Geeking Out

A long Time Ago... In a Galaxy Far, Far Away....

Ten of my favorite words, all put together in a phrase that just defines it all. I started blogging my life adventures after the Star Wars movies had run their course in the theaters, so my absolute love, adoration, and psychotic love of all things Star Wars hasn't really had a change to rear its head in this format.. Yes, I have a Star Wars Shrine in my house filled to the hilt with framed posters, toys and all things Star Wars. Today, my geekiness got to resurface in a way that just hasn't happened since attending the midnight premier of Episode 3 last year.

Today, Little Calvin (whom I rightfully converted into a Star Wars fanatic at birth) and I had a change to just "Geek Out" while taking a mini road trip to Portland to see the exhibit "Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination" at the OMSI Museum (That's the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry for the non-locals). Dawn even had enough guts to go to this geek-fest with us, even though she is not a Star Wars fan and scratches her head in udder confusion whenever Little Calvin and I get into debates on Jedi vs. Sith or the strategies of Republic vs. Separatist troop placement. But since she is a science fan, she hoped she could find something stimulating for her so she could spend time with the family.

Taking a vacation day from work to begin the Christmas break, we left early in the morning to make the two hour trek Northward so that we could be there as they opened and get the lower crowds. But even as the doors opened, the crowds were there, flocking by the dozens to see their favorite Star Wars characters and ships.

First, it was off the ride the Millennium Falcon.. before the lines got too long. Inside one wing of the museum was a full size reproduction of the Falcon's cockpit including the entry hall into it, to make it feel more realistic. Once inside, we were treated to a blast into hyperspace, then a tour of the galaxy from the controls of the great ship. The cockpit felt very close to what was seen in the originals, and while it didn't actually move, once the show got underway it felt like we were rocketing through space, surrounded by the domed front cockpit window. With Little Calvin at the controls, and Dawn and I taking the other seats (holding true to the original, the cockpit only has 4 seats) we sailed though our mission, landing safely back on earth. For Little Calvin, this was the highlight of his day. For me it was just thrilling to sit in what felt just like the Falcon I know and love from the movies. Very well done!

Then it was on to the exhibit. The point of the exhibit was to show off both a large assortment of original Star Wars props, models, costumes, etc. and to show how some of the science found in the films can be brought to reality, thanks to technological innovation. We certainly were not disappointed! Once inside we found costumes including the original Darth Vader, Chewbacca and other wookies, bounty hunters, storm troopers, etc. all displayed. The droids were there: R2, 3P0, Battle droids, Destroyers droids, medical droids... you name it. I found the ship models used in the making of the films to be particularly fascinating. Ships such as the Falcon, Star Destroyers, the Tantive IV, X-wings and Y-wing fighters, all look amazing when studied up close to see the incredible amount of detail included.

While I was busy drooling on myself. mouth gaping open at the sight of all this greatness, Little Calvin and Dawn soon discovered the "science" portion of the exhibit. There they played interactive games to simulate running a farm on a hostile world such as Tatooine (all desert). Then they moved onto discovering how magnetic technology could be used as a transportation system. Working through 3 stations they built a Lego "ship" with magnets that made it float off the ground just like Luke's Landspeeder (which was also on display). They then got to learn how to race that ship magnetically through a course, making it go faster the better the magnets were placed. From there it was onto making robots. After building a core robot from available parts, they could test to see what kinds of wheels worked best for different terrain options, and then they programmed their little droid to successfully maneuver an obstacle course.

Having just spent several hours geeking out, we also watched a Planetarium show about Black Holes (very cool!) and had a nice lunch over looking downtown Portland. Finally, having received our large scale Star Wars fix, we headed back home, making sure to be there in time for the Duck's bowl game. Judging from their pathetic performance against BYU, we should have stayed in Portland a little longer (Did you all TOTALLY FORGET HOW TO PLAY FOOTBALL?!), but so goes college football....

All in all, it was a great day spent as a family, enjoying each other's company, and seeing some really cool things. The show is a traveling show and will move to Los Angeles in April of next year. If you are anywhere close, I'd highly recommend paying a visit!

You can check out some of our photos, by clicking here.