Star Trek: The Tour, which hasn’t been heard of since they ended their inaugural stop in Long Beach in March, has been reborn as "Star Trek: The Exhibition" and will be (re)launching at the San Diego Air and Space Museum on June 21st. TrekMovie has the exclusive first details on this new traveling Trek show.
From Tour to Exhibition
One of the most common questions emailed into TrekMovie.com over the last few months has been ‘what ever happened to Star Trek The Tour?’ The Tour was announced last December and had a big premiere in January at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA, and ran until early March. Since that time things went quiet, but behind the scenes the show was being refined and there was a change in management and a change of name. ‘The Exhibition’ is now being run by Premier Exhibitions, Inc, who handle a number of museum quality touring exhibitions, including the Titanic Artifact Exhibition. In a statement Bruce Eskowitz, CEO of Premier Exhibitions, Inc. said:
We are thrilled to add Star Trek The Exhibition to our ever growing roster of exhibitions. The universal appeal of these beloved television series and blockbuster films allows us the opportunity to bring an exclusive experience that will not only capture the imagination of visitors but allow each to turn fantasy into reality. We’re taking families on a voyage through the history of the future.
New Exhibition Logo
Focus on museums – San Diego first
The Exhibition will be different than plans for the tour, most notably in that it will be targeting museums. The first one is the San Diego Air and Space Museum in Balboa Park, where the Exhibition will premiere on June 21st for a limited engagement. Future cities will be announced later. The Exhibition will feature hands-on attractions, sets, costumes and props from all 5 Trek TV series and all 10 feature films.
Highlights of Star Trek The Exhibition include:
- Once in a lifetime opportunity to become part of the U.S.S. Enterprise crew and stand on the bridge from the original television series. Visitors can memorialize their experience as Captain with a photograph of the original cast – including Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and Mr. Scott.
- Re-creations of original sets from Star Trek: The Next Generation®, including Captain Picard’s quarters and command chair.
- Ride through the Galaxy in two full-motion flight simulators.
- Star with the original cast in an episode of their choice and watch themselves interact with Star Trek icons including Mr. Spock and Mr. Scott. Guests can take home a DVD of their cameo to share with family and friends.
- Re-creation of the Transporter Room from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
- The Guardian of Forever from the original Star Trek series.
VIDEO: Click image to watch new ST: The Exhibition TV Commercial
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More compact – more informative
The biggest difference between The Tour and The Experience is that it is more compact. That is by design so that it will work better within the museum environment. But this time the exhibits will be more interactive and much more informative. With the tour, the props and costumes were all in glass cases with very little context. With The Exhibition they will be more often out in the open and with more informative content about their importance and relationship to actual space exploration and science. All of this is being worked on by Treksperts Mike and Denise Okuda.
Another difference with The Exhibition is that it will stay in each city longer. No official word yet on how long it will be in San Diego, but TrekMovie is told it will likely be through the end of the year and will certainly be there during the San Diego Comic-Con in late July. The San Diego Museum seems a more suitable location than the former Spruce Goose hanger in Long Beach and the museum seems thrilled to have it. In a statement, Jim Kidrick, President and CEO of the San Diego Air and Space Museum, said:
Star Trek the Exhibition is the ultimate voyage through a legendary piece of iconic history giving visitors a first hand look at the scientific endeavors of the Enterprise crew. We hope that this will inspire the next generation to explore careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and motivate everyone to boldly go where no one has gone before.
More information at the San Diego Museum’s new subsite for Star Trek The Exhibition which went live Saturday.
Lower ticket prices
Tickets for Star Trek The Exhibition cost $24 for adults and $16 for children. They can be purchased at the San Diego Air and Space Museum box office. The prices are significantly lower than those of ‘The Tour,’ and about the same as the similar traveling museum exhibition “Star Wars Where Science Meets Imagination.” Special prices are available for military, seniors, students, and museum members (more info at the museum site). There are also discounts for groups of 15 or more, for info visit www.ticketsforgroups.com or call 800-840-1157 for more information.
