On April 14, beginning at 9:00 a.m., the newly located museum will open its doors to eager tourists and fans year-round.
The couple decided to move after realizing the potential Drumheller had to offer and lack thereof in Vulcan.
“Two reasons: one is simple economics – there’s more tourist traffic here. There wasn’t enough traffic in Vulcan to support the both of us,” said Daniels. “So we moved here for that reason but also because our museum is a lot larger here now.”
The pair began their journey in 2006 after deciding to collect some of their favourite character’s costumes from the Star Trek Voyager series.
Paramount Pictures and CBS Studios had decided to make room in their warehouses so they auctioned off everything including Star Trek. The auctions were weekly and happened for a span of two and a half years. Each auction had a set series that would be sold which ultimately helped the two save enough money to buy more costumes.
“It was a great way for Michael and I to pick up our favourite costumes from our favourite series,” said Daniels.
“So we got our favourite characters and then we just kept going,” said Daniels.
After all was said and done, Daniels and Mangold were able to collect all the pieces from Star Trek Voyager as well as recurring characters throughout the series.
By 2010, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) had a sold out three night event called ‘The Music of Star Trek’ hosted by Robert Picardo and John de Lancie.
The pair were curious about getting autographs from the hosts and suggested bringing their costumes and putting them on display as a way to add to the performance.
“Everyone that went is a star trek fan so they really, really, really enjoyed seeing the costumes up close,” said Daniels. “Everyone thought we were from Hollywood so they were shocked that we owned all this stuff.”
The CPO concert gave them an idea to share their love of the costumes. By 2013, the museum had opened in Vulcan and they had continued to collect more costumes from Star Trek as well as other TV series and films.
“Michael and I were at our computers every night for over two years putting in bids and watching the auctions,” said Daniels.
The team looks forward to making the best experience possible for every guest that walks through the door.
“It’s a great feeling when people come through the museum and they leave happy,”
The museum takes pride in their customer service and tourism experience, explaining that they are not the conventional museum.
“Our museum is a little bit different, we aren’t just going to say ‘okay you are on your own, read the signs’, we’re going to have people inside the museum like staff who are going to elaborate on things and tell behind the scenes stories,” said Daniels.
As well as the cape from the Superman 3 movie, the museum holds a piece of the real Titanic where visitors are allowed to touch it. Along with the titanic piece, the museum has assorted props from the movie Titanic and real pieces of the twin sister ship RMS Olympic.
“Michael in particular, for example, has special behind the scene stories because he actually worked on set with Christopher Reeve when they filmed superman 3 in Calgary back in 1983,” said Daniels.
Each year, new items are added so visitors can have a refreshing experience. Family and lifetime passes are available so visitors do not have to pay again and can visit as much as they want.
The museum provides a ‘personal touch’ and proves it with high scores on
TripAdvisor.
“We look forward to making people’s experiences really enjoyable and want people walk out feeling thankful that they’ve seen the museum.”
