Leonard Nimoy’s Spock ears are logically heading to the Smithsonian

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum is getting a piece of pop cultural history that will surely make sci-fi fans turn “dancing Orion girl” green with envy: A pair of the late Leonard Nimoy’s pointy prosthetic Vulcan ears from Star Trek—a most logical move if there ever was one.

According to a statement from his son, Adam, Nimoy took the props upon completing the original television series run as a keepsake. “Mounted in a black box, those ears have been in our family for over fifty years as a tribute to Dad’s outstanding performances as Mr. Spock,” explains Son of Spock, adding that, “The donation honors Beit T’Shuvah and the Leonard Nimoy COPD Research Fund at UCLA. Two organizations supported by our family and dedicated to the Vulcan salutation of long life and prosperity.”

Check out an official unboxing video from the Smithsonian’s conservation lab below:

It’s an undoubtedly fitting addition to the museum, but we gotta say… they don’t exactly elicit the same emotional punch when they’re detached from a human being. Or, at least, a human being playing a Vulcan alien. Either way, those rubber ears definitely look way better when glued to an actor than they do when creepily mounted in a shadow box like some Predator hunting trophy.

Sure, we’re mixing separate science fiction worlds at this point… or are we? After all, there was supposed to be a Star Trek: The Next Generation and Aliens crossover comic book miniseries back in 2017 that (very) unfortunately never actually made it to print. And, as we all already know, both the Xenomorphs and the Yaujta (aka the Predator aliens) technically inhabit the same universe.

So! It stands to reason that there could be a scenario out there in which Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and/or Jean-Luc Piccard are forced to fend off hordes of Xenomorph spawn while dodging Predator laser cannon blasts… God that sounds so badass. How the hell did that comic get cancelled in the first place? Highly illogical.

Anyway. Spock’s ears will also join an 11-foot model of the U.S.S. Enterprise restored a few years back at the museum.

Send Great Job, Internet tips to [email protected]