But wait…there’s more (Exhibitions)
Although the Exhibition will remain longer in each city, there will still be more cities getting Trek soon. A result of Exhibition being more compact than ‘The Tour’ is that they will be able to run two Exhibits simultaneously. CBS and Premier are now working on what the second city will be, but it will include the recreation of the Enterprise D bridge set along with a similarly sized collection of props and costumes along with its own simulator rides. Stay tuned to TrekMovie.com for more updates on both San Diego and additional cities for Star Trek: The Exhibition.
Cool. I was wondering what happened to this.
The place in Long Beach was definitely way too big for this. It really sucks that they’re splitting up the TOS and TNG bridges. Being about sit on both of these sets and take an unlimited number of pictures was definitely one of the highlights.
“More compact.” I believe in the early 21st century, they used the expression “cheaper.’
I wish the management had specific dates and cities, but I understand.
So I wonder if they are going to have everything the tour offered, or just a few items. I was really looking forward to seeing both bridges, and a variety of other sets and props. I also am anxiously awaiting the rides!
Well, the “Tour” version had two different rides that showed the same story. You’re in a shuttle and the Borg are after you. One version was just a shuttle that shook around, and the other was a full motion simulator thing that fits two people and flips you upside and around.
Thanks for updating the story!
Looking forward to more info on new schedule and cities that will be next for The Exhibition.
Seems a bit unfair to me that San Diego gets it until the end of the year.
what! that San Diego gets it until the end of the year oh come on!!! what about phx, az? when!!!!!!!!!!!!
Damnit! i hate that this happened…. i really was looking forward to the tour, and it getting here soon….
now who knows when i’ll get to see any of it..
well i do however appreciate you guys looking into what happened to the “tour”
I want to know where it’s going and when, and that goes for both exhibits–also what will be in each of them. Breaking it up is a shame, especially since it will most likely work out that some people will not get to see the exhibit that contains the items that they most want to see (ie: the different bridges).
We’ll just have to wait and see. : \
Number 9, I feel you!!!! When Phoenix?! WHEN?! :(
Sounds like they are splitting up everything between two cities…so the guests will not be able to see everything we were able to see in Long Beach.
http://www.lightyearmodels.com
I remember the “Star Trek: Federation Science” touring exhibit that went around in the early ’90’s. I went to it at the Buffalo Science Museum – lots of fun.
Well now I am sure it will run out of money before it gets close to the midwest.
I was wondering what happened. If this sucka ever makes it to Atlanta, I’ll actually pony up a little sacred wampum to go see it.
The Star Trek experience, Fedcon and then the Tour. I’m more than a little bit worried; much more. I’m downright afraid.
Is Trek still a viable franchise? Marvel has done a wonderful job on the revival of its brand, the jury is still out on DC [Superman Returns, anyone? I was beyond disappointed.]
My two twentysomething sons were obviously raised in a household respectful of Trek, the Marvel & DC Universes; however, as of 6/14/2009, neither they, their wives nor their immediate families have much knowledge of, nor any desire to see a new Star Trek movie. Most of my friends and acquaintances feel much the same. I hope we are not massively kidding ourselves about the demand or desire for new Trek.
The buildup for Trek 09 needs to start and it needs to start soon. It must get the public’s attention long before May of 2009 or I fear we’re looking at another Nemesis.
Has my opinion changed recently? You bet.
Talk to your friends and relatives. Many of you will get the same feedback I did.
Iron Man & Hulk were ‘must see’ to my boys & their families, Trek, not so much.
Can the secrecy. A lot of the secrecy stuff from Abrams needs to be abandoned quickly. For Trek 09 to become an event like Iron Man or the Hulk, the public is going to need a whiff of the action and information needs to start spreading soon. Make the masses talk about Trek or it is over!
And woe be upon Abrams if he’s filmed a cheat or a dud. Trek will ignominiously die in May 2009.
