In a certain galaxy far, far away, fantasy – not physics – rules the frigid wasteland of Hoth and the infernos of Mustafa. Spaceships flit between planets, massive factories churn out robot and clone armies, and circuitry keeps alive the Empire’s greatest villain.
Here on earth, though, more conventional forces are at work than in the “Star Wars” series. There’s no gravity-defying Force to help change a tire, no light sabers for pruning the bushes and no landspeeders in the garage for a late-night pizza run.
Light-years still separate science from fiction in George Lucas’ six-film epic about the galactic battle between good and evil, but a new exhibit at Boston’s Museum of Science tries to show that the fantasies of “Star Wars” aren’t all far-fetched – and some are getting less so with each passing year.
The exhibit, which stirred controversy when it was revealed that the museum had bumped a more conventional science exhibit, uses the wildly popular movies as a bridge to real science, and to fire up interest – particularly among youngsters – about the promises of engineering, physics and other fields.
| “Star Wars” exhibit
Through April 30 at the Museum of Science, Science Park, Boston. The museum is open Monday through Thursday and on weekends from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Museum general admission (including “Star Wars”) is $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and $17 for children 3-11. Admission to a separate Millennium Falcon replica, which includes a “jump to lightspeed” and a short film about astronomy and space travel, is separate and costs $5 per person. Details on the exhibit are available at www.starwars.com. For more information, go to www.mos.org or call 617-723-2500. |
Lucas himself is the first to admit that science was the furthest thing from his mind 30 years ago when he concocted the “Star Wars” story line about a fascistic imperial army and the feisty rebels who ultimately win the day. Five movies followed the 1977 original, with the final episode released in May.
Lucas said he never considered the science of the Force that binds together the “Star Wars” universe and the Jedi knights who wield it. There was no reason to explain why cars float and ‘droids walk, or how smuggler Han Solo could boast that his ship, the Millennium Falcon, “made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs.”
“In the beginning we kept pushing very hard: This is a fantasy, this a space fantasy, this is not a science fiction movie,” he said in an interview at the museum. “There was no consideration about science at all, other than to make things have common sense reality.”
But to his surprise, technology over the years has advanced in ways that were inconceivable in 1977. Humanoid robots can walk and talk. Engineers are creating personal hovercrafts, and today’s prosthetics nearly mimic some of the part-human, part-cyborg characters that inhabit Lucas’ film.
“I’m a strong believer that if you can imagine it, it can happen,” he said. “That’s part of the reason I didn’t worry about whether it was scientific or not.”
The $5 million exhibit was a collaboration between the museum and Lucasfilm Ltd., Lucas’ company. It premiered in Boston in October and will be open through April.
It offers everything to put a “Star Wars” buff into orbit. On a recent weekday morning, the dimly lit hall teemed with excited schoolchildren, staring in awe at the collection of light sabers and spaceships, costumes of storm troopers, jawas and tusken raiders, and the towering, glowering figure of Darth Vader.
At the entrance rests Luke Skywalker’s famed landspeeder, the scuffed and battered vehicle in which he glided over the surface of Tatooine. A peek underneath reveals the wheels that were hidden onscreen.
Its 2005 counterpart is an exhibit about “real-world speeders” under development, such as the Moller m400 Skycar, a sleek, red, rocket-shaped hovercraft with upturned engines.
Not far from models of a pod racer and star destroyer used in the movies is a display about the future of space travel, such as the conceptual interstellar ramjet, which would scoop up hydrogen in space to power the ship.
Toward the back of the exhibit, a case displays Luke Skywalker’s robotic hand, which replaced the forearm that his father, Vader, famously slashed off in “The Empire Strikes Back.” Close by is a station showing the AbioCor artificial heart, ear transplants to aid the deaf and a prosthetic arm that looks eerily real.
Throughout the exhibit are interactive displays about real-world science. At one robotics station, Matt Froment, a 32-year-old science teacher at Elm Street Middle School in Nashua, N.H., watched Mitchell Gaffney, 13, working toggle switches to make robotic legs walk over a surface as a gaggle of students looked on.
Froment said he grew up on “Star Wars,” and pounced at the chance to bring his class. He said it can be a battle to interest kids in science and he fretted that they wouldn’t be excited. That worry vanished when the class walked in the door.
“I’m quite pleased with the excitement level that I’ve seen so far. I couldn’t be happier. Kids coming up to me saying, ‘It’s cool, Mr. Fro,’ ” he said. “Some of these kids here are not what I would call my science buffs. To them, maybe it’s more like playing right now, but they’re getting the experience that I want.”
The exhibit is not without controversy. When the museum agreed to host the exhibit, it jettisoned a more conventional exhibit about the life and contributions of Benjamin Franklin.
Lucas shrugs off a question about whether it’s problematic to highlight a Hollywood movie alongside real science. If the exhibit creates excitement and interest about science, then it’s a success, he said.
“I do not see science as an ivory-tower idea,” he said. “I don’t believe in the elitism of anything, and I sort of disdain that, actually. I think science begins with young people, and their curiosity, and ‘Star Wars’ was designed to get kids to think outside the box, to consider other possibilities, and to be curious and ask questions.”
Danielle Mannion, 38, brought her TV production class with her from Millis High School. The students were so excited, she said, that some of them showed up on sign-up day 45 minutes before school started to be first in line.
“They beat me to school that morning,” she said.
One of those students was Dustin Fresh, 15, who said he’d seen the final episode eight times, including twice in 12 hours when it first came out. He didn’t skip a beat when asked what he liked about the exhibit.
” ‘Cause it’s wicked cool,” he said. “It’s ‘Star Wars.’ “
Associated Press
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