interacted with the props, the user and props appeared in the video, but once placed, the video took over the whole screen, the props disappeared, and the interaction between the computer generated elements was altered by their relative positions.[6]
Also included in the initial 14 venues of the 20-venue tour was the Robot Object Theater. This interactive presentation on robotics narrated by C-3PO showed mockups of specific-purpose robots (pipe inspection and
Props and costumes
The exhibit included a large number of props, costumes and models, including of
Other features
There was a multimedia tour which used a PDA to provide additional audio, video, and image content. The PDAs had a bookmark feature, that allowed visitors to email special features of the exhibit to their email address. The exhibition also included a number of documentary films about the technology of Star Wars and its comparison to real-world technology.
Awards
One of the interactive computer exhibits, Human or Machine?,
The multi-person, role-playing exhibit encouraged interaction among museum visitors around
Book
A companion book of the same name, produced by
Tour schedule
- Boston, Massachusetts– October 19, 2005 – April 30, 2006
- COSI, Columbus, Ohio – June 3 – September 4, 2006
- Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland, Oregon – October 11, 2006 – January 1, 2007
- Los Angeles, California– February 11 – April 29, 2007
- Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Fort Worth, Texas – June 9 – September 3, 2007
- Chicago, Illinois– October 5, 2007 – January 6, 2008
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania– February – May 4, 2008
- Science Museum of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota – June 13 – August 24, 2008
- Sydney, Australia – December 4, 2008 – April 26, 2009[15]
- Melbourne, Australia– June 4 – November 3, 2009
- Anchorage Museum, Anchorage, Alaska February 9 – April 25, 2010
- U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama – June 25 – September 6, 2010
- Lafayette Science Museum, Lafayette, Louisiana – October 21, 2010 – January 17, 2011
- Seattle, Washington– March 19 – May 9, 2011
- Houston, Texas– June 18 – September 18, 2011
- Discovery Science Center, Santa Ana, California– November 18, 2011 – April 15, 2012
- Exploration Place, Wichita, Kansas – May 26 – September 3, 2012
- Orlando Science Center, Orlando, Florida – October 13, 2012 – April 7, 2013
- Indianapolis, Indiana– May 25 – September 2, 2013
- The Tech Museum of Innovation, San Jose, California – October 19, 2013 – March 23, 2014[8]
See also
References
- ^ D'Souza, Karen (October 16, 2013). "'Star Wars' exhibit launches warp speed into San Jose Tech Museum". San Jose Mercury News.
- ^ Puffer, Brad (October 27, 2005). "Starwars exhibit makes its premiere in Boston". New England Cable News (Television news article).
- ^ Pizarro, Sal. "'Star Wars' science exhibition coming to Tech Museum". San Jose Mercury News. Bay Area News Group. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
- ^ "Star Wars - Where Science Meets Imagination Exhibit - Museum of Science, Boston".
- ^ "Case Studies - ARToolworks". www.artoolworks.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
- ^ "Experience 'Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination' At The Tech". InventorSpot.com. April 15, 2013.
- ^ "Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination Lands in our Galaxy--at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History - Business Wire". June 7, 2007.
- ^ a b Tran, Michelle. "Famed Mandalorian Warrior and the Best Bounty Hunter in the Galaxy Joins the Empire". The Tech Museum of Innovation. Archived from the original on January 30, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
- ^ http://paulasincero.com/index.php/portfolio-item/human-or-machine/
- ^ http://www.paulasincero.com
- ^ https://www.aam-us.org/programs/awards-competitions/2006-muse-award-winners/
- ^ https://www.aam-us.org/programs/awards-competitions/media-technology-muse-awards/
- ISBN 079226200X – via Internet Archive.
- ISBN 079226200X.
- ^ "Next month, in a gallery not so far away". Sydney Morning Herald. November 21, 2008. Retrieved December 14, 2008.
External links
- Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination on the official Star Wars news site
- Official Exhibition Site: Powerhouse Museum Sydney
- Official Exhibition Site: Science Museum of Minnesota (Saint Paul)
- Official Exhibition Site: Museum of Science, Boston
- Professors Showcasing Science Behind Star Wars' Technology in Indiana State Museum's "Science Nights"
- Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
