'Far back in the mists of ancient time, in the great and glorious days of the former Galactic Empire, life was wild and rich. Mighty starships plied their way between exotic suns, seeking adventure and reward amongstthe furthest reaches of Galactic space. In those days spirits were brave,the stakes were high, men were real men, women were women and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri. And all dared to brave unknown terrors and to do mighty deeds,thus the Empire was forged.’ Extract from ‘The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Science Fiction, the Beginning
Some say that science fiction began with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in 1819, or, perhaps Jules Verne’s book Journey To The Centre of the Earth, 1864,but interplanetary war was very much the territory of the famous English author, H.G. Wells, who wrote the science fiction novel The War of the Worlds, 1898. It was said to have been written in response to historical events of the day, particularly. the militarization of Germany. However,there was also another specific event that inspired Wells. In 1894 Mars was positioned particularly close to Earth, leading to a great deal of discussion. Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli had reported seeing "canali" on Mars, meaning "channels," but the term was mistranslated as "canals," leading to much speculation about life on the red planet. One of the 1894 observers claimed to have seen a strange light on Mars, which further stimulated speculation about life there.
Science Fiction
H.G. Wells had stimulated the public’s interest in all things extra-terrestrial and science fiction writers in the 1930’s continued his work by creating an exciting world for their readers, all of whom were young and imaginative. When asked what ‘science fiction’ was all about, one of the writers of the time replied ‘Well, its about the future mainly and what they are going to invent. The shape of things to come…..exploring space and the stars. Life on other planets. All the things that could happen to us if we don’t watch out!’ Thus science fiction was now part of peoples lives. Space exploration was brought to the public of America through magazines such as Astounding and Amazing, which had large circulations. American comics became the ‘must have’ in Britain and other European countries before Dan Dare and the Eagle comic came into being in April, 1950, a full nineteen years before the first astronauts made the first lunar landing on July 20th, 1969.
The First Lunar Landing
“We came in peace for all Mankind” The centuries old ‘impossible dream’ of humanity became a reality on 20th July, 1969 as human beings from the planet Earth first set foot upon another world – our Moon. The landing of Apollo 11, and the missions that followed it, began a new era in human exploration; we could now study new worlds close up and bring back samples of them to study in our laboratories. Bernard M French, A Meeting with the Universe. NASA, 1981.
Star Wars – The Movie
Star Wars is a science fantasy saga and fictional galaxy created by writer and film director George Lucas during the 1970s. The events of Star Wars take place in the fictional Star Wars galaxy. Each Star Wars film begins with "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...." and alludes to the classic fairy tale opening of, "Once upon a time, in a faraway land..." Many of the characters in the film are essentially identical to humans. The characters commonly interact with fantastic creatures of many different types from numerous planetary systems within the Star Wars galaxy. It also introduced two of the most famous robots of our time C3PO and R2D2.
The Space Robots Kit
In this kit, we have tried to repeat the same type of comic strip illustration as featured in the American science fiction comics of the 1930’s - but without the scariness! Our characters are, we hope, likeable, funny, and a bit quirky. The characters included in the kit are: four different robot space commanders,two zany space cats, two astronaut dogs and either one of two space probes. It is the simplest of our cards to construct; children over the age of five will have no difficulty in making this card from the kit. It provides a choice, as children do need to make decisions regarding which space commander to choose, which cat and which dog, Each of the characters must be placed on its own designated step, this makes it easier to construct by younger children.
The Pack Contents
The space robot pack consists of three sheets of high quality card with die-cut sections and a base-card. It introduces children to stepped pop-ups. The kit includes full instructions to construct the card and a detailed history of pop-up cards. The size of the pop-up card when folded together is 110mm x 150mm which fits inside the cosmic-blue C6 envelope provided within the kit.
