Im a huge Star Wars fan, I went to the George Lucas museum and the $210 R2D2 cookie jar wasnt the most surprising thing I saw

The greater Los Angeles area boasts more museums than any metropolis in the world — over 800, with 100 in LA proper alone — but none of them offer a $210 R2D2 cookie jar, until now.The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opened last week, adding a sprawling $1 billion campus to Exposition Park, already home to USC’s famed Coliseum, BMO Stadium, the California Science Center, the Natural History Museum and the California African American Museum.After more than a decade in development — including failed potential sites such as Chicago and San Francisco — the museum finally opened to the public last Tuesday.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story George Lucas himself and his wife, Melody Hobson, personally welcomed the first 100 guests through the doors.

While tickets were virtually impossible to score during the first few days, I was lucky enough to secure a $25 ticket for Monday morning, and I was thoroughly blown away throughout the day.As a 49-year-old male who has been a Star Wars fan for practically my entire life, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art was everything I had hoped it would be — and much, much more.All the drone footage you may have seen of this remarkable facility simply doesn’t do it justice.You have to see it in person.Standing inside, I was reminded of a line from the film that quite literally made this museum possible: Lucas’ 1977 blockbuster Star Wars, later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.In one scene, young Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) approach what Luke calls “that small moon” aboard the Millennium Falcon.“That’s no moon.

That’s a space station,” Kenobi replies, which Solo scoffs at, adding, “It’s too big to be a spa...