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A lot more awakens than the Force as a sleek hot rod from another galaxy blazed into the world’s largest children’s museum. Star Wars fans of all ages are sure to appreciate the fearsome ride that eerily resembles one of the most revered movie villains of all time – Darth Vader.
Imagine a glistening, ebony body with a sinister-eyed windshield and a grill matching the most evil of sneers. Add lightsaber side pipes, imperial insignias, a hood plate above the engine as a chest panel and top it off with a Darth Vader type helmet sitting on the chassis and it’s clear that every inch of the Hot Wheels super-fast, full-sized car mirrors Darth Vader. To quote the Dark Lord himself, “The force is strong with this one.”
The museum first received intelligence regarding the invasion from the Dark Side this morning when it learned that a stormtrooper would be diverted to ensure the safety of their leader’s trusted hot rod. After lengthy negotiations, museum president and CEO Dr. Jeffrey Patchen was able to convince the stormtrooper it was all for the good of the galaxy and would be in good hands at the world’s largest children’s museum.
It is all part of an announcement regarding the future home of an extraordinary experience exploring American arts and popular culture. “American film, TV and popular culture inspires, influences, and contributes to our history and can help shape the future,” said Dr. Jeffrey Patchen, president and CEO, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. “When I explained that Star Wars artifacts would be part of our new Galleries for American Arts and Popular Culture, the stormtrooper was intrigued and agreed to stand down after today.”
Members of the 501st Legion (including a wide cast of characters such as stormtroopers, a Jedi, a TIE pilot, Ahsoka Tano, and one mini Vader) will check in briefly tomorrow, Saturday, December 12, 2015 to patrol the museum from 10 a.m. until noon. The Hot Wheels Darth Vader Car will be the main feature. It is actually a modified Chevy Corvette C5 with a 526-horsepower engine, and can reportedly hit a top speed of 150mph.
The museum has 1,800 Star Wars artifacts in its collection. A re-imagined exhibit space (opening in June 2017) will focus on American Arts and Popular Culture and will feature some of those pieces along with the comic books from the Max Simon Comic Book Collection of 14,000 volumes, the Robert W. Wilds Cowboy Boot Collection of 92 pairs of cowboy boots, and a Beany & Cecil cartoon and puppet collection along with other examples of famous fashion, toys, and memorabilia from various decades.
The announcement today (December 11, 2015) is part of a broader fundraising campaign to raise funds for a re-imagined exhibit space that will contain both permanent exhibits and rotating temporary exhibits all revolving around American film, TV, popular culture, toys, games, music, and books, that may be touchstones in American Society. That will serve as the basis for The Galleries for American Arts and Popular Culture, which will be located in the current Eli Lilly Center for Arts Exploration (CFAX).
The museum is still seeking funds to re-envision the permanent gallery space. Part of a recent grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to strengthen the long-term financial sustainability of the Children’s Museum will help support future temporary exhibits for the space, ensuring exciting and popular content that will be relevant to children and families.
About The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is a nonprofit institution committed to creating extraordinary learning experiences across the arts, sciences, and humanities that have the power to transform the lives of children and families. For more information about The Children's Museum, visit www.childrensmuseum.org, follow us on Twitter @TCMIndy, Facebook.com/childrensmuseum and YouTube.com/IndyTCM.
