Photographer Makes Legendary Science Hero Trading Cards From Classic Action Figures

SAN FRANCISCO - Oct. 4, 2016 - PRLog -- Yoda as Einstein. Leia as Jane Goodall. Luke as Bill Nye. Imagine a kid taking one of their classic science fiction action figures and pretending it is instead a celebrated true hero of science. Photographer Drew Wright has made that possible with his clever photographic trading card series, Sci-Wonks: Scions of Science.

"The whole idea", Wright says, "is to encourage kids to play, learn about and admire these true legendary heroes from Earth with action figures they already own."  From his childhood collection of action figures, Wright brought sci-fi and science together in six vibrant photographs.   Enthusiasts of both genres and multiple generations can now "battle oblivion with virtuosity", viewing the complete collection at his website www.SciWonks.com.

"I was reading that Yoda's eyes were originally modeled after Albert Einstein's own, and I wondered, why stop there? Why not have him be the actual Einstein, moustache and all?" From there, he says, it was an easy progression to the others. "It's easy to see how much Carl Sagan and Han Solo looked alike, and that Neil deGrasse Tyson would make a pretty suave Lando. Put a bowtie on Luke, and bingo! Bill Nye. And who else could befriend Ewoks so effortlessly than Jane Goodall?" As for the sixth science hero in the series, Wright could only come to one obvious solution: "Hawking is the Emperor, clearly. With his encouragement for man to conquer space posthaste, no other living legend has as much genius, mystery and dark intrigue as Stephen Hawking."

The series is made complete as actual trading cards, with stats, history, trivia and quotes, to blur the line between knowledge and play. Drawing from his own memories of collecting trading cards as a kid, Wright remembered how the in depth data was such a huge reason to collect cards. "To really celebrate each hero, you want to connect deeper, and share or compare your accumulated knowledge."  Wright adds "Even as a science geek, I learned a lot researching each bio. To recognize how influential each of these heroes has been to humanity, was truly powerful for me."

The impact of each card could be easily tested on Wright's two young sons. The results? "They were absolutely captivated and laughing. Two of their favorite subjects combined into cards! I didn't have to say anything more. Before I knew it, they were making trivia games from what they learned, and testing me!" See the trivia and more for yourself, at http://www.SciWonks.com.