This article is sponsored by Discovery Science Center and the exhibit Star WarsTM: Where Science Meets Imagination, the first exhibit to display costumes and props from all six Star Wars films alongside real-world technologies. Get your tickets today!
Star Wars is all about the journey of self-discovery, but did you know it can teach you about real-world science, too? Explore the fantasy technologies behind the films and learn about current research that could make those technologies real at Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination, open now through April 15 at Discovery Science Center.
Developed in collaboration with Lucasfilm, Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination is the first-ever exhibit to display costumes and props from all six Star Wars films alongside real-world technologies.
The result is a huge, breathtaking experience.
"These days, technology seems to be changing minute by minute," says Joe Adams, President of Discovery Science Center. "This exhibit will give visitors an opportunity to experience some of these amazing technological innovations created for a fantasy world, with real life applications."
Throughout the exhibit, visitors can interact with the displays, including Landspeeders, lightsabers, and more.
The Landspeeder exhibit includes a full-scale prop from the original Star Wars, and visitors can climb into a real-life hovercraft and experience what the next generation of land travel could feel like. The exhibit also includes videos and explanations of how maglev trains work, and explanations of how a Landspeeder could eventually exist.
In the "Robots and People" section, visitors can check out Luke's prosthetic hand from The Empire Strikes Back and learn how researchers are adapting robotocists' designs to modern prosthetics.
Visitors can also learn how to build a close approximation of a droid. Activities focus on robot mobility, perception, and cognition.
Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination also focuses on the alien planets of Star Wars, including the icescape of Hoth and the desert wastelands of Tatooine. Costumes from each of the Star Wars worlds demonstrate how the environment on the planets shaped the characters.
There's even a scale replica of the Millenium Falcon cockpit. Visitors can sit in the cockpit and experience a virtual jump to lightspeed.
All in, the exhibit is the largest ever built at Discovery Science Center.
"We have had to expand our own universe here at DSC," says Adams. "Two brand new, never before seen viewing galleries have been created to house the incredible experience."
Tickets are $8 online and $10 at the door. The exhibit runs through April 15. Learn more and buy online at DiscoveryCube.org.