RIP Tim Russert- we barely knew ye.
plus come to Ireland lol , ( we actually had a thing like this years ago at Butlins here in Ireland was great ) , or at the very least come to Europe , as i would travel for a weekend to see that stuff
17. 7 of 5 – June 14, 2008
Patience is a virtue.
Too much hype over a film 327 days away guarantees a fizzle at the Box office. Just because Fed Con, the tour and the experience are faltering doesn’t mean the franchise is faltering.
The sky ain’t falling.
Is it comin’ ta’ Easter Island? I can land thar fur sure!
Me and a head diety can have us a Trek advent-arrrrrrr….
Arrrrrrr…
#17—Marketing is as much about timing as it is about substance. You don’t want to be a “premature….” Well, you know.
Xai is correct. Too much hype right now would be like firing off all your ammunition before you even arrive at the battle.
I think you might be confusing the “need” for information release with your “desire” for the same…
They’re splitting “The Tour” into two exhibits? Well, I’m afraid that’s a deal breaker for me. I’m not going to bother with it when (or if) it comes to Minneapolis.
I bet the Ferengi had something to do with this.
AWESOME. I’ll be at San Diego Comic-Con. Hehehe!! I’m giddy!! :-)
Darn shame….Glad I got to see it in Long Beach….before they split it up into two….bummer for the other people waiting for this.
Pherhaps they should have hit 5 cities instead of the 30 or so they claimed….
Long Beach/Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, and Dallas would have been good stops.
I hope this goes international someday. I’d love to see this exhibition in the UK!
Any idea when it’ll hit the East Coast? The Tour had some East Coast cities listed, but no dates. It’s gotta come at least to NYC.
#26 Hey Felkin at least you guys got that cool Star Wars Exhibit near the Eye. I was lucky enough to see that by accident while backpakcing last year.
And it TOTALLY sucks that we won’t get both bridges!
17:
Not to compare this movie to another movie ahem The X-Files 2 ahem. But as far as that movie is concerned, the fact that it is so mysterious and clandestine and truthfully long awaited, will make me go out and buy tickets for opening day, possibly even a midnight show. Even better, I will probably not be sitting in a theater full of 8 year olds or even 18 yr olds. Hopefully that team has learned its lesson and didn’t make a movie trying to appeal to the masses but cheating fans out of what they expected, resulting in the movie appealing to nobody….
I know production companies like Paramount are concerned about getting the 13-18 male crowd in as they are the ones who see movies opening weekend, but must we sacrifice plot in order to do so? Don’t get me wrong I was entertained by Transformers, but I don’t see them writing something on par with STII….and really, aside from the religious entertainment weekly readers and the comic book junkies, who knew that Iron Man and Hulk were being released into theaters until they were released? The same is true for Star Trek, it’s the super-fans who are waiting on pins and needles, and royally upset that we have to wait til May 2009. Hopefully Paramount made the right call postponing the date, unlike Disney/Walden with Prince Caspian’s release date…
Now that I’ve said that, I sure hope the exhibit makes it to NYC or Boston, as I can’t wait….
19 & 29
I live with the virtue of patience at my knee at all times. Some of you may recall my posts when Trek was moved from December 08 to May 09 and how miniscule it had become in my life because of my wife’s second bout with cancer.I have no great overriding need to know everything about Trek 09.
With my wife recovering well and my health holding up we now look forward to May 09 with the appropriate amounts of anticipation and wonder- and concern, for all of the reasons I put forth earlier.
I am not saying that Paramount and Abrams must give it all away; but they need to do more to grab and hold the attention of Mr. and Mrs. Average American, not just the fanboys. A year is a long time to maintain hype- but what they’ve done so far is give the fanboys a few tidbits to make sure they don’t lose their attentions, a glimpse here, a hint there.
Perhaps they’ll start to pick up the promotion around Christmas; more likely the Superbowl [go Colts!]. I hope they don’t wait too long and give too little.
I remain more than a little concerned aboiut the fate of The Franchise.
As to FedCon USA, it looks more and more to me like the organizers were an inexperienced lot who were in ‘way over their heads with this. I’m glad people like John Billingsley and his wife were present to help soften the blow as much as they could. Apprently, they are very good- hearted people.
