Romulans and Vulcans make trek to MOSI

TAMPA - Masibindi Miller was dressed up as the Romulan commander Donatra, a character from "Nemesis," the 10th "Star Trek" feature film.

As she sat listening to a history of the science fiction media franchise at the Museum of Science & Industry, the lecturer appeared to have trouble recalling the name of an actor in a 1964 pilot episode who was pictured on a screen beside him.

Miller quickly supplied it.

"Susan Oliver," she shouted.

Welcome to the world of Trekkies, fans of "Star Trek" who consider it a badge of honor if they can recall the tiniest of details associated with the six television series or 11 feature films that were set in motion by creator Gene Roddenberry's imagination.

Miller, a Spanish teacher at Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg, was at MOSI today for the museum's "Star Trek Day," designed to lure moviegoers to see the 11th "Star Trek" movie in its IMAX theater.

The museum invited local chapters of Starfleet, the International Star Trek Fan Association, to welcome fans. At least two were on hand: Andromeda Station and USS Gasparilla.

A Starfleet chapter can be a space station or a space ship, as is the case with the USS Gasparilla, said Alvin Dozier, who is the Andromeda station's second officer.

The MOSI event included café specials such as Romulan Ale (blue ginger ale), Klingon bloodwine (cherry Kool-Aid), and the Capt. Kirk Special (pulled pork).

There was also a scavenger hunt of sorts, with visitors encouraged to match some of the science associated with the show with museum exhibits, whether it touched on magnetism or the speed of light.

Mike Johnston, a retired computer science teacher, lectured on the history of "Star Trek." At King High School, Johnston wouldn't allow his students through the door unless they gave him the "Live long and prosper" hand greeting made famous by Spock.

Johnston asked the two dozen or so MOSI attendees to guess various sounds associated with the show, such as a torpedo, the famous red alert or the transporter. No one recognized the sound of a disruptor, a weapon used by the Klingons to break apart the atoms in the hull of an opposing ship.

Harold Sanderson, a 55-year-old retired electrical engineer from Spring Hill who was dressed as a Vulcan, was the first to guess the sound of the phaser, a hand-held weapon.

This was especially appropriate, since he was wearing a facsimile of one on his hip.

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