It's a show but not as we know it

Now the prime exhibit at a Star Trek exhibition may finally fulfil his ambition of being "beamed" to another planet.

He will join thousands of others who will clamour for a chance to repeat those worn out words "beam me up Scottie" before venturing boldly into a transporter when it materialises at the Science Museum.

The 7ft-tall contraption will, at the touch of a button, energise five people at a time on to a computerised image of a beach.

Reach up and you appear to interact with dangling balls on a giant screen, which will either burst and disappear into space, or crumble into seeds, magically flourishing into plants before you.

It is billed as the ultimate virtual reality experience and the 40-exhibit show, of which the contraption is part, is on its way from Finland, where it has stopped off on its European tour.

"It will be fantastic," said Mr Tallis, 26, almost salivating at the thought of entering the machine. "I can't wait for it to arrive. It will be the closest thing you'll get to being beamed up." Suddenly his pointy Latex ears and Vulcan admiral costume he fabricated himself seem all the more evident.

Ian will be among the first in London to try out the exhibit since, fortunately for him, he will manage the Star Trek Federation Science exhibition.

Chosen for the role because of his deep knowledge of the Star Trek series, he will be best placed to guide visitors around the 800 square metre exhibition. Now the word is out that the show is destined to arrive our way, calls from excited fans have been flooding the museum switchboard in South Kensington.

The star attractions include a mock-up of the Starship Enterprise, a two-way mirror exhibit giving fans the chance to see what they'd look like as an alien, and a real-life "hypo spray" (needleless hypodermic syringe) invented in America.

The exhibition is designed to illustrate the scientific concepts behind the cult Star Trek programme that has kept followers hooked for 34 years.

More than 100 fans queued at the museum last week, dressed as aliens and enterprise crew members - complete with nylon polo necks and laser-ray handguns - to audition in a recruitment drive for front of house staff.

Judging by the reaction so far, the show is set to be a phenomenal success and all hands are on deck as museum staff prepare to be swamped by Star Trek devotees, known as "Trekkers".

From September 15 at The Science Museum