The first interactive station that is encountered is titled “Species: What Kind of Creature Are You?” The exhibit text adds a sense of realism to otherwise fantastic alien species:
On planet Earth, we humans think of ourselves as the only living creatures that have the physi- cal, psychological, and intellectual features necessary to form a complex personal identity. The humans in Star Wars, however, share a galaxy with a huge variety of psychologically complex al- iens, all with their own sense of self and society.342
Visitors then select one of fifteen Star Wars races: a green tentacled, bug-eyed Nautolan; a giant hairy Wookiee; an aquatic Mon Calamarian; a horned Zabrak; a lizard-like Trandoshan; a tiny Ewok; an insectoid-like Kel Dor; a Human; a lithe, tentacled Twi’lek; a long-snouted Rodian; a big-eared Gungan; a round-headed, big-eyed Neimoidian; a long-necked Kaminoan; a worm/insect-like Bith; or a head- crested Togruta. As there is no cultural information provided for each species in the exhibition text, visi- tors make their selection largely on the species’ appearance or, in line with constructivist learning theo- ry, their prior knowledge of the races as they appeared in Star Wars. On my first walkthrough with Mr. Stegar I initially chose Human. After he expressed his disappointment at my lack of creativity, I selected
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Alison Griffiths, Shivers Down Your Spine: Cinema, Museums, and the Immersive View, (New York: Columbia University Press, 2008), 1-2.
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Zabrak as it was directly in front of me and I liked the horns. In subsequent walkthroughs I selected Nau- tolan, Ewok, Wookiee, and Human. The first three were selected because they are personal favorites of mine within the Star Wars universe, and the last one was selected so I could model a character after my- self to see how it turned out (more on that later). Once the visitor has decided, they place their wrist band against a small panel underneath their species of choice to record it.
After selecting a species, there are several exhibits that feature production sketches, miniatures, and costumes that can be perused at leisure. Origins is broken up into three separate areas. In this first area, there is a video on cloning that discusses real-life cloning techniques and the infamous Clone Troopers of the Star Wars prequel trilogy; a Stormtrooper, Boba Fett, C3PO, R2D2, and miscellaneous droid costumes; ship, podrace aliens from Episode I, and Jar Jar Binks head models; and a selection of production sketches and props from the “cantina scene” in the original Star Wars film that illustrates how humanity was the minority in many locations in this far away galaxy. Each of the artifacts chosen for this area illustrates how every species (including those created by man like AI and clones) has a dis- tinct set of customs, characteristics, and means of expressing itself that makes each species unique.
The Species station is also the location of the first Quest in the Educator’s Guide. Each Quest section contains several activities that apply to different subjects, so the exhibition can be adapted easi- ly for different classes. For example, Quest 1: Create a Species connects to the Science and Language Arts curricula. While it primarily connects to Science, the Quest’s Language Arts component can be at- tributed to enhancing the students’ vocabulary, and in writing a report that expands upon this activity and provides them with writing experience. In the activity associated with this Quest, students “create their own species which lives on an imaginary planet” using both “logic and creativity to decide specific characteristics belonging to their species.”343 Each Quest also provides the teachers with background to help frame the activity for their students. The background for this quest is as follows:
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On the planet Earth, there are an estimated 8.8 million different species but only about 1.7 mil- lion have been discovered so far. Of these 1.7 million species, we generally consider that humans are the only ones that have the physical, psychological and intellectual features necessary to form a complex personal identity. However, there are over 20 million species in the Star Wars Universe with the ability to think intelligently and each of these alien species has their own sense of self and society.344
Providing real-world facts and discussing Star Wars within that context provides an easily recog- nizable link between the fictional world and our own. After the context is provided, the students begin their activity associated with the Quest. In this particular activity, the teacher has the option to assign a home planet to each student (as a group or as individuals) from either our solar system, Star Wars, or a world of their own creation, and have them create a different species from that planet. Each of these planets has distinct characteristics, such as a desert world, water world, longer days, multiple moons or suns, etc. Each Quest also has its own activity sheet for the students to fill out. The Guide outlines 8 types of species for the students to choose from, providing a Star Wars context for most of them, and reminds the teacher to make sure the students consider the characteristics of the planet they are work- ing with when making their selection. The choices are as follows:345
Mammalian – having mammary glands (e.g. Humans, Wookies, Ewoks) Reptilian – cold-blooded, scaly skin (e.g. Rodians, Trandoshans)
Plant – synthesize energy from water, nutrients and sunlight Insect – defined body segments (e.g. Verpines)
Invertibrate – no internal skeleton (e.g. Hutts)
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“Star Wars Identities Exhibition Catalogue,” 9.
