Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

This pin is a piece of fan-created memorabilia from "Babylon 5," a space-themed television show which aired from 1993-1999. The symbol shown uses keyboard symbols to create an icon that resembles a jumpgate, the interstellar travel technology used in the show's fictional universe. The show's creator, J. Michael Straczynski (JMS) was notoriously reluctant to approve any merchandising but nonetheless approved the design and manufacture of these pins by a fan who chooses to go only by "Elana." The typed symbol had been adopted by a "Babylon 5" fan culture that used e-mail, newsgroups, and websites as an inside way to demonstrate their affection for the series and to identify other fans. The use of the internet and e-mail as the backbone of its fan culture makes "Babylon 5" a marker of its times.

Jeannie Whited donated this piece of "Babylon 5" memorabilia to the National Collection in 2005.

 Display Status

This object is on display in James S. McDonnell Space Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

James S. McDonnell Space Hangar
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type MEMORABILIA-Popular Culture Manufacturer Elana
 Dimensions 3-D: 6.4 x 3.2cm (2 1/2 x 1 1/4 in.)
 Materials Brass pin with black electroplate and lacquer finish
 Inventory Number A20060013000 Credit Line Gift of Jeannie C. Whited. Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.