After Hours

Star Trek: The Exhibition features costumes, props, and more

By // February 24, 2011, 4:00 PM PST // HuTerra

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  • Star Trek: The Exhibition, Transporter

    Star Trek: The Exhibition is currently at the Louisville Science Center in Louisville, KY through May 22, 2011. The traveling exhibition is also at the Riverside Metropolitan Museum in Riverside, CA, through February 28, 2011. (Each venue shows the exhibit just a little bit differently.) Star Trek: The Exhibition is sponsored by CBS Studios, Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp., and AT&T.

    The exhibit features props, costumes, makeup mockups, and set pieces from the Star Trek television shows and movies. (Some of the exhibit items are authentic, and some are replicas.) This TechRepublic gallery features photos of Captain Kirk's chair, Kai Opaka's costume, Jean Luc Picard's living quarters, and other highlights of my visit to the exhibition in Louisville.

    For details about the special Star Trek-related programming at the Louisville Science Center and ticket prices, read my Geekend blog about Star Trek: The Exhibition.

    The authentic Transporter from Enterprise-D had a range of 40,000 kilometers -- enough to reach most Earth-like planets from synchronous orbit.

    Trek trivia: Nobody ever said “Beam me up, Scotty” in any episode of the original Star Trek.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Star Trek exhibit medical tools 1

    The exhibit features a mix of medical equipment replicas and props used on the show.

    Image courtesy of Louisville Science Center and CBS Studios, Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp., and AT&T.

  • Star Trek exhibit medical tools 2

    The exhibit features a mix of medical equipment replicas and props used on the show.

    Image courtesy of Louisville Science Center and CBS Studios, Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp., and AT&T.

  • Prosthetic mockup Borg

    The exhibit features a number of the mockups that were used for makeup design.

    Image courtesy of Louisville Science Center and CBS Studios, Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp., and AT&T.

  • Starship models

    These starship models were used in the Star Trek television series. They are significantly smaller in real life (ha ha).

    Image courtesy of Louisville Science Center and CBS Studios, Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp., and AT&T.

  • Original Spock and Kirk costumes

    These are the original Spock and Kirk uniforms.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Nyota Uhura's costume

    Nyota Uhura's costume is modern and well designed compared to those of Spock and Kirk.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy's costume

    Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy's costume has actor DeForest Kelley's name written inside the collar.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Cuff of Captain Kirk's uniform shirt

    The sewing on the costumes in the original Star Trek series was less than stellar. This is the rather ragged cuff of Captain Kirk's uniform shirt.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Captain Kirk's chair

    Exhibit visitors can have memento photographs taken in the Captain's chair. The Bridge background is added to the photos with a computer (hence the green backdrop).

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Andrew Spence in Captain Kirk's chair

    Visitor Experience Coordinator Andrew Spence takes a seat in Captain Kirk's chair.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Buttons on Captain Kirk's chair

    The buttons on Captain Kirk's chair were made by putting colored marbles into the holes and then shining flashlights up through them. When Star Trek: The Exhibition first opened in California, three guards had to stay with the chair because visitors were using screwdrivers to pry out the marbles.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Control panel on Captain Kirk's chair

    This is the control panel on the left arm of Captain Kirk's chair.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Tribbles

    The replica Tribbles are motion sensitive and shake and make noise at passersby when they are out of the display bubble.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Data character makeup mockup

    The authentic Data character makeup mockup.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Captain Jean-Luc Picard's living quarters

    Captain Jean-Luc Picard's living quarters feature a sleek modern look.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Another photo of Captain Jean-Luc Picard's living quarters

    This is another photo of Captain Jean-Luc Picard's living quarters.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Picard's formal officer's dress uniform

    Captain Jean-Luc Picard's formal officer's dress uniform, which was worn to William T. Riker's wedding.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Picard's coffee table

    Captain Jean-Luc Picard's coffee table holds a bottle of wine from Chateau Picard and a Horga'hn Statuette.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Guinan costume

    Whoopi Goldberg's Guinan costume

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Kai Opaka costume

    The Kai Opaka costume, which was worn by Camille Saviola in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, is one of the loveliest and most detailed pieces in the collection.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Authentic Xhosa Freighter

    Authentic Xhosa Freighter from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Dabo girl costume

    This is a Dabo girl costume from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine costume

    Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine costume is surprisingly made out of a thin, silky material. We were expecting a more plasticky material.

