May the CPR be with you...

Of all the nights to have an extra staff meeting thrown into the mix! Yesterday, the staff at my school had to update our Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Care certification before the end of term and, of course, it fell on the same school night as the free teacher preview of "Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination".

The Lucasian gods must have been smiling upon me. It was explained that the order of the 24 of us doing the practical test on the CPR mannequins would be by lot. There were two examiners. What were my chances of getting away early enough to still attempt getting into the city in time? I was one of the last to select a number and it was... #2!

I was able to perform my test, then race for the train station. An express country train was due, so I ended up at the Powerhouse 30 minutes later, at only a few minutes past 6pm.

As I approached the museum, there was a wonderful photo opportunity: a pair of stormtroopers menacing people passing through the automatic doors. But the drinks were being served - and the (understandably) thirsty guards disappeared inside just as I raised my iPhone. Oh well.

The exhibition is excellent. Not only is it a great display of impressive props, costumes, robots and vehicles from the extensive "Star Wars" universe, but parallels have been drawn to modern-day science fact and speculative science theory-soon-to-be-fact-one-day. Advances in bionic limbs, robotics, hover vehicles, faster-than-light colony vessels, etc, were all represented, with many clever hands-on activities.

I had to admire the layout this time. The exhibit is on two levels - and its circuitous path took attendees through the "Star Wars" souvenir shop twice!