Health Museum is strong with the Force of Star Wars

The Force is strong with this one. The John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science, also known as The Health Museum, has turned to the dark side, in a manner of speaking, luring thousands of Star wars fans with an exhibit of movie props, costumes and models and delivering an educational, scientific experience in the process.

What all that means is the museum has the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit and if you haven’t seen it yet, you only have until Sept. 18 to do so. It’s uber cool and enlightening to boot! You can see the Millennium Falcon, the original Darth Vader costume, Luke Skywalker’s landspeeder, the Wampa ice creature, R2-D2 and C-3PO along with dozens of other authentic relics from all six Star wars films.

While you’re busy ogling the displays, you can also visit stations to learn about the real science inspired by the movie magic. Build your own moisture farm, run a maglev vehicle along a track or view prosthetics and robotics used today that are not unlike those seen in the movies.

“It’s more than just the costumes and props; it encompasses technology used and inspired by the films,” said museum spokeswoman Stephanie Manning.

Manning said the exhibit was created by the Museum of Science in Boston and has been touring the country. She said it has helped boost attendance at The Health Museum this summer.

“It brings in some people who wouldn’t normally come in on their own,” she said.

That would include people like me. I’m a Star Wars junkie and I love history and museums, but a museum dedicated to health didn’t excite me; at least not until I was lured by the Force of Star Wars. I took some time to quickly tour some of the museum’s standing exhibits and was blown away. The aspects of science and biology are very intriguing and the interactive nature of the museum makes it very appropriate for the whole family.

But like I said, I was drawn in by the glamour of the Star Wars artifacts. Before you even walk into the gallery, there is a large X-Wing model on display in the hall. Right inside the door is a huge model of Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon. It only gets better from there. Inside are the actual costumes worn by the likes of Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), David Prowes (Darth Vader), Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) and many more.

There are several models on display, mostly those used in the first three films. There are Imperial Walkers, a Star Destroyer, the Tantive IV (Rebel blockade runner), and a Y-Wing to list a few. An R2-D2 and one of the C-3PO costumes are displayed along with the “naked” C-3PO puppet. Speaking of puppets, the original Yoda is there.

Remember in “Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith when the helmet was installed on Vader’s head? The pieces of that helmet are included in the exhibit. You could almost hear the hiss and the sound of that first breath while marveling at it.

Among the props are lightsabers, blasters, various droids and an assortment of gadgets that even casual fans would recognize. From the science perspective, the exhibit has modern-day robots, including a flying sphere used on the International Space Station. There is a model of what a matter/antimatter rocket would look like to ferry people to other stars. It’s almost as long as Texas is wide!

From an interactive standpoint, there is a station where you can manipulate levers to make robotic legs walk. At another you can see how robots “see” things. But the best interactive part of the show will cost you an extra $5. Be sure not to miss the Millennium Falcon Experience. Climb into a mock-up of the ship’s cockpit and let Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) take you on a dizzying journey from Earth to the outer edges of the known universe.

Oh, and while you’re at the Health Museum, be sure to go inside yourself and explore how the human body works. It’s absolutely fascinating! But act quickly; you only have until Sept. 18. It will cost $20 to get in and no, Republic Credits will not do.