ReprintPrint Email Font Resize 'Star Trek' exhibit beams into San Jose's Tech Museum of Innovation

For more than four decades — from the debut of the original TV series in 1966 to director J.J. Abrams' wildly successful reboot of the franchise this past summer — "Star Trek" has explored strange new worlds and sought out new life and new civilizations while boldly going where no sci-fi franchise has gone before.

Over those 43 years, covering five television series and 11 theatrical films, it has become firmly embedded in American popular culture. Not even the occasional lapse in its grip on the fanboy nation — the last "Trek" TV show went off the air four years ago, and the 2002 film "Star Trek: Nemesis" was such a box office dud that it put the next franchise film on ice for seven years — could diminish its long-running impact on the world of science fiction.

Now — with perfect timing, given the blockbuster status of the new "Star Trek" — an extensive exhibit of all things "Star Trek" has beamed into San Jose's Tech Museum of Innovation. Spread over more than 15,000 square feet of space, "Star Trek: The Exhibition" features some 200 props, costumes and other artifacts representing all of the series and films, as well as carefully designed and constructed replicas of sets such as the bridge of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 (the Kirk-Spock one).

You'll also find a couple of motion simulators: one replicating a space shuttle, the other a starship escape pod (Red alert: This one is

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not for those with sensitive stomachs). There's even a tabletop computer programmed by Microsoft to let museumgoers take the famous Kobayashi Maru test that Captain James T. Kirk beat in his Starfleet Academy years.

While Tech Museum officials hope the exhibit will attract both fans and newcomers, it helps if you know at least a little about the "Trek" world before venturing into the exhibition (or, for that matter, catching the latest movie, which will be screening at the museum's Imax theater). So here is a rundown of the coolest don't-miss items at the show:

The entrance

The first room of the exhibit is set up as kind of introduction to "Star Trek." It includes detailed scale-model replicas of all the starships, from the Phoenix, Zefram Cochrane's first warp-drive vessel ("Star Trek: First Contact"), to the Enterprise-E (the three "Trek" films before the latest).

But the real treat is an array of costumes and props from various shows and films. There are phasers, communicators (the inventors of the cell phone copied the design of the original ones) and Dr. Leonard McCoy's medical equipment (a number of which look as if they started life as salt and pepper shakers, which they did). A personal favorite: a Tribble from one of the original TV show's greatest (and funniest) episodes, 1967's "The Trouble with Tribbles."

The bridge

Just off the entrance is a replica of the bridge on the USS Enterprise NCC-1701, which exhibit organizers say is the prime photo op for most visitors. The circular bridge was built by set designers (many of whom worked on the films and TV shows) from the original designs. And, yes, the bridge in the original TV series really was this retro and really looked this cheap close up. Remember that the magic of special effects was then in its infancy, and computer-generated animation was years away. But take a seat in Kirk's chair; it doesn't require much imagination for you to feel in command.

The corridor

From the bridge you step into a saucer corridor, circa "Star Trek: Next Generation." Be sure to check out the schematics on the wall to your left. When the corridor was replicated, the set builders included all the in-jokes from the original designs. In the schematic of the Enterprise, for example, look for a duck, a rat and other weird little visuals sprinkled throughout the design.

To your right is Capt. Jean-Luc Picard's ready room from "Next Gen." The exhibit folks have added all kinds of details, including the captain's phaser, a painting given him by Data (who went through a painting period to become more human), Picard's Ressikan flute, a wedding photo of Will Riker and Deanna Troi and a bottle of Chateau Picard wine, made at the Picard family winery.

Next to the ready room is a replica of a transporter room, loaded with props like tricorders. The coolest thing is that you can step onto the platform and, on a video screen in front you, see yourself being transported. Be nice to Scotty, and he'll beam you up.

The Guardian

The next room is given over largely to time travel, a recurring theme in the "Star Trek" canon. The dominant exhibit is a full-scale replica of the Guardian of Forever — the time portal from one of the original TV series' most famous episodes, 1967's "City on the Edge of Forever." Written by noted sci-fi author Harlan Ellison (although revised enough that Ellison once threatened to take his name off it), the episode sent Kirk, Spock and McCoy back to the days before World War II, where McCoy changes history (the Nazis win) by saving the life of a peace activist.

Of course, Kirk and Spock save the day, and the Guardian is able to pronounce, "Time has resumed its shape. All is as it was before." That prop also offered the Enterprise team the opportunity to travel through time — to which Kirk replied, "Let's get the hell out of here."

Also worth a look is a wall devoted to the most famous "Trek" time-travel episodes, including two of my favorites, "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" (the Enterprise shows up in modern times and is mistaken for a UFO) and "Yesterday's Enterprise" (one of the best "Next Generation" episodes).

Shooting models

Even as special effects improved over the years, "Star Trek" still relied heavily on "shooting" models of its various spacecraft. (The first film done completely with computer-generated animation was the most recent.) These models (they're originals, not replicas) are scattered throughout the display. One of the most notable — a Borg cube from "First Contact" — is included in the time travel room.

In the last exhibit room, there are a number of other models, including one of the NCC-1701-D, which was the first "Next Generation" Enterprise. It famously crashed on Veridian III in "Star Trek: Generations."

Also worth a look in the final room of the show: costumes from the latest "Star Trek," set in the days when Kirk and Spock were students in Starfleet Academy. This is the first time artifacts from that film have been part of the exhibition.

'Star Trek: The Exhibition'

When: Through Jan. 3 (may be held over); 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thanksgiving weekend and Dec. 19-Jan. 3

Where: Tech Museum of Innovation, 201 S. Market St., San Jose

Tickets: $25 adults, $22 students, $19 children 3 to 17; 408-294-8324, www.thetech.org

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