Space Toys at Danville Science Center

Space Toys at Danville Science Center

Check out toys and memorabilia from your favorite science fiction films and television shows. Find out about space-travel and extraterrestrials. Witness battle scenes from “Star Wars” recreated with action figures. See the evolution of “Star Trek” from the original series to the latest film. It’s all in the new visiting exhibition Space Toys at the Danville Science Center, through Tuesday, May 29.

“Space Toys is very nostalgic,” says Danville Science Center Director Ginny Laubinger. “We have toys from classic sci-fi movies and TV shows. But, it’s more than that. The interactive exhibits explore the reality of space travel. Space Toys shows the connections between science fiction and science fact. There are sci-fi gadgets that inspired real technology. The communication devices used in sci-fi TV shows are similar to today’s cellular phones. Toys also reflect changes in technology. Toys from the ‘40s look like rockets, but toys from the ‘60s resemble NASA spacecraft.”

Keep an eye out for a tribute to “Star Trek” films and all four of the “Star Trek” television series. Examine toys and memorabilia from our favorite science fiction films and television shows including “Star Wars,” “Space 1999,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Buck Rogers,” “Flash Gordon,” “Lost in Space,” “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “The Black Hole,” “E.T.: The extraterrestrial” and “Mission to Mars.”

How do you think aliens might look? See how images of aliens have changed over the years in collector Alan Adwig’s space toys. The collection includes pictures of Disney cartoon characters in space, space shuttle models and space-themed lunch boxes.

Explore robotics, alien life and the solar system in 12 interactive exhibits. Launch a rocket. Design a robot. Engineer a new life form. See the other side of the Big Dipper. Become an astronomer and discover a new comet. Step on a digital scale and see what you would weigh on the moon. See how long it takes to travel across the solar system in a car, an airplane or the space shuttle.

Space Toys is a creation of the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, Ark. The exhibition is included with Science Center admission.

Danville Science center admission is $3 for children 4-12, $4 for adults and $3 for seniors 60 and above. The Science Center is open Tues-Sat, 9:30 a.m. – R p.m. The Center is located at 677 Craghead Street. Call (804) 791-5160. Visit Danville Science Center at dsc.cmv.org to access.