Star Trek museum beams out of Vulcan

Canada's first Star Trek museum has discovered that it cannot live long and prosper in the town of Vulcan.

So it's moving to another, slightly bigger, southern Alberta town.

On Thursday, the Trekcetera Museum closed its doors and will soon begin packing up all of its Trekkie paraphernalia and driving it two hours northeast to Drumheller.

"We're not quite on the main path of the highway and in fact, in fall it's quite quiet here. And as a year-round attraction, it's rather difficult for us to maintain business here," the museum's owner and curator, Michael Mangold, told the Calgary Eyeopener on Friday.

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The plan is to reopen early next year in the dinosaur capital of Canada and piggyback on the success of the Royal Tyrrell Museum.

"Because we are a movie and film and television and history museum, including Star Trek, we will be offering clientele who are coming to Drumheller something else to do."

The museum celebrates more than Star Trek costumes and memorabilia, Mangold said. 

For example, the first Superman film to feature Christopher Reeve in 1978 was shot in several southern Alberta locations — including Calgary, High River, Kananaskis and Drumheller.

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While the decision to move from Vulcan to a more touristy town "wasn't easy," Mangold said it had to happen.

"You know, Gene Roddenberry and his vision to boldly go and to explore? That's what we're doing and that's why we're moving on to our next phase of the museum."

With files from the Calgary Eyeopener