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Star Trek The Exhibition logo
For the European touring exhibit of the 1990s, please see Star Trek: The Exhibition.
For the Blackpool exhibit of the 2010s, please see Star Trek: The Exhibition (Blackpool).

Star Trek The Exhibition, formerly Star Trek The Tour and also referred to as Star Trek: Anniversary Tour, was a traveling Star Trek-themed exhibit, produced by CBS Consumer Products and Premier Exhibitions. The exhibit was originally produced by SEE Touring Productions, Inc., and presented by Metropolitan Talent.

Star Trek The Tour ad from Las Vegas con 2007

An ad for Star Trek The Tour, from the Official Star Trek Las Vegas Convention 2007 program

The exhibit was first announced in an advertisement carried in the program given to attendees at the Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas in August 2007. The tour originally planned to call at forty cities in the United States and Canada over a period of five years. Some initial reports also included a mention of ten European sites being part of the tour, but the press release launching the tour on 5 December 2007 referred solely to North American venues.

The original exhibit covered a total of 50,000 square feet, and includes four motion simulator rides, a 360-degree theater, recreations of sets from the various series (including the bridges of the USS Enterprise and USS Enterprise-D), and various interactive events.

Wil Wheaton filmed a four-minute segment for the tour, appearing as Lieutenant Commander Wesley Crusher, assistant chief engineer aboard the USS Titan. [1] Tim Russ also appeared as Commander Tuvok, the ship's second officer and tactical officer

Long Beach[]

Brian Demonbreun with saucer

Brian Demonbreun with the saucer section of the Enterprise-D at Long Beach, January 2008

The tour opened at the Queen Mary Dome in Long Beach, California, on 18 January 2008. Three types of ticket packages were available – a general admission package (~US$30), a "Commander" package (~US$100; valid Saturdays only, included a private guided tour, priority access, invitations to special events, and exclusive gifts), and a "Captain" package (~US$150; as the "Commander" package, but valid for a full weekend).

The tour's engagement – originally scheduled to last until 17 February 2008 – was extended until 2 March 2008 due to popular demand. Originally open seven days a week, the tour's opening hours were reduced to Friday-Sunday with effect from 11 February 2008. [2](X)

According to reports, following the closure of the exhibit, disputes arose between SEE Touring and Plainfield Asset Management (who held a security interest in the exhibit, providing investment capital for SEE), and between SEE Touring and the operators of the Queen Mary. An unpaid debt in the region of US$200,000 (for security, food and lodging) resulted in the Tour's equipment being retained at the Queen Mary, preventing the exhibit from moving on. An agreement was reached between Plainfield and SEE in mid-May 2008, with the former acquiring the exhibit in its entirety from SEE. The outstanding debt was then paid by Plainfield. The tour facility, which was originally believed to be opening in San Diego on 15 May 2008, was expected to be moved from the Queen Mary by 6 June 2008. [3]

Relaunch[]

The exhibit relaunched on 21 June 2008 at the San Diego Air & Space Museum, produced by Premier Exhibitions, and renamed as Star Trek The Exhibition. This first exhibit was a scaled down version of the original Tour display, but featured more interactivity. The Enterprise-D bridge, amongst other items, did not appear, and formed part of a second exhibit touring at the same time. The second engagement began in Phoenix, Arizona in November 2008.

A parallel tour was launched as an international branch of the exhibit, starting in 2010 in Valencia, Spain. Somewhat smaller in scale than the US version, it did showcase original props and more interactivity, but none of the actual studio models, they being reserved for the US. Instead lesser detailed replicas served as stand-ins.

In 2011, Austrian "Event Marketing Service GmbH" (EMS Exhibits) acquired the license from CBS Consumer Products to operate the tour, the Saint Louis venue being the first under the new management. [4]

Kuala Lumpur's (only the second time an official Star Trek-exhibit landed at an Asian city – remarkably having passed over any in the otherwise science-fiction friendly Japan – , after the 1999 Singapore Star Trek World Tour venue [5]) Pusat Sains Negara venue proved to be the last exhibition for 2012 and later planned tour legs were initially postponed indefinitely. Still, Star Trek The Exhibition went on tour again in the US in 2013, making it the longest running Star Trek exhibit tour to date. [6]

Venues[]

Venue Location Opened Closed
Queen Mary Dome Long Beach, California 18 January 2008 2 March 2008

Star Trek The Exhibition[]

"First" indicates the exhibit featuring the Original Series bridge. "Second" indicates the exhibit featuring the Next Generation bridge.
Venue Location Exhibit Opened Closed
San Diego Air & Space Museum San Diego, California First 21 June 2008 January 2009
Arizona Science Center Phoenix, Arizona Second 16 November 2008 April 2009
Detroit Science Center Detroit, Michigan First 14 February 2009 7 September 2009
The Franklin (Formerly called The Franklin Institute) [7] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Second 16 May 2009 20 September 2009
TheTech: Museum of Innovation [8] San Jose, California First 23 October 2009 11 April 2010
Hollywood & Highland Center Hollywood, California Second 10 October 2009 28 December 2009
Aerospace Museum of CA [9] McClellan, California First 28 May 2010 5 January 2011
Riverside Metropolitan Museum [10] Riverside, California Second 19 June 2010 28 February 2011
Louisville Science Center [11] Louisville, Kentucky First 23 January 2011 22 May 2011
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex [12] Cape Canaveral, Florida First 11 June 2011 31 October 2011
Saint Louis Science Center [13] Saint Louis, Missouri Second 28 October 2011 28 May 2012
San Diego County Fair [14] San Diego, California First 8 June 2013 7 July 2013
Los Angeles County Fair [15] Los Angeles, California First 30 August 2013 29 September 2013
Arizona State Fair [16] Phoenix, Arizona First 11 October 2013 3 November 2013
Mall of America [17] Bloomington, Minnesota Second 16 May 2014 (Closed)
International Venue Location Exhibit Opening
Museo de las Ciencias Princeipe Felipe [18] Valencia, Spain Second 22 July 2010 28 February 2011
Filmpark Babelsberg Potsdam, Germany Second 1 May 2011 31 October 2011
Pacific National Exhibition [19] Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Second 18 August 2012 3 September 2012
Pusat Sains Negara [20] Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Second 19 December 2012 31 March 2013

External links[]

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