PITTSBURG, Kan. —
For years, I’ve been finding light sabers in my bathroom and action figures in my shoes.
It’s part of life with two young “Star Wars” fans. But it didn’t begin with them.
It began with me and my little brother in 1978. Our next-door neighbor had given me C-3PO and R2-D2 action figures for my birthday, and the movie was playing at the drive-in, so Mom agreed to take us.
That drive-in is long gone, but our love for “Star Wars” never waned. We collected all the action figures. Unbeknownst to me, my future husband was growing up doing the same thing. Our collections merged on Aug. 27, 1999. He even brought to the marriage a C-3PO action figure collector’s case!
So it was only natural that when our sons were old enough, we started them on the Jedi path. They were more than willing to take up the responsibility of battling the Dark Side so that husband and I could rest and read the newspaper. Hence, the light sabers in my bathroom and action figures in my shoes.
But there was something more to it than just the battle of good and evil. There was the perfect combination of science and imagination, and creating another world to such an extent that your brain tells you it doesn’t exist, it couldn’t exist, but it takes on a life of its own anyway.
Which is why we drove three hours to Wichita and three hours back on Saturday. “Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination” is at Exploration Place there. And it was my brother’s 39th birthday, so it was a perfect gift for the last year of his childhood, so to speak.
More than 80 artifacts used in the movies are on display in the traveling exhibition, created by the Museum of Science in Boston. It includes video interviews of filmmakers, scientists and engineers, and focuses mostly on the science behind what they created.
We learned about space travel, mechanical prosthetics, robotics — even built and programmed a few — and levitation technology. We were thrilled to see Obi-Wan Kenobi’s costume, Darth Maul’s light saber and Luke’s land speeder. We marveled over standing in front of Queen Amidala’s Nubian starship, as in our minds it is actually light years away, in a galaxy far, far away.
I’m honestly not sure who enjoyed the experience more. Perhaps it was my brother’s new bride, who stood in line for quite some time to experience the thrill of riding in a simulated Millennium Falcon, and who shared with us that her cat’s middle name is Wicket, after the Ewok.
In the end, we all decided that the best part of “Star Wars” is this: Creativity was stretched like never before. People reached way, way outside the box. They experimented. And amazingly, they created a story, a world, that has endured — and will endure, I believe — for generations.
It was my now not-so-little brother who put it best: “Even the sound effects are universal. If you go up to someone in Japan, and you do this (he paused to do the iconic deep, mechanized breathing of Darth Vader), even if you don’t say anything else, they will know exactly what you mean.”
Ticket information and other details can be found at www.exploration.org. You have until Sept. 3 to get there. May the force be with you.
Photos from the Star Wars exhibition are available at facebook.com/andrajournalist.
Follow Andra Stefanoni on Facebook at facebook.com/andrajournalist and on Twitter @AndraStefanoni.
Local News
Andra Bryan Stefanoni: Star Wars geeks hit the road in search of galaxy far, far away
- Local News
-
-
Joplin sends team to help Moore
A team of public safety workers from Joplin were deployed Monday night to assist in Moore, Okla.
-
Two plead guilty to post-tornado wire theft
Two defendants pleaded guilty Monday to stealing copper wire from utility poles in the wake of the May 22, 2011, tornado that struck Joplin. Timothy M. Silveria, 45, of Joplin, and Nycoa K. Kracht, 32, of Laurel, Ind., entered open pleas of guilty in Jasper County Circuit Court to felony counts of theft from a public utility.
-
Vandals cause $37,000 in damage at Joplin business
A Joplin business owner was the victim of a weekend vandalism spree that resulted in an estimated $37,000 in damages and theft, in addition to putting the company out of service for at least two days.
-
Mike Pound: My wife hid the clutter so well, I may be missing
OK, now I’m worried. Late Sunday afternoon, my wife announced that she was going to clean up our kitchen and our family room. When she made that announcement, our 15-year-old daughter, Emma, and I laughed because, at the time, our kitchen and family room were sort of cluttered.
-
Joplin council meeting canceled due to storm forecast
Storm forecasts have caused the Joplin City Council to cancel its meeting tonight.
-
Carthage School Board meeting is postponed
The Carthage School Board meeting set for today has been postponed for due to threats of severe weather.
-
Storms cause damage throughout the Four States
Four-State Area residents hunkered down twice Monday to ride out tornadoes and powerful spring storms, then went to work cleaning up. The worst damage from Monday night’s storm was being reported in Ottawa County, Okla., near Wyandotte. That followed a report of an EF-1 tornado early Monday morning near Carthage.
-
Alan Marble, Crowder College president, to retire
After 27 years with Crowder College, President Alan Marble has announced his plans to retire on June 30, the formal end of the academic year. “It’s just the right time,” Marble, 58, said in a telephone interview Monday morning. “I’ve enjoyed, I think, every minute of these 27 years, but it’s time to move on to the next challenge.”
-
EF1 tornado hit Carthage early Monday morning
Clean-up was underway in Carthage after winds estimated at 90 to 100 miles an hour damaged buildings and toppled trees and power lines in the Carthage area just after midnight early Monday.
-
Federal agency proposes adding two Missouri mussels to endangered species list
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will host a public meeting in Joplin Tuesday and another meeting later in the week in Southeast Missouri to provide details and answer questions about adding two freshwater mussels to the endangered species list.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Joplin sends team to help Moore
