`Star Trek' Lands In Portland For Stellar Exhibition

PORTLAND - Beam us down to Oregon, Scotty. A "Star Trek" museum exhibition opens here tomorrow that brings some of that show's enchantment up close and personal.

From educational computer games that touch off a big-screen display of Starfleet special effects to a contraption that attempts to simulate the moon's one-sixth gravity, the exhibit at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry has enough magic to make even Mr. Spock smile.

The idea behind it is as sly as Romulan treachery. "It's the science behind the science fiction," explained Divonna Ogier, the exhibit manager. "People will be having so much fun they won't realize they are learning things."

"Star Trek: Federation Science" coincides with the show's 25th anniversary and the 1992 International Space Year declared by the United Nations. It will run in Portland through August in its only West Coast appearance, then tour the U.S.

Aided by the cooperation of Paramount Pictures, the $1.3 million exhibit uses mock-ups roughly reminiscent of the "Star Trek" set. It will display some of the costumes that have been worn by the actors such as William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and Whoopi Goldberg plus several life-size mock-ups of alien heads - including one in a mirror device that gives the viewer a peek at how he or she would look as a Klingon.

Included are a "transporter room" where a choice of worlds triggers a one-minute virtual-reality image on a screen; a spectroscopy display explaining how astronomers use light's spectrum to identify the elements of distant stars; an "antimatter engine" exhibit that teaches particle physics; and a sick bay area that demonstrates how cells have receptors that attach to foreign bodies.

An action-reaction chair scoots a rider along a track as they heave a 5-pound bean bag, air-powered rockets demonstrate the propulsion of space flight, and actor LeVar Burton narrates a video about the possibility of interstellar flight and a planetarium trip to the Orion constellation. (Burton also is the guest star at a "Star Trek" convention tomorrow and Sunday at the SeaTac Red Lion Inn.)

"Gene Roddenberry loved this idea," said Ogier. The "Star Trek" creator approved the exhibit plans shortly before he died last fall.

The idea of adapting "Star Trek" to a science museum came from Terry Hiller, manager of OMSI's bookstore. He wrote to Roddenberry in 1989, expecting a big-shot brush-off. Instead he was invited to meet with the producer in Los Angeles. After a year of negotiation, Paramount agreed to allow use of the copyrighted material.

Hiller had read that "Star Trek" had inspired actors and scientists, and reasoned it could spark interest in science with the general public as well. "The show was affecting these individuals without even trying," he said. "What would happen if we actively used `Star Trek' to encourage people to go into science?"

The original idea of trying to re-create the starship's bridge set at the museum proved impractical. But Paramount has insisted on accuracy down to paint colors on the mock-up displays, and the starship theme proved an ideal framework for science displays.

Computer games run by touching the screen, for example, teach about the vectors of asteroids or planetary atmospheres in a fun, creative way.

John de Lancie, the Seattle actor who plays "Q" on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" will be on hand for an opening night party from 7 to 10 p.m. tomorrow ($15 for non-OMSI members).

Regular museum admission is $5.25 for adults, $4.25 for seniors over 65, and $3.50 for ages 3-17. OMSI next to the Washington Park Zoo in Portland's West Hills, just off the freeway to Beaverton.

Big crowds are expected, which once more poses the question of why "Star Trek" continues to fascinate. Museum workers cited the show's optimism.

"It shows future society as it should be, as people would like to think it will be," Ogier said. "There is racial equality, sexual equality, species equality. We didn't destroy ourselves, we solved our problems and went forward."

Hiller agreed. And is he a hard-core Trekker? "There is life beyond `Star Trek'," he said, standing next to the museum store's display of "Trek" merchandise. Then he grinned. "It may not be worth living, but it's there."