Star Wars: The Magic of Myth

18 September 2002 - 23 February 2003

The Powerhouse Museum presented one of the most popular exhibitions of all time, Star Wars: The Magic of Myth. As the Powerhouse was the only venue in Australia, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see original artwork, props, models and characters used to create the Star Wars trilogy - Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) as well as models, costumes and drawings from Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace (1999). The exhibition, which toured in the USA previously, while in Australia it displayed more objects than any other venue, including more than 25 objects from Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones (2002), the latest film in the Star Wars saga. The Magic of Myth explored the archetypal themes and motifs from classical mythology and world culture that are contained within the trilogy.

Audio guide: A fascinating audio guide accompanied the exhibition and gave visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Star Wars films. James Earl Jones (the voice of Darth Vader) guides visitors through the exhibition providing further insight into how George Lucas created and developed the characters and scenes in his films. Listeners are privy to exclusive commentary by producer Rick McCullum, artist Ralph McQuarrie and sound design director Ben Burtt.

Smithsonian Institution

This exhibition was developed by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and organised for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). All artefacts in the exhibition are on loan from the archives of Lucasfilm Ltd.

Proudly sponsored at the Powerhouse Museum by

Principal sponsors

Supporting sponsors


Star Wars: The Magic of Myth

Educational print material
Star Wars: The Magic of Myth teachers notes
(pdf document)
Activities for primary school students
(pdf document)
Activities for design and visual arts students
(pdf document)
Activities for English students
(pdf document)
Design a Podracer Discovery Challenge
(pdf document)
Design a Droid Discovery Challenge (pdf document)


Darth Vader, 1997 Eric Long and Mark Avino Star Wars: The Magic of Myth, Star Wars™ and ©; 1997 by Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.


R2-D2 and C-3PO, 1997 Eric Long and Mark Avino Star Wars: The Magic of Myth, Star Wars™ and © 1997 by Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.