Star Trek: The Exhibition At Orlando
A detailed model of the original Enterprise.
After a stint in St. Louis Star Trek: The Exhibition has now landed in Orlando. Located in the city's famous International Drive strip, the exhibit has many of the displays from previous incarnations.
The traveling museum consists of two huge rooms spanning 10,000 square feet and is a self-guided tour. Along with genuine props, costumes and makeup pieces from the Star Trek: Next Generation era shows and films, the big highlight is the authentic looking recreation of the original Enterprise bridge.
The main exhibit room features many items from the Star Trek shows.
Guests are allowed to wander around the circular bridge and marvel at the lovingly detailed recreation of the consoles and stations. They can even sit in the captain's chair, pose for cheesy photos and pretend they've taken command of the Federation's most famous starship. The best part of sitting on the chair or even walking around the bridge was the main viewscreen. It features a graphic of the ship's POV as it goes through warp space and approaches Earth. It is very well done and should delight fans.
Faithful recreation of the original Enterprise bridge.
In the room adjacent to the Enterprise bridge are displays of the shows and films' props encased in glass cases. Many of the props from the Next Generation era are authentic while the ones from the original series are replicas, but look very genuine. There are also miniature models of the original Enterprise and several shuttlecraft. The biggest model in the exhibit is a life-size mockup of the Remen scorpion fighter craft that Captain Picard and Data commandeered in the movie Star Trek: Nemesis. While Captain Picard's command chair and the command chair from the Enterprise B are on display, guests aren't allowed to sit on them. However there is a Klingon command chair that anyone can sit on. It should be noted that the chairs have a lot of wear and tear on them.
Assorted props from all the shows.
Scattered throughout the exhibit are video screens that feature behind-the-scenes films about the Star Trek shows and include a short documentary about Gene Roddenberry.
The exhibit is presented by EMS Exhibits and is on 7220 International Drive in a building that has the C.S.I. : The Experience show. It runs from 9am to 9pm and costs about $16.95. There isn't a firm date as to how long the event will run, but workers at the exhibit stated that it will last about a year depending on how popular it becomes with visitors. If successful they hope to expand the exhibit to include an upper floor that will feature a futuristic bar and be modeled on the former Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas.
While not as extensive as previous exhibits (it should take about an hour to fully view the entire exhibit) located in other spots like the Kennedy Space Center, this place gives fans a solid Star Trek presence in Orlando to go along with the city's theme park attractions. Visit www.startrekexhibition.com for more information.
Article and images by Lewis T. Grove