Why Choose? With two blockbuster exhibitions for one price, museum guests can test their survival and sleuthing skills in one incredible day!
In a historic move, Science Museum Oklahoma will unveil not just one, but two, temporary exhibits May 1. Both exhibitions will be included for one low price and will close September 6.
“The moment we saw Sherlock Holmes – The Exhibition we were blown away and knew this had to come to Oklahoma!”, said Sherry Marshall, President and CEO of Science Museum Oklahoma. “It’s an unbelievably immersive and complex exhibit that transports the guest to Victorian London and deep into the world of Sherlock Holmes. When offered the opportunity to pair it with The Worst-Case Scenario: An Ultimate Survival Experience, we knew this was just the type of blockbuster event Oklahoma City needs to celebrate the beginning of summer!”
The two exhibitions have very different personalities ensuring something for everyone. They do, however, share one thing in common: Science Museum Oklahoma’s fun, interactive approach to science. To heighten this sense of fun, all staff in the exhibits will be fully costumed and in character to reflect each exhibition’s theme.
Throughout the summer the museum will be hosting a variety of special events and programs utilizing the exhibitions. People should check the museum’s website at ScienceMuseumOk.org and follow the museum on social media for details.
Sherlock Holmes – The Exhibition
Footprints, splatter patterns and the powers of observation mark the journey through Sherlock Holmes – The Exhibition. The interactive experience combines science with history and culture to bring to life the historic underpinnings of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s rich and vibrant stories.
Museum guests will learn how Sherlock Holmes, a scientific expert ahead of his time, used seemingly trivial observations of clues others missed to solve some of his era’s most mysterious crimes. His practices and techniques, created in the mind of doctor-turned-author Conan Doyle, changed the way police work was conducted and remain in practice today. Sherlock Holmes – The Exhibition features original manuscripts and period artifacts, investigative tools influenced and used by Sherlock Holmes, and interactive crime-solving opportunities. Guests will be transported into Sherlock Holmes’ London to solve a crime in a world filled with innovation and experimentation – and just receiving its introduction to his ground-breaking methods.
The exhibition is brought to Science Museum Oklahoma as the result of a unique arts partnership between Exhibits Development Group (EDG); Geoffrey M. Curley + Associates; Conan Doyle Estate Ltd.; and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
“The Conan Doyle Estate can’t remember an undertaking as involved and exciting as this one,” says the Estate’s U.S. representative Jon Lellenberg. “Museum visitors will experience the scientific and literary ideas that inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to create Sherlock Holmes, and Holmes’ methods for investigating and solving crimes as the world’s first consulting detective, and they will visit their two worlds, including the very rooms in which all this took place.”
Exhibition guests will learn about the practices of Sherlock Holmes, the world in which Conan Doyle drew from to develop his stories, and the history of forensic science. The galleries in the exhibition include:
- Dr. Conan Doyle’s Study – Conan Doyle, a scientifically educated physician, was a curious and tireless investigator his entire life. Guests will discover his world first as a medical student at Edinburgh University, then as an apprentice at Royal Surgeons’ Hall, next as a practicing physician in Southsea, Portsmouth, and finally as a creator of literary genius who moved to London in the early 1890s and became a full-time author. On display will be an original manuscript, letters, and illustrations through which guests will gain perspective on the experiences that influenced Conan Doyle in creating Sherlock Holmes.
- Science and History – Sherlock Holmes solved mysteries using observation and solid scientific experimentation, something real-world detectives (police or private) had not fully embraced. Guests will participate in experiments of their own by exploring the developments in science and technology in the 1890s – developments that are still highly relevant today. Supported by forensics expert and crime historian E. J. Wagner, author of The Science of Sherlock Holmes, the exhibition digs into real forensic studies in order to demonstrate the link between the Sherlock Holmes stories, detective science and the world of today.
- Sherlock Holmes in Baker Street – Guests will visit Sherlock Holmes’ and Dr. Watson’s sitting room at 221B Baker Street, London, where their investigations began and concluded – a room looming large in popular imagination around the globe ever since the first Sherlock Holmes tale, A Study in Scarlet, in 1887. Poet Vincent Starrett said of the famed room: “Here dwell together still two men of note / Who never lived and so can never die . . . Here, though the world explode, these two survive / And it is always eighteen ninety-five.”
- Become a Detective – Guests will exchange the museum map for a book full of clues while hot on a trail to solve a remarkable murder. Using their own powers of observation, guests can crack a new Sherlock Holmes mystery written exclusively for this exhibition by Daniel Stashower, the acclaimed writer and award-winning Conan Doyle biographer (author of Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle and co-editor of Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters) and the author of new Sherlock Holmes stories as well.
- Culture of Sherlock – Pop culture enthusiasts will enjoy the exhibition’s final gallery, housing a robust collection of all things “Sherlockian,” ranging from vintage Sherlock Holmes-themed card games, comics, and magazines, to radio scripts, and movie and television show props and costumes. Featured are hero props from the Warner Bros.’ current Sherlock Holmes movies set in the Victorian era, alongside costumes, props and behind the scenes tools from the hit CBS television shows Elementary and the BBC’s Sherlock, both of which set Sherlock Holmes in the present day. The exhibition will offer museum guests the most comprehensive display anywhere of Sherlock Holmes as portrayed in popular imagination over the last 134 years since his creation. The conclusion of the exhibition celebrates today’s real forensic scientists and their exceptional work.
The Worst-Case Scenario: An Ultimate Survival Experience
Learning to survive has never been this fun! Guests can put their skills to the test as they learn different ways to handle challenging situations. The Worst-Case Scenario: An Ultimate Survival Experience is a full-body physical and minds-on exhibition providing the essential instructions for everything people need to know when encountering the unexpected. As they tackle unlikely—but POSSIBLE!—real-life scenarios, guests will find countless moments of excitement and laughter along the way. Need to escape from a locked room? No problem. Stuck on the subway and need to jump from car-to-car to escape? We have you covered!
The Worst-Case Scenario: An Ultimate Survival Experience is themed as a “survival challenge” training facility. The exhibition is broken into three galleries: the Hall of Fame Lobby, the Survival Gym, and the Challenges. Costumed team members, in the role of “Worst-Case Scenario Professionals,” will be there to support the guest’s experience, revealing pro tips on a regular basis. Worst-Case Scenario Professionals will also be on hand to periodically provide demonstrations of survival skills and the occasional survival “don’t.”
In addition to the physical aspects of the exhibition, guests will learn about the science behind the seven steps of survival and learn the stories of real-life heroes and survivors. After leaving The Worst-Case Scenario: An Ultimate Survival Experience guests will know the three key aspects of survival in any situation: Be prepared. Don’t panic. Have a plan.
The Worst-Case Scenario: An Ultimate Survival Experience is produced by Exhibits Development Group and developed by Geoffrey M. Curley + Associates in collaboration with Quirk Books and The Franklin Institute.
This limited presentation of Sherlock Holmes – The Exhibition and The Worst-Case Scenario: An Ultimate Survival Experience runs May 1 – September 6.
Tickets go on sale April 1. Due to limited capacity, advance tickets are highly recommended and may be purchased at ScienceMuseumOK.org or by calling (405)602-3760.
Both Sherlock Holmes – The Exhibition and The Worst-Case Scenario: An Ultimate Survival Experience are available for a single price and must be purchased in addition to general admission. Tickets are $9.95 for adults; $7.95 for children and seniors.
Museum members may purchase tickets for a discounted rate of $7.95 for adults; $5.95 for children and seniors.
General admission to Science Museum Oklahoma is $16.95 for adults; $13.95 for children and seniors.