Boldly Going Where No One Has Gone Before

Star Trek Night at the Penn Museum Wednesday, April 19, 6:00 pm
Invites Guests to an Intergalactic, Time Traveling Adventure

PHILADELPHIA, PA 2017—Are you fit for Command? Perhaps Science or Operations is more your department. Whatever your skill set and interests are, the Penn Museum invites you to choose your adventure and take the ultimate challenge, exploring the international galleries as never before while earning your Starfleet rank. After the adventure, listen to the hit band The Roddenberries while you drink space cocktails!

It’s Star Trek Night at the Penn Museum, and it’s scheduled for take-off on Wednesday, April 19 at 6:00 pm. Admission, just $20 per person ($15 for Penn Museum members) includes one free drink. Guests must be 18 years old or older, alcoholic drinks available for ages 21 and above. Limited tickets are available and advance registration at the Museum’s online calendar of events is strongly recommended. Star Trek Night is a program in the Museum’s P.M. @ Penn Museum School Nights series of events.

The evening begins as Dr. Steve Tinney, Associate Curator-in-Charge, Babylonian Section, and an avid Trekker, welcomes guests, and offers a short introductory talk about Gilgamesh in Star Trek. In Darmok, the 102nd episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Trekkers will remember that Captain Picard, struggling to find a way to communicate with a species who only speak through allegory, tells stories from the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest legends ever written, first recorded in Sumerian cuneiform. The Penn Museum has more than two dozen tablets with Gilgamesh stories on them, including one of the largest early examples of the epic in the Akkadian language.

Guests choose from among three different adventures: working towards Starfleet graduation in Science/Medicine, Command/Leadership, or Engineering/Security. Then everyone heads into the Museum’s international galleries to test their moxie via a series of mental and physical challenges.

Ancient and traditional cultures on the planet Earth as featured throughout the Museum’s galleries offer new recruits a lot to think about: will the logic of ancient Greece help with diplomacy skills? What magical remedies did the ancient Egyptians employ in the medical arsenal that can inform Starfleet doctors? Along with mental challenges, recruits can expect physical challenges as well.

When the adventure winds down, the party begins, as newly minted (or not!) Starfleet officers can enjoy The Roddenberries—the galaxy’s premiere Star Trekkified, multi-media sci-fi rock cabaret, formed in Philadelphia in 2012. The 10-piece troupe features professional musicians, cabaret performers, dancers and film makers. Their versatile show spans the realms of science fiction, fantasy, gaming, Star Trek, Star Wars, Dr. Who, Marvel and DC—offering a unique combination of rock-n-roll theater, comedy, and sci-fi fun.

The Roddenberries have performed around the country, including at the 2016 Star Trek Las Vegas Official 50 Year Anniversary Convention, the New York Comic Con, and the Philadelphia Wizard World/Comic Con.

The Penn Museum (the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) is dedicated to the study and understanding of human history and diversity. Founded in 1887, the Museum has sent more than 300 archaeological and anthropological expeditions to all the inhabited continents of the world. With an active exhibition schedule and educational programming for children and adults, the Museum offers the public an opportunity to share in the ongoing discovery of humankind's collective heritage.

The Penn Museum is located at 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (on Penn's campus, across from Franklin Field). Public transportation to the Museum is available via SEPTA's Regional Rail Line at University City Station; the Market-Frankford Subway Line at 34th Street Station; trolley routes 11, 13, 34, and 36; and bus routes 21, 30, 40, and 42. Museum hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and first Wednesdays of each month until 8:00 pm, with P.M. @ PENN MUSEUM evening programs offered. Closed Mondays and holidays. Admission donation is $15 for adults; $13 for senior citizens (65 and above); free for U.S. Military; $10 for children and full-time students with ID; free to Members, PennCard holders, and children 5 and younger.

Hot and cold meals and light refreshments are offered to visitors with or without Museum admission in The Pepper Mill Café; the Museum Shop offers a wide selection of gifts, books, games, clothing and jewelry. Penn Museum can be found on the web at www.penn.museum. For general information call 215.898.4000. For group tour information call 215.746.8183.