Ripley’s Believe It or Not Star Wars exhibit making appearance in the Valley
Mar 3, 2022, 8:00 PM
PHOENIX — Some of Hollywood’s treasured Star Wars keepsakes are making an appearance in the Valley this month for all of the space movies’ fans to see.
The Science of Ripley’s Believe It or Not located at the Arizona Boardwalk in Scottsdale is hosting the blockbuster movie exhibit on Friday through March 27 with artifacts visitors will get the chance to see for the first time outside of the film.
The exhibit will display Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber, Han Solo’s Blaster gun and a C-3PO special effects head along with other artifacts from the original trilogy.
“Luke Skywalker’s original lightsaber is the crown jewel on our Hollywood memorabilia collection,” Edward Meyes, vice president of exhibits and archives for Ripley’s Believe It or Not, said in a release.
Meyes acquired the lightsaber at a Profiles in History Hollywood Auction in 2017 for $450,000, while the most expensive item in the Ripley’s Star Wars collection, the Han Solo Blaster, was purchased at an auction in 2018 for $550,000.
Among the artifacts will also be a life-size Clone Trooper made out of scrap metal auto parts.
Visitors are encouraged to dress as their favorite movie collection character for the launch of the exhibit on Friday-Sunday. All costume participants will be entered to win other Boardwalk attraction tickets.
Ripley’s is open Sunday-Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. It’s part of the Arizona Boardwalk attraction, along with OdySea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland, near Via de Ventura and the Loop 101 Pima Freeway.
Tickets can be purchased onsite or online.