This is really awesome that it is coming to San Diego! So much better than Long Beach, where they charged a huge amount for parking (in San Diego, it is free). From what I can see on the website, it looks way better than Long Beach – all the best stuff is there (I can’t wait to sit in Kirk’s chairl) without too much clutter – it looks like it follows a better theme and makes more sense. Plus, San Diego has real spacecraft, moon rocks and other cool stuff to compare – science fiction and science reality. I’ve been looking for an excuse to see the real Apollo 9 spacecraft down there, and this tips it for me.
I’m excited!
If they’re having em at Air And Space Museums I wonder if that means it’ll be at the Boeing Air Museum in SeaTac??? They’ve had Star Trek exhibits there before..
Yeh I also can’t wait to see which of the 2 exhibitions make it to Seattle….and I would prefer the Seattle Center close to EMP and The Science Fiction Museum….Anyone hear anything new on STAR TREK THE EXPERIENCE at the LAS VEGAS HILTON and if its fate is sealed or not? Last I heard the contract is expiring but they do not know if perhaps Paramount may repuchhase and renew the attraction, if they do not then it will close down as the current owners do not think it is making enough money for them to renew the license with Paramount/CBS.
For the last ten years The Vegas Hilton WAS my required stop to pay homage to all things Trek every time I went to Vegas and if it goes I will miss it dearly.
I’m glad I made the trip to Long Beach to see the Tour. I had a feeling it might not be viable. I found it interesting but overpriced for what there was to be honest. I’m hoping its new incarnation will be more successful. Being in San Diego with ComicCon is a good move.
Is it just me or does the announcer in the commercial pronounce it as “Star TRACK” a few times??
The Tour was supposed to come to the Twin Cities. The Exhibition will probably NOT come (we have the Star Wars exhibition in town right now).
That sucks. I had suspected all along that it was too good to be true.
There’s a Next Generation Bridge sitting in Vegas which will be homeless at the end of the year.
I can see Premier swooping in and picking up all those assets if ‘The Exhibition’ is successful for them. It would be nice if they moved it to Tropicana to take up all the space that ‘Bodies’ will leave behind when it moves over to Luxor . . . if Tropicana isn’t foreclosed on by then . . .
I went to the final day of the “Tour” in Long Beach… It waws frakkin’ AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! I’d love to go again! I can’t recomend it enough! GO! GO! GO!
With my luck I’ll end up being close to the second exhibit with the bridge from the hotel Enterprise-D when I really want to see the TOS version. Oh well, it’s a crap shoot, here’s hoping!
#17 “The buildup for Trek 09 needs to start and it needs to start soon. It must get the public’s attention long before May of 2009 or I fear we’re looking at another Nemesis.”
Well, the reality is JJ’s Trek has to become a hit first. THEN, when the sequel comes out, that same type of expectations and desire to see Trek will surface. But after Nemesis and Enterpise and really, almost two decades of slowly snuffing out the fire, it will be hard to capture new audiences attention since Trek still carries the stigma of the last 10 years. Hopefully the new movie will deliver the goods and be so radically different from Berman’s era that when the trailers hit theaters, people will sense a difference and take a chance on it.
If that happens and the film really kicks ass, you will see a whole shift in attitude and future Trek films WILL be considered an event not to be missed, just like they used to be.
40
I truly hope the film kicks ass and it all goes the way you envision it. I remain unsettled.
However, I just found something that I never knew existed-
Here’s some info—We all know Superman’s backstory & how there was so much trouble in bringing him back to the big screen; how the Superman script for Nicolas Cage somehow morphed into Will Smith’s “the Wild Wild West’ -yech!- and not even Kevin Smith could hit the notes Warners wanted.
As it turns out, it appears that JJ Abrams wrote a Superman Reboot script in 2002; it was ultimately rejected but it took a lot of the familiar story elements and characters and added to and subtracted from the canon. Even John Byrne’s Superman reboot in the comics in 1986 didn’t approach this level of reimagining that universe.
