Science museum joins Hollywood for space journey

Science museum joins Hollywood for space journey

LONDON (Reuters) - In the more than 25 years since its creation it has spawned best-selling novels, a television series, records, Web sites and hordes of devoted fans.

Its characters have become part of popular culture -- from hapless Englishman Arthur Dent and his best friend Ford Prefect from the planet Betelgeuse, to Marvin the chronically depressed robot and bad-tempered, ugly aliens called Vogons.

A real-life super chess computer has been named Deep Thought in homage to the film's second greatest computer ever built whose answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything is -- 42.

Now with the release of a film, Britain's Science Museum has joined forces with Hollywood to bring "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" to life and a new generation of fans.

"We want visitors to feel like they are stepping into the hitchhiker's world," said James Rudoni, manager of the 900-square metre (9,688 square feet) exhibit that opens on May 28.

The exhibit, one of the largest to be created at the central London tourist attraction, will recreate Arthur Dent's journey through the really big universe in Douglas Adams's classic and explore the facts and fiction of science along the way.

TICKLED PINK

"The links with the Science Museum make this very special," said Robbie Stamp, executive producer of the film and the exhibit and a friend of Adams, who created the hitchhiker's guide in 1978 for a BBC radio series.

"Douglas himself would have been absolutely tickled pink," he added.

Adams died in 2001 aged 49 from a heart attack in California where he was working on a screenplay for the film.

"I think he would have been so pleased that there is another space in which to explore the ideas," said Stamp.

Using props, costumes and creatures from the film, the exhibit, which will run until November before beginning a national and international tour, allows visitors to enter Dent's home which the Vogons demolish along with the Earth to pave the way for an interstellar freeway.

After passing through the picket-fenced house, visitors will bum a lift with Ford Prefect, who is not really an out-of-work actor but an alien doing research for the hitchhiker's guide, aboard the Vogon ship.

"The Vogon world looks stunning. It is very grey, dank and everything is square," said Rudoni, explaining that the exhibit is divided into zones to correspond with themes and action in the film.

A huge rubbery skinned Vogon, over 8 feet (2.4 metres) tall and created by Henson Creature Workshop, will be situated in the centre of the Vogon ship. As visitors pass through they will be able to listen to Vogon poetry, renowned for being the third worst in the universe.

"In this section, we'll be looking at the science and existence of alien life," Rudoni added, emphasising where the science comes in.

From the dreary dark Vogon zone, the next stop is the bright, clear and very clean Heart of Gold Spaceship, powered by the Infinite Improbability Drive, which saves the two galactic hitchhikers after the Vogons throw them into space.

Among the 11 zones in the exhibit one will include the actual Marvin used in the film and delve into the science of artificial intelligence and robots.

Deep Thought, the computer which after 7.5 million years of calculations said 42 was the answer to the meaning of life, will also be prominently displayed.

"In this area visitors will be able to register what they think is the ultimate question and Deep Thought will pick his favourite questions," according to Rudoni.

After passing through the portal of the luxury planet Magrathea, exhibits in the planetary factory and showroom zone will examine the Big Bang and how the planets were formed.

Then it's back to reality.

"I always felt there were two strands that ran through Douglas's own personal philosophy. One was a deeply held wish that humankind ought to have just a little bit more humility about its place as a species in the great scheme of things," he said.

"The other was a genuine reverence for the beauty of what we do have on this particular lump of rock."

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Benjamin Zephaniah

I had never heard of Benjamin Zephaniah until a couple of days ago. I had the TV on, I think the station was Sky news(I like to see what main stream media think is news) they had an item called "what would you do if you became prime minister" Benjamin Zephaniah was that days guest. He made some very good comments, so I decided to find out more about him. Below is part of one of his poems and a link to his website.

Nature Trail
By Benjamin Zephaniah
(from 'A Little Book of Vegan Poems')

"At the bottom of my gardens
There’s a hedgehog and a frog
And a lot of creepy-crawlies
Living underneath a log,
There’s a baby daddy long legs
And an easy-going snail
And a family of woodlice,
All are on my nature trail."

There are caterpillars waiting
For their time to come to fly,
There are worms turning the earth over
As ladybirds fly by,
Birds will visit, cats will visit
But they always chose their time
And I've even seen a fox visit
This wild garden of mine.

read the full poem here you will need to scroll down the page a bit to find it.