When Anthony Daniels appeared before a group of local press to introduce the new exhibition at the Franklin Institute called Star Wars: Where Magic Meets Imagination, he first asked the group who had seen Star Wars and if we remembered where we were when we saw first saw the film.
My wife and I drove to the Tri State Mall in Delaware early the film's first Friday evening back in 1977 only to discover that all tickets had been sold. We decided to wait in line, along with hundreds of others for the next show, about two and a half hours later.
The Little Space Opera That Could
I remember that the advance word on the film was mixed. Another science fiction film called Close Encounters of the Third Kind was slated for later the same year and that was the film that most thought would be the big hit. Star Wars was a small $11-million space opera, not given much consideration by hard-core sci-fi fans.
At the end of the film when Luke and Han receive honors from Princess Leia, the whole audience broke into applause and we all could sense that we had just seen something special. Little did we know just how special. Until it was passed by Titanic some twenty years later Star Wars was the top box office film of all time. The other five films, released over the next 28 years all became major hits.
The Vision of George Lucas
Star Wars changed motion pictures forever. The six films set a standard for science fiction films rarely equaled. Just as importantly, however, the films writer, director and producer, George Lucas and his team at Industrial Light and Magic have shown themselves to have a keen insight into the technology of the future, much of which is the technology of today, over thirty years later.
I've read several reviews of this new exhibition that question it's placement in the Franklin Institute. In the minds of some there is still a long way from science fiction to science fact. Critics of H.G. Wells said much the same thing back in the late 1800's when he wrote such classics as The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds and The First Men in the Moon. Much the same criticism was leveled at the works of Jules Verne. After all, how absurd was the thought of a huge submarine such as he imagined in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
I don't know if George Lucas will someday be viewed as a great seer of the future like Wells and Verne. It's too soon to tell. He has made a good start however. In areas such as robotics, prosthetics, transportation and weaponry he has already shown that he had a keen eye for the future.
In my opinion not only is the Franklin Institute the proper place for this exhibition, it is the perfect place. Let's take a closer look at Star Wars: Where Magic Meets Imagination.
Star Wars: Where Magic Meets Imagination
The Star Wars: Where Magic Meets Imagination exhibit was developed by Boston's Museum of Science, in collaboration with Lucasfilm Ltd., and features 10,000 square feet filled with over 100 Star Wars and real world artifacts, as well as 21 innovative interactive exhibits that explore the fantasy technologies depicted in the Star Wars films.
With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), presented by Bose Corporation and locally sponsored by PECO, Star Wars: Where Magic Meets Imagination is the first exhibition to showcase costumes and props from all six Star Wars films while exploring cutting-edge research and modern technologies that could someday make the fantasy world of Star Wars a reality.
The exhibit includes extensive video interviews with filmmakers, scientists and engineers; and hands-on components, including two large Engineering Design Labs, where visitors can build and test their own speeders and robots.
Highlights include Luke's original landspeeder from Episode IV alongside scale models of X- and Y-wing starfighters and TIE fighters. Visitors will also see an original Yoda puppet from the classic trilogy and Darth Vader's actual helmet from Episode III.
Star Wars: Where Magic Meets Imagination invites visitors into a unique, immersive exhibit environment. Hands-on experiences allow visitors to explore the robots and landspeeders of Star Wars and learn about the important roles that imagination and science play in the creation of our increasingly sophisticated realworld machines.
About the Exhibition
Star Wars: Where Magic Meets Imagination is organized around solving human needs with two technology themes: Getting Around and Robots & People.
Getting Around focuses on transportation in the films as well as new and future modes of travel.
The Robots and People portion explores the relationship between robots and humans both on screen and in the real world.
The exhibit culminates in two multi-station Engineering Design Labs (EDL) where visitors design, build and test solutions to challenges.
Graphics, artifacts, and interactive video components bring visitors up to date on the latest research efforts related to specific technological challenges outlined in each EDL. For each challenge, the components are designed and grouped to engage visitors to inquire what, how, and why - essential questions to build technological literacy.