LotR Exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Encaitare · 08-20-2004, 06:35 PM

Oh man, what excitement I experienced last Tuesday! I was on vacation in Boston and went to the Museum of Science to see the Weta LotR Exhibit. It was insanely delightful. They had the weapons, many costumes and suits of armor, some so-called "Big-atures," props, and of course, the One Ring. I got to hold Glamdring (v. exciting, as I've been wanting a sword for ages), and I saw the Dead Boromir dolly in its boat. It was creepily realistic. The not-so-mini miniatures ("big-atures") of Orthanc and Barad-Dur were there, the Argonath, and tons more cool stuff. Needless to say, I kept going, "See that circlet? That was on Hugo Weaving's head. He touched that." and things like that... and wouldn't you?

My favorite thing there was Sauron's armor... it was on a raised display and had one arm lifted in a manner of authority, and it was extremely menacing and intimidating. He had that big ol' mace, and it seriously made cowering in fear seem like the logical thing to do. Very cool.

The only thing I found disappointing was the gift shop; I brought all my money that I had saved up in the hopes of buying something really cool there, but it was pretty much barren. The other lousy thing is that you can't take pictures inside the exhibit... I did however get pictures of me and my sister at the Argonath. (I finally learned which statue is Isildur and which is Anarion, though! Isildur's the clean-shaven one; Anarion's the bearded one. This was a burning question which had been plaguing me for ages. Hooray for the Boston Museum of Science!)

Still, if you can get to Boston before October 24, GO. You will not regret it; it's the single most awesome thing I have ever witnessed. I feel pretty special, too, because after this they're packing the whole thing up and leaving the States... I think it's going to Sydney next. I'm going to try and go back because Sean Astin will be there on October 15 and 16. Much spiffiness. Check out www.mos.org for details, and enjoy!

Gorwingel · 08-23-2004, 10:08 PM

We're you there on Tuesday the 17th?

Because I visited that day, and I had a wonderful, spectacular time

I came from Washington State, and planned an entire trip to Boston, just so I could see it. I would have not missed it for the world.

It was so wonderful. The costumes and the armor were amazing. I kept going over to Galadriel's costume just because it was so beautiful and glittery. I also loved the weapons, and of course the jewlery, and just getting to see everything up close. The Ringwraith was like the ultimate halloween costume, and the Boromir "dummy" (I don't know what to call it) was so realistic you could have sworn that it was real. I also thought the drawings by Alan Lee and others were quite cool.

I would very much encourage anyone near or far from the Boston area to try to make it to this exhibit. It is very amazing.

Encaitare · 08-24-2004, 12:14 PM

Holy crepe, I totally was. Whoa.

Ereinion · 08-26-2004, 07:08 PM

I'm supposed to be going within the next week or so (I live in Rhode Island). Did they have a lot of Elvish stuff there? AKA Aeglos, or any of Gil-galad's stuff? Anyways, I'm really looking forward to it. Thanks in advance.

Encaitare · 08-26-2004, 08:56 PM

Yup, they had Aiglos (it was very beautiful) and the shields and armor of the Elves of the Last Alliance, more of their stuff too if I remember correctly.

Gorwingel · 08-28-2004, 11:37 PM

They had Gil-Galad, Haldir, Elrond (his ring, circlet, things from Rivendell, but alas no costume except for armor), Last Alliance and 3rd Age Armor, Arwen, and of course Legolas (both Lorien and Mirkwood bows to add).

The only thing they were really lacking in was Hobbits and Eowyn (No Eowyn costumes at all). All they had was Frodo's little costume, the little Sting, Sam's Backpack, and a few other assorted items.

Morsul the Dark · 08-28-2004, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Encaitare

I'm going to try and go back because Sean Astin will be there on October 15 and 16. Much spiffiness. Check out www.mos.org for details, and enjoy!

You do know you just made my mom buy lots of aspirin right? I am not going to shut up until she agrees to drive me there on those days....wait a tick Ill have my license maybe I can go alone or ask...oh wait before I bore you all with personal problems

must see Sean

you're mean now Im all hyper and jumpy and... hey would it be odd to go in costume?

