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“Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination” LA Bound

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Courtesy of Lucasfilm:

The phenomenally popular Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination
exhibition opens in Los Angeles on Feb. 11. It’s an engaging, unique
and illuminating showcase of the scientific principles behind the Star
Wars movies. To date, nearly 700,000 people have visited the exhibit
since it debuted in Boston. This is the first time the exhibit has
visited Los Angeles (and California!) and the California Science Center
expects sold-out crowds.

Acclaimed Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination Journeys to Los

Angeles

Popular Exploration of the Reality and Fantasy of Star Wars Opens

Two-Month California Run February 11

LOS ANGELES – Continuing the Star Wars Saga’s yearlong 30th-anniversary

celebration, the phenomenally popular Star Wars: Where Science Meets

Imagination debuts Feb. 11 at the California Science Center, where it

runs through April 29.

Developed by the Museum of Science, Boston, in collaboration with

Lucasfilm Ltd., the exhibit explores the boundaries of fantasy and

reality that can be seen in the six movies of the Star Wars Saga,

revealing intriguing similarities between the thinking of scientists and

filmmakers. Since its October 2005 debut, the exhibition has attracted

nearly 700,000 visitors at museums in Boston; Columbus, Ohio; and

Portland, Ore.

The Los Angeles presentation of Star Wars: Where Science Meets

Imagination will be a limited-time engagement and closes one month

before tens of thousands of Star Wars fans convene for Celebration IV, a

five-day gathering of Star Wars fans from around the globe at the Los

Angeles Convention Center.

Could humanoid robots and vehicles that hover above ground, once limited

only to the fantasy worlds of Star Wars, become a reality? The

10,000-square-foot exhibit explores the imaginary technologies in George

Lucas’s adventure saga and compares them to real-world technologies that

shape our future today. Visitors will discover how ideas become

technologies in real life through hands-on exhibits, immersive

experiences and cutting-edge innovations.

Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination is presented by Bose

Corporation with support from the National Science Foundation and is

sponsored regionally by Northrop Grumman.  It is the first exhibition to

display costumes and props from all six Star Wars movies alongside

real-world technologies.  Also included are extensive video interviews

with filmmakers, scientists and engineers; and hands-on components,

including two large Engineering Design Labs, where visitors can build

and test their own speeders and robots.

“We are expecially pleased to present Star Wars: Where

Science Meets Imagination,” notes Ken Phillips, California Science

Center Curator of Aerospace Science, “because it gives visitors

first-hand exposure to the incredible innovations of the Star Wars

movies while inviting them to design technologies of the future.”

Phillips also notes, “Visitors will be able to explore how current

science research may one day lead to real-world versions of many Star

Wars fantasy technologies.”

Star Wars creator George Lucas said, “I’m happy that Star Wars can help

educate people about technology in an entertaining way. Technological

innovation and filmmaking have a lot in common: They both begin with

imagination and creativity.”

There are two major thematic areas within the exhibit:

“Getting Around” focuses on transportation in the movies as well as new

and future modes of travel. Visitors will be able to view Luke

Skywalker’s Landspeeder from Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, climb

into a real-world hovercraft and levitate, and explore how one would

build a maglev car in the Design Lab.

“Robots and People” looks at the relationship between robots and humans

on screen and in the real world. After seeing displays of Star Wars

robots like C-3PO and R2-D2, visitors can try to build a droid,

exploring such areas as robot mobility, perception and cognition. Robot

enthusiasts can try to make a robot walk, test a robot that balances on

two wheels, and design facial expressions for an emotional robot.

In total, the exhibition features more than 100 Star Wars artifacts and

real-world technologies, 17 videos and 21 interactive exhibits. Original

film-artifact highlights include models of the Millennium Falcon, Luke’s

landspeeder, a sandcrawler, a Naboo starfighter, an AT-TE walker, and

Queen Amidala’s Naboo Royal Starship.

Costumes from many of the Star Wars worlds demonstrate how the

environment shaped the look of the Star Wars characters. Some of the

colorful costumes on display include Wookiees from Kashyyyk; Obi-Wan

Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Yoda from Coruscant; a snowtrooper from

Hoth; and a Jawa from Tatooine.

ADMISSION INFORMATION: Admission to the Science Center and Star Wars:

Where Science Meets Imagination is free. However, a strong demand is

anticipated. Priority admission will be extended to IMAX ticket

purchasers and California Science Center members. All others will be

admitted on based on availability and capacity. Admission to the exhibit

cannot be guaranteed, particularly during peak hours. For more detailed

information and helpful tips for planning a visit, please go to

http://www.californiasciencecenter.org

.

The Millennium Falcon “Jump to Lightspeed Experience” is an additional

attraction that features a multimedia presentation from the Hubble space

telescope’s breathtaking journey to the “edge” of the universe.

Featuring a proprietary sound system from Bose Corporation, the

recreated cockpit debuts the technologies of 3Space(tm) audio systems,

providing visitors with a realistic, three-dimensional audio experience.

The Millennium Falcon experience is separate from the exhibit, with an

admission charge of $2 per person

2 Responses

  1. junky says:

    Did you cut and paste this article and is that ok to do?

    So I joined the science museum today and booked tickets already.  Some friends and I are sleeping over at the museum, providing they allow us to do so (since we are the only ones not bringing kids with us.)

  2. Eros Welker says:

    Press release from Lucasfilm