INDIANAPOLIS — The first clue that you’re headed for an adventure like no other comes when The Children’s Museum’s welcome center greeter — wearing a Star Trek uniform — holds out a small furry ball and expects you to pet it. Don’t be afraid. It’s a Tribble — a cute and cuddly alien species whose proclivity for rapid reproduction makes problems for the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise during season two, episode 15, “The Trouble with Tribbles.” But you don’t want to take it with you, no matter how cute it is. Tribbles are trouble.
Tribbles are just one example of alien species found at The Indianapolis Children’s Museum’s exhibit, “Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds” now through April 7. The immersive exhibition covers “Star Trek’s” seven television series and 13 movies spanning more than 50 years of Trekkie lore.
The expansive collection of memorabilia is packed with artifacts: everything from Lt. Uhura’s uniform (worn by Nichelle Nichols in the original television series) to Geordi LaForge’s VISOR (from “Star Trek: the Next Generation”).
The exhibit will appeal to everyone from the casual “Star Trek” fan to the most ardent Trekkie. For diehard fans — and to the amazement of Trekkie newbies — just inside the door of the display rooms is a wall-sized multi-informational time-line. It tracks the time period of the original series and its six spin-offs from 1967 through the current “Star Trek: Discovery.” It also delineates the timeline covered by each series. For example, the earliest date listed is 13.8 million years ago when — in “Star Trek: Voyager” — Captain Janeway and Lt. Tom Paris were accidentally transported back to the time of the Big Bang as prehistoric life species. The timeline projects ahead to the year 2387 when the fictional planet Romulus — home to perennial enemies of Earth and the United Federation of Planets — was destroyed in a supernova. Too much? Okay, let’s get back to some basics.
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Captain Kirk’s chair — one of the coolest things in the exhibit — gives visitors the chance to sit in the captain’s chair from the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise. It’s located just outside the exhibit against a black-and-white photo backdrop of the characters from the original series, which ran only three seasons, from 1966 through 1969.
When “Star Trek” was expected to be canceled at the end of the second season, Trekkies and fans of the show mounted a letter-writing campaign, bringing the show back for one more season.
Other highlights of the exhibit include a delightful model of the inside of the Enterprise, where you can actually see the spatial relationship between, say, the transporter room or the captain’s quarters to the bridge. The costumes worn by Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway — the first female captain of the Enterprise — and Jeri Ryan, who played Seven-of-Nine, the half-Borg, half-human, are positioned on either side of Janeway’s own captain’s chair (behind glass). Guests can visit the transporter room and stand on the platform to be imaginarily transported down to the planet’s surface or step in front of a green screen to recreate one of the most iconic moments in the film series history. In “The Wrath of Khan,” (1982) William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk — in anger and despair — bellows out the name of his antagonist with a protracted, “Khaaaaannn!” The exhibit is not a place of quiet reflection.
One of the creepier interactive experiences is the opportunity to project your own face onto the face of a life-size Borg. The Borg is group of cybernetic organisms who assimilate all species they encounter with the mantra, “Resistance is futile.”
Kids of all ages will enjoy climbing through the Jeffries Tubes. On the starships, Jeffries Tubes serve as kind of a crawl space that winds throughout the ship, where pipes, wiring and other electronics needing repair can be found. They are also useful for escaping from enemies and aliens who have somehow managed to board the ship. Many tense and exciting scenes take place in the Jeffries Tubes.
The exhibit thoroughly explores one of the biggest questions surrounding the Star Trek mythos: Why was it was such a hit? Trekkies credit the multi-racial cast, the relevant social commentary buried in each script and the science — some of which eventually became reality as technology advanced.
Although the exhibit is short on educational content, the Schaefer Planetarium at The Children’s Museum features a connected event: A movie called “The Future is Here: How Sci-Fi Becomes Reality” was filmed exclusively for The Children’s Museum and narrated by George Takei, who played Sulu in the original series. The multi-media experience shows how popular science fiction inspired and shaped technological advancements.
Al-in-all, “Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds” is an impressive collection of science-fiction television and film artifacts, a fun trip into pop culture and — if you’re not already on board — the first step to becoming a Trekkie.
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"Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds" shows now through April 7 at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, 3000 N. Meridian St. in Indianapolis. Visit childrensmuseum.org for open hours and admission fee information.
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