For those who thought that understanding “Star Trek” was either futile or unsavory, here’s your chance for redemption.
Two of Chicago’s mainstream and respectable institutions of culture open attractions Friday based on themes and characters from the popular science fiction series. One is “Star Trek: Federation Science” at the Museum of Science and Industry. The other is “Orion Rendezvous: A Star Trek Voyage of Discovery” at the Adler Planetarium.
The idea is that the science underlying “Star Trek”-bizarre and entertaining as it seems to be-is true science and might even teach us a thing or two.
To those of us who have spent years avoiding “Star Trek,” this might come as news. We could learn, for example, that “Star Trek” technologies to measure atmospheric gases or establish stable orbit around planets are similar to those used in the real world. And the nebulae and supernovas that burdened Captain Kirk on the Starship Enterprise are phenomena that also concern scientists of today.
All of which makes “Trekkies,” as inveterate fans of the show are called, as happy as any minority with an obsession that is suddenly ascribed with respectability. Both the exhibit and the sky show were developed and sent on tour by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry with the assistance of Paramount Pictures, producer of “Star Trek” television shows and movies.
It constitutes the scientific stamp of approval. “Encounters with alien beings in `Star Trek’ were fictional, but the effect of the show was always as realistic as possible,” said Larry Ciupik, not an avowed Trekkie but an astronomer at the Adler. “Wormholes,” for example, are “distortions of space,” cylinders of intense gravity, related to black holes, that theoretically draw travelers through space at speeds faster than light. In “Star Trek,” they are a convenient way to cross incalculable distance. According to Ciupik, “Astronomers are relatively sure that they are physically possible.”
Though Ciupik would not dream of donning a polyester uniform and attending a convention of “Star Trek” enthusiasts, he believes that “Orion Rendezvous” will enable the public to understand scientific principles they might otherwise find too remote. Nebulae, for example, are fields in the universe where stars are being born-or as moviegoers might recall, where intense radiation made starship instrumentation go fuzzy when Kirk faced off with Riccardo Montalban toward the end of “The Wrath of Khan.”
Science, of course, is the focus of planetaria and museums. But it is only the framework for “Star Trek,” wherein questions of morality and justice are the stories’ real concerns. This comes through loud and clear in a conversation with Carlos Velarde, an exhibit technician at the Museum of Science and Industry and a longtime Trekkie. As a member of the Oak Park-based club, Starfleet Command, he was a perfect addition to the group that installed “Star Trek: Federation Science” in the West Pavilion of the museum.
Velarde is also the perfect person to escort a confirmed non-Trekkie through the exhibit-a forest of memorabilia and interactive exhibit units, among which is a simulated version of “the Bridge,” the starship control room and the scene of many “Star Trek” dramas. Here, Velarde pointed to a computer screen that uses actual techniques of spectroscopy. The device demonstrates how gases in the atmosphere of any planet can be analyzed by the light it emits, critical when deciding if a crew ought to go down to explore.
But the real value of “Star Trek,” says Velarde, is something that lies beneath the surface of the interactives and costumes. That is relations between individuals and the cultures they represent. Visitors to “Federation Science” will encounter Data, an android and important character in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” (This recent television series features a more highly evolved crew than the one led by the vaguely neurotic Kirk.)
Data, Velarde explains, is near human because his brain is created by a “positronic net.” He’s eminently logical. He has immense quantities of information. He lacks only “the human formula,” that combination of emotion and poetry that real people on the peace-keeping starship display when appropriate.
There’s also Geordi LaForge (played by former “Roots” star LaVar Burton), a crew member who is blind but wears sensors that enable him to detect the entire electromagnetic spectrum. This leads to remarkable powers of perception.
And there is, of course, always the Prime Directive, the essence of any “Star Trek” story. The Prime Directive is the doctrine of non-intervention. This dictum, handed down by Starfleet Command, is that tampering with any culture less powerful or less advanced is forbidden.
Even to non-Trekkies this is a curious, even utopian, concept. For the inveterate fan, it makes dressing in uniforms and adopting names with strange diphthongs a kind of moral calling. Why some adults do this, and spend much free time living out fantasies in computer games and social outings, is a mystery for another time. Yet Velarde is convincing. “(`Star Trek’ creator) Gene Roddenberry envisioned a future where differences between people and limitations would not be handicaps,” he said.
“Star Trek: Federation Science” continues at the Museum of Science and Industry, 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive, through Jan. 3. Museum hours are 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. General admission to the museum is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors 65 and over and $2 for children 5-12. Additional fee to Star Trek is $3 for adults and $2 for seniors and children. For information call 312-684-1414.
“Orion Rendezvous: A Star Trek Voyage of Discovery” continues at the Adler Planetarium, 1300 S. Lake Shore Drive, through March 21. Sky Show runs at 11 a.m., 1, 2 and 4 p.m. daily, with additional Friday evening shows at 5, 7 and 8 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults, $2 for children 4-17 and seniors 65 and over. For information call 312-322-0300.
Note
As the Museum of Science and Industry formally launched its $57.5 million fundraising drive at a dinner last week, the undisputed star of the evening was Dr. Leon M. Lederman, physicist, Nobel laureate and MSI trustee. He even upstaged actors from Second City, one of whom posed as Ross Perot to introduce the scientist to the 450 people gathered for the occasion. “Perot’s” remarks were typically manic, whereupon Lederman said, “I’ve been introduced by distinguished scientists and I’ve been introduced by undergraduates. But this is the first time I’ve been introduced by someone who looked like a distinguished scientist and talked like an undergraduate.”
Others recognized at this dinner were members of the Crown family who have pledged $2.5 million for the future expansion of the Henry Crown Space Center. The museum’s fundraising effort, called “Campaign 2000,” has already brought in pledges of $30 million, 54 percent of its goal.
