The Star Trek Smithsonian Exhibit was a museum display opened at the National Air and Space Museum, running for a year from February 1992 through January 1993. As part of the display, set pieces and costumes from Star Trek: The Original Series were displayed, including the original helm from the USS Enterprise, a tribble, Captain James T. Kirk's Starfleet uniform. [1] Original studio documentation involving the production of the Original Series, including the original script for "The City on the Edge of Forever", was also part of the exhibit. [2]

Especially noteworthy was the inclusion in the exhibit of the actual studio models of the original starship Enterprise, the refit version from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the original model for the SS Botany Bay from "Space Seed" (on loan from then owner Gregory Jein) [3], the D7 class model, the K't'inga-class model [4], the original Tholian webspinner model from "The Tholian Web" (on loan from then owner John Jefferies), the original Aurora model from "The Way to Eden" [5], as well as the newly restored Class F shuttlecraft model from "The Galileo Seven".

A special gallery was reserved to display for the first and only time, the Original Series garments as designed by William Ware Theiss, the gown worn by Leslie Parrish in "Who Mourns for Adonais?" being the eye-catcher. [6]

The exhibit ran several Star Trek documentaries made specifically for the exhibit. These documentaries included numerous interviews with Original Series cast members including more rare discussions with such guest cast members as Gary Lockwood and William Campbell. [7]

In 1993, the exhibit expanded in conjunction with the release of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Visitors to the exhibit had the chance to view the film on an omnimax film screen.

The exhibition was extended for an additional year when the majority of the items moved to New York City in 1993, for the follow-up "Star Trek Exhibition" at the Hayden Planetarium.

Further ReadingEdit

• "Smithonian Trek Photo-Feature", Peter Hardy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Models, issue 25, January 1998, pp. 53-55
• "Star Trek Props: The 1992 Smithonian Exhibit", Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 10, February 2002, pp. 95-97

External linkEdit

• Star Trek Props on display at The National Air and Space Museum in 1992 at Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Authority
• "Star Trek at the Smithsonian"^wbm at culttvman.com