'Star Trek' interactive exhibit hits The Franklin

The Franklin Institute is offering Trekkies the chance to connect with their favorite iconic Star Trek characters and moments in a new exhibit that opens next Saturday.

"Star Trek: The Exhibition" will make its East Coast debut as a 12,500-square-foot, interactive exhibit, based on the celebrated science fiction series. It will showcase 40 years of the series' legacy in television and on film. Organizers describe the display as the world's most comprehensive collection of authentic Star Trek ships, costumes, and props.

A detailed re-creation of the bridge from the USS Enterprise, as featured in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, will be showcased.

"When I was young, we would play Star Trek on a neighbor's swing set and everyone always fought over who could sit in the captain's chair," said Steve Snyder, vice president of exhibit and program development at the Franklin Institute, who calls Captain Kirk's chair on the bridge his favorite part of the exhibition.

Another highlight is the Simulator Experience, a thrill ride in a Federation shuttle craft as it homes in on the galaxy villain, the Borg.

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's vision of varied life-forms within the galaxy will be displayed in the Infinite Diversity Gallery, including some of the series' popular alien creatures such as the Klingons, Cardassians, Shapeshifters, and the Borg.

The History of the Future Gallery features a timeline of the entire Star Trek saga, placing each TV series and film into its historical perspective - from the present-day International Space Station and NASA's return to the moon through the future voyages of Captains Archer, Kirk, Picard, Sisko, and Janeway.

"At its heart, the series was always about how new scientific understanding had the power to improve our lives," Snyder said. "I hope that visitors to the exhibit leave with this sense of science as a grand adventure."