I love science centers. Not only are they a fantastic resource for our kiddo to discover more about science and the world, I’ve also had great experiences with the exhibitions that come to visit for a short time. Our local science center, the Pacific Science Center, hosted both Star Wars and Harry Potter exhibits this past year. Geek heaven!
We were in St. Louis recently to visit family, and while we were there we had the opportunity to stop by the St. Louis Science Center. My jaw dropped when I saw their current exhibit: Star Trek: The Exhibition. The science center is presently housing costumes, props, and models from all films and series, as well as hosting special contests, programs, and lecture series related to the exhibit.
I am the biggest Star Trek fan in my family, so I tried to hide my excitement, but they all saw right through me. They offered to babysit our toddler and show her around the science center while I walked through the Star Trek halls. I dashed off to the ticket counter faster than they could say “tribble.”
The exhibit has fun photo opportunities for fans who have always wanted to sit in the captain’s chair or get beamed on board the Enterprise. You can’t take any of your own photos inside, so these pictures are your only chance to prove that you actually stood on the bridge of the Enterprise-D. I visited Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas before it closed, and the bridge at the St. Louis Science Center was much nicer and cleaner.
Other parts of the exhibit are also similar to the Las Vegas show, although with new props and costumes from the latest Star Trek movie. I loved seeing all of the uniforms and costumes–especially Leonard Nimoy’s robe from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Seeing costumes in person gives you a new point of view of the actors: Spock is really tall! The prosthetic alien head gallery is also striking.
My favorite part of the exhibit, hands down, was the re-creation of Captain Picard’s quarters. I wanted to walk inside and touch everything. Seeing his flute from the “Inner Light” episode almost made me burst into tears right there in the science center!
After wandering the halls of Star Trek: The Exhibition for a while, I headed back to my family with a big grin on my face. The other exhibits at the St. Louis Science Center were just as entertaining to explore. The “Structures” area of the science center is a lot of fun, and inspired both big kids and adults in our family to build bridges together. Our two-year-old enjoyed the “Cyberville” area, which is a great resource for learning about computers and how the Internet works.
While general admission to the St. Louis Science Center is free (which is phenomenal), Star Trek: The Exhibition ticket price is a bit steep at $17.50 for adults and $13.50 for children ages five to twelve. If you visit in costume or take advantage of online coupons, such as the one available by clicking on the ad here on GeekMom, you can get a small discount to bring the cost down. The exhibit is in St. Louis until May, and I recommend it for any Star Trek fan.
We saw this exhibit a couple of years ago when it went through San Jose. It was a blast! We had the original series bridge though, not the Enterprise-D (I think they swap them out). One tip: Look closely at the schematics on the various screens on the walls; there are a lot of inside jokes on them.
I was really disappointed about the no pictures policy.
We are so there! Going to have to plan a trip to St. Louis before May!
Yeah the special stuff can be pricey at the Saint Louis Museums and Zoo but they are free to get in, I miss that. Where we are now it is $9 on top of the $16.50 adult admission for the special exhibits. So really the $17.50 isn’t so bad.
Hi Kelly,
Great article about Science Centers. Your readers may be interested in my blog post “How to design a science center”, http://museumplanner.org/museum-exhibition-design-2/
-Mark