Riverside, Iowa is the birthplace of one of the most famous Star Trek Captains of all time...or at least it will be! According to Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, James T Kirk was born in Iowa on March 22, 2233. Roddenberry never specified which town Kirk was born in. In 1985, the Riverside City Council voted unanimously to proclaim Riverside as the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk. Kirk won't be born for another 200 years, but if you stop by now, you can check out a bronze statue of Captain Kirk in Railroad Park. Since Captain Kirk has been played by different actors, the statue was not created to look like any of the various actors. The statue was sculpted by Jurek Jakowicz of South Dakota. $30,000 was raised to create the statue which was unveiled in June 2018 at the town's annual Trekfest celebration.
James Tiberius Kirk is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. Kirk was introduced in Star Trek, The Original Series in 1966. Since that time, Captain Kirk has made appearances in several films, books, comics, and video games. The legendary captain has been portrayed by William Shatner and Chris Pine. Kirk became the first and only student at Star Trek Academy to defeat the Kobayashi Marui test. (no-win scenario) Kirk also became the youngest star ship captain after receiving command of the USS Enterprise for a five year mission.
To Log this virtual cache, please post a picture of yourself standing next to the bronze statue of Captain Kirk. Feel free to be creative but please don't harm the statue or the surrounding area!
Other Star Trek Related things to check out while you are in Riverside:
The Voyage Home Museum ( 361 W 1st Street in Riverside If you like Star Trek, then you will want to check out this museum which has lots of Star Trek props and memorabilia! (Don't forget to check out the bathroom - you don't want to miss it! There is no charge for admission to the museum, but they do accept donations. Please make sure that you check out the museum hours to make sure that they are open.
There is a GREAT multi cache in town that is really worth checking out! GCH41N Famous Iowan's Birthplace takes you to a few areas that have significance to Star Trek
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.