Another Final Frontier: 'Star Trek' at Space Museum

The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution here has often been the last hope of parents desperate to interest their children in something besides television. Now, television wins.

" 'Star Trek': The Exhibition" opened on Friday at the museum with more than 80 original props, costumes and models from the 1960's television series.

The exhibition includes Captain Kirk's uniform, Mr. Spock's pointed ears, two models of the Starship Enterprise, a Klingon battle cruiser, communicators, phasers and even a few Tribbles, the furry little creatures that overran the Enterprise during "The Trouble With Tribbles," the all-time favorite episode cited by fans in a nationwide poll conducted by Paramount Pictures in July.

On the second day of the exhibition, thousands trekked through the galleries, crowding into the transporter room and spilling out of the tiny shop. There were more adults here than in the rest of the museum, but there were also a lot of 10- and 11-year-old boys. Star-Studded Preview

But what is a tribute to a pop-culture phenomenon, the museum's first, doing in a place that honors real-life conquests of air and space? Martin Harwit, the director of the museum, noted that "Star Trek" inspired many people in the field of space exploration, "people who believed in a dream."

And the exhibition's curator, Mary Henderson, added: "There is no other fantasy more pervasive in the conceptualization of space flight than 'Star Trek.' "

Eight of the show's stars turned out on Wednesday for a preview of the exhibition, including William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, who have been identified for over a quarter century with their Enterprise alter egos, the passionate and just Capt. James T. Kirk and the ever-logical half-Vulcan Mr. Spock.

Majel Barrett, who played Nurse Chapel on the original series and who is the widow of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of "Star Trek," said she saw the leap from science to fantasy as being rather small. Both the museum and the show are "testaments to the fact that dreams can come true," she said, adding that "the only difference is that the Enterprise is here before it's been built."

Many of the artifacts are jarring reminders of the fact that despite its cult status, "Star Trek" made its debut in the mid-1960's. The phasers and stun guns are crudely fashioned of painted wood or plastic; the control buttons on the ship's bridge are simply colored pieces of plastic. And the actors would be hard pressed to squeeze back into those spiffy, polyester uniforms.

After posing in the captain's chair, Bob Krause, a "Star Trek" fan from Columbus, Ohio, said: "Kirk's chair is plywood. I'm a little disheartened."

His wife, Kim, agreed: "It all looks a lot cheaper in person." Philosophies, Power and Sexuality

Although visitors may first run to the captain's chair, the exhibition addresses "Star Trek" not as just entertainment but also as a morality play. The dozens of photographs and props are arranged under quotations from such philosophers as Nietzsche in categories including civil rights and urban rebellion, the specter of Vietnam, the resident alien, the balance of power within and even sexuality and wives, in which viewers discover that Kirk, Spock and Leonard (Bones) McCoy, played by DeForest Kelley, were all married during the series (usually under duress) before they realized that they were truly married to their ship.

After an original pilot was rejected in 1965 as being "too cerebral," "Star Trek" had its premiere on Thursday, Sept. 8, 1966, on NBC. Just 3 seasons and 79 episodes long, it ended on June 3, 1969, a month before Neil A. Armstrong and Col. Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin set foot on the moon. The series has since been extremely successful in reruns, has spawned six feature films and a second television series, "Star Trek: The Next Generation," now in its fifth season in first-run syndication.

Turnout and security at the exhibition are unprecedented, said Ken Isbell, a museum staff member, pointing to the alarm display cases and two full-time guards on hand to protect the memorabilia from overzealous fans. Mr. Isbell, who lectures at "Star Trek" conventions, said he felt obligated to volunteer at the exhibition, but after a second day of capacity crowds, with 2,500 people going through, he began to question that decision.

"Beam me out of here!" he cried.

" 'Star Trek': The Exhibition" will run until Sept. 7 at the National Air and Space Museum. Free passes, which are available at the museum, are required for viewings on Friday, Saturday and Sunday until June 15 and every day after June 15.