    MIT researchers are currently working on a spacesuit with a similar design to the Seven of Nine suit. The idea is that skin-tight spacesuits provide the needed counter-pressure without the bulk of traditional, air-filled suits. The Gravity Loading Countermeasure Skinsuit (GLCS) is made of an elastic mesh.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Captain Kathryn Janeway's uniform

    Captain Kathryn Janeway's uniform, which was worn by Kate Mulgrew.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Kes costume

    Jennifer Lien's Kes costume from Star Trek: Voyager.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Morale Officer Neelix costume

    Ethan Phillips's Morale Officer Neelix costume from Star Trek: Voyager.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • U.S.S. Excelsior

    U.S.S. Excelsior from the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Flashback."

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • U.S.S. Enterprise-D

    U.S.S. Enterprise-D

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Another view of U.S.S. Enterprise-D

    Another view of U.S.S. Enterprise-D.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701

    Authentic U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Biohazard suit used by U.S.S. Enterprise crew

    This biohazard suit used by U.S.S. Enterprise crew is made of stiff orange fabric with an overlay of netting material embroidered with circles of silver-colored thread.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Andorian makeup mockup

    Andorian makeup mockup

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Belt buckle on a Klingon Officer's uniform

    The fancy belt buckle of the Klingon Officer's uniform was actually made of bubble wrap painted gold.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Borg sphere and Borg makeup mockup bust

    The authentic Borg sphere and Borg makeup mockup bust.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Star Trek handheld devices and new technologies

    AT&T, a sponsor of the exhibit, provided some modern technologies for comparison purposes. Note the iPad on the right, as compared to the Star Trek handheld devices.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Scanner with Star Trek trivia

    AT&T is a sponsor of the exhibit. One neat way in which modern technology is used in the exhibit is with these scannable trivia question and answer pages.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Louisville Science Center volunteer Mrs. Jean Wise

    Mrs. Jean Wise has volunteered with the Louisville Science Center since 1991. She recalls watching the original Star Trek TV show as a newlywed. Mrs. Wise enjoys petting her Tribble while speaking with visitors to the exhibit. She says the exhibit item that most surprised her is Seven of Nine's costume because she expected it to be plasticky.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

  • Star Trek merchandise

    Various Star Trek merchandise, including Tribbles (prices range from $19.99 to $29.99), sold as part of the exhibit.

    Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

Star Trek: The Exhibition, Transporter

Star Trek: The Exhibition is currently at the Louisville Science Center in Louisville, KY through May 22, 2011. The traveling exhibition is also at the Riverside Metropolitan Museum in Riverside, CA, through February 28, 2011. (Each venue shows the exhibit just a little bit differently.) Star Trek: The Exhibition is sponsored by CBS Studios, Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp., and AT&T.

The exhibit features props, costumes, makeup mockups, and set pieces from the Star Trek television shows and movies. (Some of the exhibit items are authentic, and some are replicas.) This TechRepublic gallery features photos of Captain Kirk's chair, Kai Opaka's costume, Jean Luc Picard's living quarters, and other highlights of my visit to the exhibition in Louisville.

For details about the special Star Trek-related programming at the Louisville Science Center and ticket prices, read my Geekend blog about Star Trek: The Exhibition.

The authentic Transporter from Enterprise-D had a range of 40,000 kilometers -- enough to reach most Earth-like planets from synchronous orbit.

Trek trivia: Nobody ever said “Beam me up, Scotty” in any episode of the original Star Trek.

Photo by Nicole Bremer Nash for TechRepublic

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By Nicole Nash

Nicole Bremer Nash is Director of Content and Social Media for HuTerra, where she uses SEO and social media to promote charitable organizations in their community-building and fundraising efforts. She enjoys volunteering, arts and crafts, and conduct...