The Museum of Natural History has made it so: the traveling exhibit Out of This World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television will open Friday, May 18.

To complement the exhibit, Gus-Con, a comic book-style convention will take place at the museum from June 1 to 3. The convention is named after Gus, the museum's gopher tortoise who will celebrate his 90th birthday in August.

"Based on the positive response from our social media campaign, it's looking as if the exhibit is going to be quite popular," said David Wilson, Minister of Communities, Culture and Heritage. "We're pleased that the museum is able to combine this kind of exhibit with the new space programs it will introduce in the Our Amazing World gallery."

The Out of This World exhibit complements the Kids in Space program which will focus on the planets and moons in the solar system. A separate, more-in-depth program will be geared toward older visitors.

The Out of This World exhibit will feature more than 40 costumes and objects from science fiction films and television programs such as Star Wars, Blade Runner, Terminator, Star Trek and Batman. Visitors will be able to learn how costume design uses colour, style, scale and cultural and traditional cues to help performers and audiences engage with the characters. The exhibit runs until Aug. 26.

Gus-Con will feature science fiction lectures, presentations, panels and a costume gala.

"The buzz around this exhibit is huge! Not since Hal-Con have I seen the geek and nerd community so excited to participate in a genre event like this," said Jennifer Lambe, co-chair, director of guest relations and sponsorships for Hal-Con. "It's a huge score for the museum to bring an exhibit of this caliber to our community in Halifax. People are already planning two to three trips to make sure they see everything."

Hal-Con organizers will deliver a presentation at Gus-Con. Andrew Hebda, curator of zoology, will also do a presentation on bats; Marian Munro, curator of botany, will have a presentation on poison plants; and Deborah Skilliter, curator of geology, will speak on the film Jurassic Park.

Tickets for Gus-Con go on sale at the museum May 18 at 8 a.m. The $29 price includes admission to all events during the three-day conference.

For information on the exhibit and the conference visit the Museum of Natural History website at http://nature.museum.gov.ns.ca .