Mithalwen · 08-29-2004, 12:49 PM

I saw this exhibition in London and really enjoyed it... I too was sorry that there wasn't much of Rohan and especially Eowyn's lovely costumes but the exhibition was here nearly a year ago and had already been to Wellington and Sydney so I reckoned that a lot of that stuff they had kept back for the TTT extended version reshoots..... It would be nice if they did it all again so we could see ROTK stuff too.....

Encaitare · 08-29-2004, 09:05 PM

Nah, Morsul, it wouldn't be odd. For the premiere it said something like, "Costumes may be worn, but no weapons please!" I can just see fans being disarmed at the door like Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, at the Golden Hall! But I did see a few people dressed up there. I myself had brought nothing with me on vacation that would have passed as a costume...

And I'm rather irked, because not only can my father not provide the ride he offered (he's going away somewhere for those days), I have to take the PSAT's then! I'm giving up Sean and LotR for some stupid tests!

Oh well.

Anyway, one of my favorite parts of the exhibit which I just thought of was the stuff from Saruman's little study in Orthanc. He's got all this creepy stuff that I never noticed before... skulls and squid in jars and things like that.

Knight of Gondor · 08-30-2004, 07:21 PM

I have had the fortune of finding cheap arms reproductions, and posess a pretty good Glamdring (hilt's a little loose), a very good Narsil, and a pretty good Ranger sword. I also have Sting (the leaf design is painted on the hilt, not carved), the Elven Dagger (black sheath, silver trim, not red and gold, and wood-grain handle, not maroon). And one very sharp but very inaccurate Legolas blade. (ONE?)

Anyway, just answering what you said about always longing to hold a sword, because I had the same longing and was able to fulfill it even on my low budget.

But I wanted to know, did they actually let you hold the weapons props? That doesn't seem like something they would do!

Child of the 7th Age · 08-30-2004, 10:17 PM

Apparently Boston isn't the only U.S. stop.

I spied the following notice on the OneRing.net website:

Quote:

Just came back from the Houston Museum of Natural Science, where to my delight I found out that the Lord of the Rings Exhibit will be shown in summer 2005......The Houston Museum of Natural Science web pages do not yet have the exhibit listed, but I verified it with several Museum workers.

I am hoping that this is true and will check into it the first chance I get.

08-20-2004, 06:35 PM	#1
Encaitare Bittersweet Symphony Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: On the jolly starship Enterprise Posts: 1,814	LotR Exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science Oh man, what excitement I experienced last Tuesday! I was on vacation in Boston and went to the Museum of Science to see the Weta LotR Exhibit. It was insanely delightful. They had the weapons, many costumes and suits of armor, some so-called "Big-atures," props, and of course, the One Ring. I got to hold Glamdring (v. exciting, as I've been wanting a sword for ages), and I saw the Dead Boromir dolly in its boat. It was creepily realistic. The not-so-mini miniatures ("big-atures") of Orthanc and Barad-Dur were there, the Argonath, and tons more cool stuff. Needless to say, I kept going, "See that circlet? That was on Hugo Weaving's head. He touched that." and things like that... and wouldn't you? My favorite thing there was Sauron's armor... it was on a raised display and had one arm lifted in a manner of authority, and it was extremely menacing and intimidating. He had that big ol' mace, and it seriously made cowering in fear seem like the logical thing to do. Very cool. The only thing I found disappointing was the gift shop; I brought all my money that I had saved up in the hopes of buying something really cool there, but it was pretty much barren. The other lousy thing is that you can't take pictures inside the exhibit... I did however get pictures of me and my sister at the Argonath. (I finally learned which statue is Isildur and which is Anarion, though! Isildur's the clean-shaven one; Anarion's the bearded one. This was a burning question which had been plaguing me for ages. Hooray for the Boston Museum of Science!) Still, if you can get to Boston before October 24, GO. You will not regret it; it's the single most awesome thing I have ever witnessed. I feel pretty special, too, because after this they're packing the whole thing up and leaving the States... I think it's going to Sydney next. I'm going to try and go back because Sean Astin will be there on October 15 and 16. Much spiffiness. Check out www.mos.org for details, and enjoy!