The script can be found he about 80% toward the bottom of the page in PDF format:
http://sfy.ru/scripts.html?range=0
I now know how far Abrams can go in reimagining canon, working within canon and discarding it completely when it suits the needs of his story.
Overall, it was a good script, but very jarring in places with excellent an excellent take on why Clark Kent wears glasses- so elegant, so amazing that no one ever thought of it before and why Clark Kent is mild-mannered that is onlt peripherally based upon concealing his identity.. The draft gives some excellent insights as to how Abrams reasons things out. But most of all, even with the alterations, he still got the basics correct- and even improves on them in places. Others, such as the revised role of Lex Luthor falls flat.
In perusing this, it reinforces my feeling that Trek 09 can work as long as there are no Luthor-like slip-ups.
That blows that they are splitting up the 2 bridges. Are they planning on having both exhibits stopping in the same cities so ppl can see all that is offered on the tour?
I have felt that Star Trek and Sci-Fi fandom are on a down hill slide for a while. I am to going to Westercon 61 in Las Veags on July 2nd. The member ship last I looked was under 500. I rember westercon 39 in San Diego I belive had about Three Thosand attening.
I attended the Tour Just after it opened in Jan. There were some really cool props and the sets were fun to see and get a pic taken on. But overall, it was almost like a “memorial” as there was no excitement whatsoever. People just mulled thru the large amount of props and costumes and whispered among themselves like a library and took photos here and there.
interestingly enough, I had wondered why Star Trek the Tour dissappeared as well. Until I found an article in a local Long Beach trade explaining how “the Tour” got locked up in the Dome (where the SPruce Goose had previously been hosted) by the Queen Mary Co. for oweing approx $200K for additional security and other expenses during their stay in Long Beach.
Supposedly, the company the originally owned “The Tour” gave it up and decided not to pay the expense. “The Tour” was finally bought (bailed out?) by another firm in early June and was finally going to be released on June 6th from its lock down location in the dome at the Queen Mary….
So Im guessing that has more to do with the name change than anything… shameful really…
I just saw the San Diego exhibition, and it was amazing. It looks awesome.
This was a refined and improved experience compared to Long Beach, it had more of a flow to it, less chaotic, and I liked it a lot better than Star Trek: The Tour. There is stuff in this one that The Tour didn’t have. And how cool is it to have real spacecraft like Apollo 9 there too.
If we want Star Trek to survive we need to get in our cars / planes / whatever and get down there and support it. I plan on going back a LOT!!
I went to see it in San Diego too. Really impressed. There is something spinechilling about sitting on Captain Kirk’s chair on the original Enterprise bridge that will be with me for a lifetime.
Then to do the same in Picard’s chair later in the exhibition – wow!
It’s going to be on during Comic-Con, and I heard there will be shuttles between the two venues. This is going to be the best Comic-Con ever.
To answer an earlier question…
Star Trek:The Experience is closing as of Sept 1 (2008).
Many people are saying (even newspapers) that it has a chance to be relocated somewhere else in Vegas, but there is no official confirmation for the employees yet (my husband works there).
They are still having the Trek convention there this year, though.
Just so you know, in case you’re considering seeing the exhibit, as of last week Paramount has forbidden any and ALL photography at this exhibit. My friends and I bought tickets a week before Comic Con, and when we got there we were told we couldn’t take any photos at all. Earlier on their website it said no PROFESSIONAL photography, which is the only reason we went. But our cameras had to be holstered because of Paramount’s last-minute rules change.
Even though we couldn’t take photos like the website promised, we WERE able to buy their photos for about 30 bucks a piece. How convenient.
This thing is a total rip-off. Avoid it.
Word from up top:
Phoenix will NEVER get the tour.
Sorry.
It’s staying in San Diego through mid 2009, then heading for the East Coast.
There’s a long list of cities where the tour is headed through 2013 — available on the corporate website — and Phoenix isn’t on the list.
Actually, that’s not true.
Just don’t be so whiny, ok?