The Museum of Natural History is pleased to host Out of This World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television. The exhibition will be on view May 18 through August 26.

Out of This World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television will feature more than 40 costumes and related objects from science fiction films and television programs such as, Star Wars, Blade Runner, Terminator, Star Trek, Batman and more. The exhibition will allow visitors to examine how costume design incorporates colour, style, scale, materials, historical traditions nature and cultural cues to help performers and audiences engage, in new or accepted ways, with the characters being portrayed.

The exhibition includes 43 artifacts. Costume highlights include:

• Hat worn by Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West in the film The Wizard of Oz (1939)
• Leather jacket worn by Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) and Indy's whip from the film Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
• Leather jacket worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film The Terminator (1984)
• Costume worn by Dan Aykroyd as Dr. Raymond Stantz in the film Ghostbusters II (1989).
• Embroidered robe worn by actor Joe Turkel as Eldon Tyrell, creator of the replicants, in Blade Runner (1982)
• Costume worn by George Clooney as Batman in the film Batman & Robin (1997)
• Tunic and sash worn by William Shatner as Captain Kirk in the Star Trek episode "Mirror Mirror" (1967)

Gus-Con is a comic book-style convention that will coincide with the Out of This World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television exhibit.  The convention is named after Gus, the museum’s gopher tortoise who celebrates his 90th birthday in August.
 
Gus-Con will feature science fiction lectures, presentations, panels and a costume gala.
 
"The buzz around this exhibit is huge! Not since Hal-Con have I seen the geek and nerd community so excited to participate in a genre event like this,” said Jennifer Lambe, co-chair, director of guest relations and sponsorships for Hal-Con. “It's a huge score for the museum to bring an exhibit of this caliber to our community in Halifax. People are already planning two to three trips to make sure they see everything."
 
Hal-Con organizers will make a presentation at Gus-Con. Andrew Hebda, curator of zoology will also make a presentation on bats; Marian Munro, curator of botany will make a presentation on poison plants; and Deborah Skilliter, curator of geology will make a presentation on the film Jurassic Park.
 
Tickets for Gus-Con will go on sale May 18 at 8 a.m.  Tickets are available at the museum admissions desk or by calling (902) 424-6548.  The $29 ticket price includes:

• admission to all events during the three-day conference.
• a private showing of the Out of This World exhibit.
• a 6-month single pass to the museum
• access to on-site vendors