The Voyage Home – Star Trek is Alive & Well!

In the little town of Riverside, Iowa there is a walk into the future. According to the Voyage Home Riverside History Center, this is the “future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk” . He will be born on March 22, 2228!

Keith and I were returning from Amana Colonies, Iowa when I asked him to stop in this fun Voyage Home museum where Star Trek is alive and well. You can’t miss it with the the huge space ship sitting right out front!

How the Voyage Home museum and birthplace idea came about!

Carolyn, a volunteer at the museum spoke with me about the museum. She said, “This is a multipurpose museum. Half of it is about the history of Star Trek, and the other side is about the history of the town of Riverside.”

She explained that one of the City Council Members read the book The Making of the Star Trek . “He learned that Captain Kirk was born in a small town in Iowa, but it doesn’t say what town!”

The author Gene Roddenberry had not designated which town Captain Kirk was born in, so the City Council member proclaimed that the town was Riverside. The town previously had a Riverside festival but without an icon to celebrate. So they decided to celebrate Riverside as the future birthplace of Captain Kirk! Then, the Councilman reached out to Mr. Roddenberry asking if Riverside could be that town. Since no one else had asked, Mr. Roddenberry sent a letter proclaiming that indeed Captain Kirk was born in Riverside! So now the town has rights to this claim!

Inside the Voyage Home Museum

The Voyage Home museum now has all kinds of Star Trek memorabilia and sights they have set up all over town. What a wonderful entrepreneurial way to celebrate a town!

There is a bit of mixing of Riverside and Star Trek history. It is all great fun. From the Women of Star Trek to memorabilia and clothing there are many photo ops available. Perhaps my favorite is a wooden carving of Captain Kirk. It was chain carved in 1994, With a bow to COVID-19, he is wearing a mask.

Stop at this fun museum and check it out and learn about Star Trek and the week that William Shatner came to town!