08-23-2004, 10:08 PM	#2
Gorwingel Beholder of the Mists Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Somewhere in the Northwest... for now Posts: 1,419	We're you there on Tuesday the 17th? Because I visited that day, and I had a wonderful, spectacular time I came from Washington State, and planned an entire trip to Boston, just so I could see it. I would have not missed it for the world. It was so wonderful. The costumes and the armor were amazing. I kept going over to Galadriel's costume just because it was so beautiful and glittery. I also loved the weapons, and of course the jewlery, and just getting to see everything up close. The Ringwraith was like the ultimate halloween costume, and the Boromir "dummy" (I don't know what to call it) was so realistic you could have sworn that it was real. I also thought the drawings by Alan Lee and others were quite cool. I would very much encourage anyone near or far from the Boston area to try to make it to this exhibit. It is very amazing. __________________ Wanted - Wonderfully witty quote that consists of pure brilliance

08-28-2004, 11:37 PM	#6
Gorwingel Beholder of the Mists Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Somewhere in the Northwest... for now Posts: 1,419	They had Gil-Galad, Haldir, Elrond (his ring, circlet, things from Rivendell, but alas no costume except for armor), Last Alliance and 3rd Age Armor, Arwen, and of course Legolas (both Lorien and Mirkwood bows to add). The only thing they were really lacking in was Hobbits and Eowyn (No Eowyn costumes at all). All they had was Frodo's little costume, the little Sting, Sam's Backpack, and a few other assorted items. __________________ Wanted - Wonderfully witty quote that consists of pure brilliance

08-29-2004, 12:49 PM	#8
Mithalwen Pilgrim Soul Join Date: May 2004 Location: watching the wonga-wonga birds circle... Posts: 9,449	I saw this exhibition in London and really enjoyed it... I too was sorry that there wasn't much of Rohan and especially Eowyn's lovely costumes but the exhibition was here nearly a year ago and had already been to Wellington and Sydney so I reckoned that a lot of that stuff they had kept back for the TTT extended version reshoots..... It would be nice if they did it all again so we could see ROTK stuff too..... __________________ “But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.” Christopher Tolkien, Requiescat in pace

08-30-2004, 07:21 PM	#10
Knight of Gondor Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Kentucky Posts: 744	Glamdring? I have had the fortune of finding cheap arms reproductions, and posess a pretty good Glamdring (hilt's a little loose), a very good Narsil, and a pretty good Ranger sword. I also have Sting (the leaf design is painted on the hilt, not carved), the Elven Dagger (black sheath, silver trim, not red and gold, and wood-grain handle, not maroon). And one very sharp but very inaccurate Legolas blade. (ONE?) Anyway, just answering what you said about always longing to hold a sword, because I had the same longing and was able to fulfill it even on my low budget. But I wanted to know, did they actually let you hold the weapons props? That doesn't seem like something they would do! __________________ Eagerly awaiting the REAL Return of the King - Jesus Christ! Revelation 19:11-16

08-24-2004, 12:14 PM	#3
Encaitare Bittersweet Symphony Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: On the jolly starship Enterprise Posts: 1,814	Holy crepe, I totally was. Whoa.

08-26-2004, 07:08 PM	#4
Ereinion Animated Skeleton Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Coventry, RI Posts: 26	I'm supposed to be going within the next week or so (I live in Rhode Island). Did they have a lot of Elvish stuff there? AKA Aeglos, or any of Gil-galad's stuff? Anyways, I'm really looking forward to it. Thanks in advance.

08-26-2004, 08:56 PM	#5
Encaitare Bittersweet Symphony Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: On the jolly starship Enterprise Posts: 1,814	Yup, they had Aiglos (it was very beautiful) and the shields and armor of the Elves of the Last Alliance, more of their stuff too if I remember correctly.

08-29-2004, 09:05 PM	#9
Encaitare Bittersweet Symphony Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: On the jolly starship Enterprise Posts: 1,814	Nah, Morsul, it wouldn't be odd. For the premiere it said something like, "Costumes may be worn, but no weapons please!" I can just see fans being disarmed at the door like Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, at the Golden Hall! But I did see a few people dressed up there. I myself had brought nothing with me on vacation that would have passed as a costume... And I'm rather irked, because not only can my father not provide the ride he offered (he's going away somewhere for those days), I have to take the PSAT's then! I'm giving up Sean and LotR for some stupid tests! Oh well. Anyway, one of my favorite parts of the exhibit which I just thought of was the stuff from Saruman's little study in Orthanc. He's got all this creepy stuff that I never noticed before... skulls and squid in jars and things like that.