6 Images

This television prop is a "tribble," a fictional alien creature featured in the episode "The Trouble With Tribbles" in the "Star Trek" TV show, which aired on NBC from 1966-1969. A tribble was a living furry creature on Space Station K-7. They did nothing but eat and multiply. Eventually, tribbles are found aboard the Spaceship Enterprise and created an enormous problem by over-multiplying.

The popularity of this episode led the writer, David Gerrold, to produce the book of the same title, "The Trouble With Tribbles," published by Ballantyne as a paperback in 1973, in which tribbles threaten to overun the entire galaxy. The episode also led to a variety of tribble merchandise and their own cult following almost as big as the show itself.

Paramount gave this prop to the Museum in 1973.

Display Status

This object is on display in Kenneth C. Griffin Exploring the Planets Gallery at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Kenneth C. Griffin Exploring the Planets Gallery

Object Details

Country of Origin

United States of America

Type

MEMORABILIA-Popular Culture

Manufacturer

Paramount Pictures Corporation

Dimensions

3-D: 9.5 × 7.6 × 5.1cm, 0.2kg (3 3/4 × 3 × 2 in., 0.4lb.)

Materials

material appears to be a synthetic, acrylic, dyed brown

Inventory Number

A19850355000

Credit Line

Paramount Pictures Corp.

Data Source

National Air and Space Museum

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use.