The Franklin Institute offers a peek at its ‘Star Wars: The Experience,’ exhibit coming next year

Rebellions are built on hope, but big shows are built on preparation and hype, and the Franklin Institute began hyping up its forthcoming exhibit, Star Wars: The Experience, during a media preview Thursday.

Flanked by two stormtroopers, Darth Vader walked into the museum’s rotunda to the Philly Pops playing “The Imperial March.” Figrin D’an and the Modal Notes had a prescheduled gig at the Mos Eisley Cantina and could not attend.

Vader did not take the podium, preferring to let his ominous breathing do the talking.

At the center of the rotunda, in front of the 20-foot-tall national memorial of Benjamin Franklin (a noted master of the electrical side of the force), five Star Wars “artifacts” that will be in the exhibit were displayed. They were Kylo Ren’s lightsaber hilt from The Rise of Skywalker, a Night Trooper helmet from Ahsoka, a porg from The Last Jedi, a model of Ezra and Chopper from Rebels, and an Imperial Tie Fighter model from Rogue One.

Along with previously announced experiences, the Franklin Institute revealed Thursday that the exhibit will have a “Lightsaber Sound Bar.” In a room where lightsaber replicas “appear to float from floor to ceiling,” guests will be able to use RFID devices to activate the lightsabers, hear their distinct sounds, and learn how those sounds were created, according to a news release.

Larry Dubinski, president and CEO of the Franklin Institute, said the exhibit, which opens Feb. 13, will highlight the science behind the science fiction franchise and celebrate the “legacy of a creative empire synonymous with imagination, storytelling, innovation, discovery, and wonder.”

“Our mission has always been to make science meaningful and accessible to everyone,” Dubinski said. “We are always looking for exciting ways to connect people with stories of innovation and discovery and Star Wars: The Experience gives us a new and unique way to do just that.”

The exhibit, which has been five years in the making, is timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the 1977 release of the first film in the franchise, A New Hope.

Lauren Yenokida, director of Disney global brand commercialization, said the experience will celebrate the imagination and innovation that made Star Wars possible.

“George Lucas and his extraordinary team of artists, designers, engineers, and storytellers brought this vision to life, but they didn’t just create a new galaxy, they helped revolutionize the way that stories could be told,” she said.

Yenokida said the Franklin Institute was the ideal partner for the world-premiere exhibit because it’s an institution dedicated to inspiring “curiosity, discovery, and that passion for innovation” and that Philly was the right city because it’s “a perfect combination of promoting culture and art.”

(This is the way.)

The 18,000-square-foot exhibit will have “Queen Amidala’s Throne Room,” Han Solo encased in carbonite, and more than 70 props from Lucasfilm’s archives, including Darth Vader’s costume, Darth Maul’s light-saber, and a speeder bike.

Beloved characters like R2-D2, C-3PO, and Grogu will be part of the experience and more than 90 rare and vintage Star Wars action figures will be featured in a gallery about premium collectibles.

Kevin Hanley of Media, a Franklin Institute member and a Disney content creator who runs the account Dads Love Disney, attended the media preview in a Star Wars sweatshirt and said he’s hyped for the opening.

“From the concept art it looks like it’s going to be completely immersive. Walking into Queen Amidala’s Throne Room, that’s going to be mind-blowing if it is even close to what the concept art has in it,” he said.

Star Wars: The Experience was created by the Franklin in conjunction with Lucasfilm, Disney Consumer Products, and Orlando-based experiential design firm MDSX.

Abby Bysshe, the Franklin’s chief experience and strategy officer, said designers thought “beyond the traditional exhibition” when making show.

“From the beginning our vision was to create a new kind of Star Wars exhibition, one that takes guests beyond the screen and into the galaxy in an immersive and versatile way, while also celebrating the people behind Star Wars, the pioneers who first imagined this galaxy, the artists and the storytellers who continue to build it, and the fans who have embraced it for 50 years,” Bysshe said.

Star Wars: The Experience will run at the Franklin from Feb. 13 to Sept. 6, 2027. After its Philly run, the show will go on a five-year tour around North America.

Tickets for the exhibit, which range from $25 to $65, are on sale now and available at www.fi.edu.