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Avian – warm blooded, feathered and winged
Aquatic – breathe water, air or both (e.g. Mon Calamaris, Gungans)
Craniopod – something so alien that it does not fit into any category (e.g. Biths)
Many of the Star Wars species listed are available for selection at the interactive station, and the others are mentioned later in the exhibition for those who may not be familiar with them. Lastly, this section includes an extension activity titled “How Species Walk,” which encourages students to con- sider how different species walk, including lessons in the different types of foot positions for both bi- pedal and quadrupedal species (digitigrade, plantigrade, unguligrade, lateral sequence, diagonal se- quence). Students are asked to consider how many eyes, legs, and arms their species has, any physical traits, and also consider how they breathe and eat.
Listing choices like “Plant” in relation to other species in many of the concepts considered here runs the risk of anthropomorphizing certain life forms that we encounter in our daily lives. While plants are certainly alive, they are not commonly thought of as being intelligent creatures. However, this is not the case in Star Wars. Races like the Neti, who appeared in various comic books, novels, and games, are a race of intelligent plants – some of whom even became renowned Jedi Masters. Considering this, intel- ligent plants fit into Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s ideal of IDIC, which stands for “Infinite Diver- sity in Infinite Combinations.” In Textual Poachers: Television Fans & Participatory Culture, Henry Jenkins discusses how this Vulcan belief system “becomes an ideal guide for conduct” for fans of the science fiction series.346 Additionally, this effectively means that there is no limit to the wonders that exist in the universe and the life forms it contains. Although IDIC is not a Star Wars concept, the possibility that in- telligent plants may exist on a planet in a galaxy far, far away is itself at the very heart of the doctrine. Diversity is a key component to many science fiction stories, and considering the possibility that life “out
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there” can be both vastly different from what we know here on Earth, yet still be identifiable through shared characteristics, helps to spark our imaginations.
In addition to the standard activities in the Guide, there are also supplementary activities for each Quest designed to specifically connect them to Alberta’s school curriculum. In the “Create a Spe- cies” Quest I just described, there are sub-lessons designed for various K-9 courses. For example, Grade 1 Science students are encouraged to discuss the community and value aspects of living beings (living in a community, sources of food, shelter, etc.), and how we provide for animals in our care and keep them alive.347 Grade 2 Science students expand on this later component, and are asked to describe the habi- tats of humans in nature and the biological requirements for their survival. Language Arts K-9 classes in Grades 2, 3, and 4, are encouraged to present on the exhibition. Grade 2 presents “ideas and infor- mation by combining illustrations and written texts.”348 Grade 3 uses “print and non-print aids to illus- trate ideas and information in oral, print and other media texts,” and Grade 4 enhances their presenta- tion “through the use of props, such as pictures, overheads and artifacts.”349 Lastly, Grade 7 classes on Interactions & Ecosystems “illustrate how life-supporting environments meet the needs of living things for nutrients, energy, sources, moisture, suitable habitat, and exchange of gases”; “describe examples of interaction and interdependency within an ecosystem”; and “analyze an ecosystem to identify biotic and abiotic components, and describe interactions among these components.”350 These additional activities, while supplementary to the larger ones, fulfill requirements that connect the exhibit to specific topics within the standardized educational curriculum of the area. However, they remain general enough that when the exhibition travels to new locations it can be adapted to service schools in those areas as well. All of these activities concerning Species, both general and specific, also help flesh out the realism in-
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“Star Wars Identities Educator’s Resource Guide,” 93.
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“Star Wars Identities Educator’s Resource Guide,” 93.
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“Star Wars Identities Educator’s Resource Guide,” 93.
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herent in the exhibition’s roleplaying components by incorporating scientific context into the fantasy of the themed space.