Well.......to be honest, it isn't really a life long dream. It's only been about a week and a half, long dream.
Ever since I took a bus load of grade 5's on a field trip to the World of Science in the city, and we saw an IMAX movie about it, narrated by Morgan Freeman. Actually, only part of the movie was about the orphaned Kenyan elephants. The other part was about orphaned orangutans in some other part of the world. But I think I'd rather choose the orphaned elephants. Because while orangutans are undeniably quite adorable, they sort of freak me out a little bit. Sorry, that's just me. So, probably the elephants. And Morgan Freeman is pretty darned convincing.
But that's not the only thing I saw at the World of Science. When I was asked if I'd be interested in driving this trip I jumped at the chance. There was something else going on at the World of Science while we were going to be there. This thing:
I don't really talk about it much, but I have a bit of a thing for Star Wars. I don't think I'm fanatical about it or anything, but I may or may not have a tiny Millenium Falcon sitting on the corner of my night stand. So, as all of the grade 5 classes from our town trotted off to learn about useless things like electricity and gravity and shit, I headed in the opposite direction to get my ticket, and was the very first visitor of the day into the Star Wars Identities exhibit.
It was pretty cool. You get to wear an earpiece and a electronic bracelet and as you wander from station to station, you use the bracelet to save the choices that you make to define the character you would become in the Star Wars universe. Along the way, you get to look at props and story board drawings from the movies. Things like these guys:
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| Are these the droids you were looking for? |
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| YES Damnit! They were the droids you were looking for! |
There were costumes of most of the main characters and the Yoda puppet from before the CGI version.
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| Cooler than Morgan Freeman, I am? |
And while I've spent a good number of years thinking that this was my favorite Millenium Falcon,
Turns out the model that they used to make the movies is pretty darned cool too!
So, I've got a ton of pictures that are probably equally as boring to you as the one's I've already shown you. I was supposed to get an email with the character that they created for me based on the choices that I made, but it never showed up, which was a little bit disappointing. Luckily I snapped a picture of who I'd be if I was a Star Wars character.
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| Some sort of Jedi pilot. Pretty cool! |
I was able to get through the exhibit just in time to slip into the IMAX theater with the grade 5's to catch Morgan Freeman tell us all about orphaned jungle critters. That's why I've got baby elephants on my mind lately along with thoughts of moving across the globe to look after them. Of course, I've yet to clear any of this with my family, so I may have to rethink my week and a half long dream before I spring tickets to Kenya on them. Either way, I'm lucky that I have a new little buddy riding around with me to help me make tough decisions and keep me company.
.....................I wonder if I could get Morgan Freeman to talk to my family?
What a cool exhibit! I love Yoda and Star Wars, maybe because it was the first movie I ever saw in the theather or just because I grew up on it. Not sure, either way... I always wanted those little teddy bear things that lived in the the forest, if I couldn't have those now, I would take the Elephants, monkeys throw poop.
ReplyDeleteHi Jules,
DeleteIt was pretty cool. I was glad that I was able to go through it. Even if I hadn't done the field trip, I'm sure I would have gotten in to go to it anyways.
Yes, monkeys do throw poop, but I think the pile left by an elephant is going to be pretty substantial. Either way, that's a lot of crap to deal with. :)
I have always loved Star Wars. On a sadder note, I loved watching National Geographic and Nature when I was a child, and I remember the show about the elephant rescue. It is very, very sad, what people have done to these animals to make them orphans.
ReplyDeleteHi Holly,
DeleteThis show didn't really go to far into explaining why the baby's were orphaned. Other than to say it was forestry and poaching. It centered more on the efforts of the two different women who ran these orphanages and raised these babies to be returned to the wild.
I love Star Wars and would love to see that exhibit! I wonder if it's a traveling one? I'll have to look to see if it will show up here in the Detroit area.
ReplyDeleteAnd gosh dang it, Ken! Why did you have to tell me about orphaned elephants?? I was already planning on doing the orangutan thing, and now I have to decide between the two. Or maybe I could split my time between the two? I desperately need to see that documentary!
Hi Kianwi,
DeleteIt is a traveling exhibit. I think that this is actually the last stop in Canada. I'm not sure if it's done then, or goes to the US.
Unfortunately, the two different orphanages were countries apart. splitting your time is going to be rather difficult.
6 months at one, then 6 months at the other, maybe?
DeleteIn Yoda speak: "Be with you may the force be."
ReplyDeleteThanks Stephen.
DeleteSo. AWESOME!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was a pretty cool exhibit.
DeleteI want to see that exhibit, too! That is so cool that you would have been a Rebel pilot, you rebel! :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Bee,
DeleteI don't really know how rebellious I am? I'd probably be the pilot that took kids to different planets on field trips. :)
That sounds like my idea of an awesome field trip! A few years ago, in lieu of ivory for our 13th anniversary, the hubs and I sponsored two of those orphaned elephants. The ones at the Sheldrick Wildlife Preserve. Their names are Ishanga and Ololoo. It's been awesome to get monthly updates on their progress.
ReplyDeleteHey Rachel!
DeleteI think that's the same one that we saw in the movie. I thought that it was cool how the trainers get assigned to one elephant and spend all of their time with them until they are released. They even sleep in the same area as they do.
That's an awesome thing that you guys have done Rachel! So cool! :)
My friend!
ReplyDeleteSo you have a thing for Star Wars, do you? Your coolness just moved up on my cool o' meter for sure! If that's possible since you're the coolest! This would have been a perfect nerdy kind of thing I would want to do on a date with Hubs - drag him around an exhibit and/or a museum.
Let me know if you make your way to Kenya...stop by and pick me up, okay? I always wanted to go to Africa. Maybe we can bring home an elephant or two in our carry-on bags. I'm not sure what the HOA would say about an elephant in my backyard though. Better check the rules. Ha ha.
Hello, my friend!
DeleteI'm a bit of a secret Si-Fi geek. When we went to Vegas a number of years back now, I drug my wife to the Star Trek show and ride thing. It was pretty cool and they made you feel like you were part of an attack in space. Unfortunately, my wife was pregnant at the time and we had to have her by-pass the jerky ride in the shuttle craft. I don't think she was quite as excited about it as I was, but she was a good sport about it.
With an elephant as a pet, I think you would need to take a wheel barrow and a scoop shovel along for pooper scooping when you went on walks together. :)
Cool road trip! And you must have a dream in order to make it come true. Those baby elephants are looking forward to having you live with them already.
ReplyDeleteHi Debra,
DeleteIt's a nice thing to think about, but if I had to pick one dream to follow, I may have to give that some serious thought.
A Star Wars fan! I'm a Trekkie ... I'm pretty sure that makes us natural enemies or something.
ReplyDeleteHey Kellie!
DeleteI don't discriminate. I like both series. In fact, I'm eagerly waiting for the new Star Trek movie to come out this spring.
We can still be friends. :)
Sounds like an awesome exhibit. I have tagged along on many a field trip because there was something else nearby I wanted to see.
ReplyDeleteHi, Brett,
DeleteI don't think that I would have abandoned the class if my kid had been part of the group. This just worked out for me. But I've seem a lot of things that I probably wouldn't have thought to go to, if it hadn't been with the school.