Star Wars: The Exhibit

We went to see the new Star Wars exhibit at the Franklin Institute this week. It was a treat from a friend, who (being the certified smartypants she is) bought a membership online and got SIX TICKETS FREE. WOW. Buy online membership. Save money. Get free tix to boot. Listen up, Philadelphia.

The exhibit was very interesting, not that I got to see much of it. Besides the fact that my two daughters were yanking me through at warp-speed, the place was MOBBED. And I am not exaggerating. It was like trying to get at the Hope Diamond for Sci-Fi fans. Imagine a universe populated solely with pubescent males wearing themed t-shirts. Then expand that by 13, and add in every single one of their parents and siblings. Plus stragglers.

The tickets were timed. When we got there we had to wait in a reeeaaally loooooong line to even get in, then BAM! all of a sudden we’re in, but so is everyone else. All of the stuff in cases, you know the Props, etc. – EVERYTHING YOU CAME TO SEE, you could barely even get to b/c everyone was taking turns standing next to [whatever it is] and snapping photos. Darth Vadar’s costume. The Yoda puppet. Chewbacca. And my personal fav – Han Solo’s costume. Couldn’t even get to see that up close. It looked smaller than I had imagined, Or maybe it was b/c I was STANDING ACROSS THE ROOM.

Meanwhile, my younger daughter started freaking out at the stuffed abominable snow creature. I had to look up the name just now – it is called a Wampa and looks like this:


Yes it is scary as hell looking.

Anyway, she started bugging out, like it was going to come to life and attack us. It actually made for a slightly welcome diversion, sort of parting the Sea so to speak, and we were finally able to make our way over to the exit. And by exit I of course mean GIFT SHOPPE. B/c in this day & age there is no other way to leave an exhibit. Normally I could care less, but the Star Wars gift shoppe is SO DAMN NARROW it’s barely wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair let alone hoarding masses of sci-fi fans. I felt sincerely bad for those perusing the wares, who seemed to be taking their lives in their hands by stopping to look at the magnets and mugs and numerous dog costumes. At least it seemed that way as we smashed past them like a battalion of stormtroopers.

In summary, the Star Wars exhibit was neat, at least what I could see of it, but I am so glad my friend got those tickets for free. It seems patently unfair to charge $20 bucks a head for an exhibit which should rightfully have 50% fewer visitors at a time and a 50% larger exit to ensure no one gets trampled. If you’re going to check it out, DO YOURSELF A FAVOR and go in the evening when it’s cheaper (like half price) and the crowds have thinned significantly. And if you go, let me know what you think. Just how tall is Harrison Ford anyway?

2 thoughts on “Star Wars: The Exhibit

  1. ha! i was going to blog about this tomorrow–we went tonight. husbandito is a huge, frothing star wars fan. the place was mobbed but he just shoved small children out of the way to get closer to displays. i stood on the sidelines smiling inanely.

    we went after 5 and only paid $10 each, but the crowds were pretty intense–especially because we’re not used having ankle-biters around us.

    for dire-hard fans the exhibit is great–but go on a tuesday afternoon.

  2. I hate to call myself out as a geek BUT Star Wars fans are not Sci-Fi fans, they are fantasy fans. Star Wars is a fantasy movie! STAR TREK is sci-fi.

    The Star Wars people keep fronting like it’s sci-fi and it is ALL A LIE.

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