This exhibition has ended.
What's On:

Arcadia

On now – 4 June 2023

Five local creative practitioners commissioned by Powerhouse respond to the blockbuster touring exhibition Gucci Garden Archetypes.

Unpopular

On now – 3 June 2023

Unpopular draws stories of the alternative music scene of the 1990s from the never-before-seen archive of record company founder Stephen ‘Pav’ Pavlovic.
Closed exhibition

Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination

Finished 26 April 2009
Powerhouse Ultimo

For the first time in Australia, Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination takes you on a completely new journey through the Star Wars universe.

See over 80 models, props and costumes from all six Star Wars films and discover the real world technologies that are rapidly making the Star Wars fantasy
a reality.

Could cars one day hover above ground and will droids like C-3P0 be our helpers?
Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination invites you to imagine a future not so far, far away.
Landspeeders, space ships and maglev vehicles

  • See Luke’s original landspeeder from Episode IV A New Hope, scale
    models of X- and Y-wing starfighters, the Rebel Blockade Runner Tantive IV,
    the Royal Naboo Starship and much more
  • View videos of real world ‘speeders’ and maglev trains in use around the world
  • Take a spin in a real world hovercraft to feel what the mass transport of the future might be like
  • Build a levitating vehicle and test it on a magnetic track
  • See prototypes of real world hovering vehicles including the Moller Skycar

Intelligent machines and you

  • Come face to face with Star Wars robots including C-3P0 and R2-D2, an interrogation droid and Two-One Bee
  • Design and build your own droid
  • Program a robot to navigate through the droid factory
  • Discover how robots express emotions
  • Find out how to make a robot walk

Cyborgs and implant technology

  • See Darth Vader’s helmet and Luke and Anakin’s prosthetic hands
  • Create a virtual cyborg character: human or machine?
  • Discover how these technologies are being used in real-world robotic limbs and neural implants

What makes a good robot?
Enter the steel interior of a Jawa sandcrawler from Episode IV to meet an animatronic C-3P0. He is joined (via video) by real world robotics engineer, Dr Cynthia Breazeal. Listen in as they discuss what makes a good robot, along the way looking at examples from C-3P0’s own illustrious career.
Characters and environments in the Star Wars world

  • Explore some of the unique environments in the Star Wars universe to discover how people and things adapt to climate and conditions.
  • See the costumes of some of the unique Star Wars characters including Wookiees from Kashyyyk, snowtroopers from Hoth, and  Jawas from Tatooine
  • See an original yoda puppet
  • Create your own virtual community. Design a spaceport, moisture farm
    and walled Jawa town.

The people behind the scenes
Throughout the exhibition video interviews with filmmakers and engineers give you the behind the scenes stories on the making of the fantasy and the real thing.

Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination was developed by the Museum of Science, Boston, USA and Lucasfilm Ltd. Star Wars objects in this exhibition are on loan from the Archives of Lucasfilm, Ltd. This exhibition is made possible through
the cooperation of Lucasfilm Ltd. Lucasfilm Ltd: © 2008 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM.
All Rights Reserved. Used Under Authorisation.