BOZEMAN - Robots, space exploration and futuristic technology move from science fiction to science fact in the new POPnology exhibit at the Museum of the Rockies. The interactive exhibit explores how ideas once dreamed up in movies, television, books and art have helped shape technology people use today.

POPnology  opens Saturday, Oct. 3, in the museum based at Montana State University, bringing together iconic pieces of pop culture and emerging technology. This includes a piece of cinema history highlighted in the exhibit: the screen-used Luke Skywalker lightsaber from "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back." On loan from an anonymous donor, the lightsaber includes the practical-effects, severed-hand rig engineered by renowned makeup artist Stuart Freeborn for the Cloud City duel between Skywalker and Darth Vader.

Visitors can also interact with a miniature replica of a Mars rover, see a car body from Disneyland's Autopia ride, investigate how autonomous vehicles could change travel, and experiment with virtual reality, robotics and 3D printing.

Along the way,  POPnology  introduces viewers to the creative minds and futurists who were ahead of their times, from noted authors Jules Verne and Arthur C. Clarke to innovators Walt Disney, Nikola Tesla and Steve Jobs. The exhibition explores how their ideas helped influence the ways people connect, play, live, work and move.

Museum members are invited to a preview of POPnology from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2. POPnology  will be on display through Jan. 11, 2027, and is included with membership and general admission. For admission information and details, visit the Museum of the Rockies  website.

POPnology is sponsored by an anonymous donor and Sibanye Stillwater.  It is a traveling exhibit created by Stage Nine Entertainment.