Last week, it was our 15th wedding anniversary. Unbeknown to me, my husband had decided to take a day off. What should we do during the day? There was one thing I hoped to be able to go see before the exhibition leave town – The Star Wars 
Identities exhibition at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, ON. We decided to go visit it with the kids that day. I wasn’t sure what to expect and let me tell you that we had a blast during our visit. We had agreed that we would take our time and enjoy the exhibit as much as possible since we have to pay extra to see it.
The whole exhibition will allow you to interactively discover and learn more about Star Wars on a whole new level. You will also have the possibility to build up your own character of Star Wars during the process. It took us about three hours to go through the exhibit at a relatively slow pace. We took the time to read as much as possible, listen to all the interactive spots, and answer the questions to create our own Star Wars character.
Star Wars Identities base the interactions of the exhibit on a simple question: How did Luke and Anakin, who share similar genes and grew up on the same planet, become such different people? Through explanation based on the science of identity, you will explore what can make fictional characters who they are – and at the same time what makes you who you are. In all ten components are presented for you to better understand the word identity and build up your character – species, genes, parents, culture, mentors, friends, events, occupation, personality, and values.
In this exhibit you will be able to see over two hundred original costumes, props, models, and pieces of artwork. My kids were delighted to see all their favourite characters and costumes. You will be able to see numerous objects from all six Star Wars movies as well as from the television series Star Wars The Clone Wars.
I think the highlight of our visit there was definitively the high quality of the interactive visit we had. When we came in, we were given a little device which goes around your neck, a hearing piece to clip around your ear and a bracelet containing a digital chip in order to save your decision during the ten stations allowing you to build your own Star Wars character. I personally really enjoy seeing the artwork and models and see the behind the scenes process of making the movie. The kids were in awe in seeing the costumes, the characters, and having the opportunity to build their own Star Wars character was the highlight of their visit.
Did we have fun? You bet. It was very different than the exhibit we are used to have in the area. The kids had a wonderful time as well as the parents. Even though the website of the exhibition has a link for upcoming museums, nothing else is announced at this point in time. So if you would love to see this special exhibition on Star Wars and discover more about what made the person you are today, I strongly recommend that you come and visit the capital of Canada this summer. There are other fun places to visit in Ottawa, ON and numerous festivals as well.
The Star Wars Identities exhibit started May 10th but will be held until September 2nd. So it’s a good time to come and visit Ottawa, ON this summer! The exhibit is open Sunday to Wednesday from 10am to 6pm and from Thursday to Saturday from 10 am to 8 pm. As I mentioned previously, attending this traveling exhibit is above you regular entrance to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. You can find the prices on their Planning Your Visit page.
This special exhibition is worth exploring with your family even if it means that you have to spend extra money to get in. It is an exhibit out-of-the-ordinary that will bring much entertainment to Star Wars fans. I strongly suggest that you visit it during the week days as soon as it is open because you won’t have as many visitors at that time. We really enjoyed walking at our own pace and being able to take our time to explore and discover all the different facets of the exhibit. Everyone in the family enjoyed it and thought it was a fun way to learn more about identities and Star Wars.
And if you are wondering what kind of character we created…. here’s our personalized Star Wars characters we made during our visit! You can also send the information directly to your email once you have completed the ten stations.
