From 2014 to 2016, conservators, curators, and experts collaborated to boldy restore the starship Enterprise NCC-1701 studio model from the original Star Trek series.

Follow our journey here and uncover, from paint to hardware, much of what we learned about the starship Enterprise model. Throughout the long process, the Museum published each step so that fans could track what was happening – and even help at times. In order to maintain that public record and as a resource for fans, this page collects all of those blog posts.

Note: the Museum’s research on the colorimeter readings uncovered during conservation are also included here.

This is the large studio model of the fictional starship Enterprise that appeared in episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series, which aired on NBC from 1966 to 1969. Take a closer look at some of the details of the Enterprise model. 

Take a Closer Look View Object Record
About the Project

The studio model in our collection was used for filming the original Star Trek television series, which aired from 1966 to 1969. The Museum’s goal was to stabilize the model, document its history of changes, and return it to the appearance it had during the August 1967 filming of the episode “The Trouble with Tribbles,” which marked the last known modification of the model during the production of the original series.

During the conservation process, we...

More About Conserving Enterprise Revealing the Colors of the Star Trek Enterprise Enterprise Studio Model Back on Display USS Enterprise Conservation Begins Phase II We’re Sending the USS Enterprise Back in Time Nerd Camp Advising on the Star Trek Starship Enterprise X-Ray Analysis of the Starship Enterprise Restoration of the Starship Enterprise