The scholars at the Smithsonian Institute may be experts in most history, but even they still need a leg up when it comes to pure nerdery.

The venerable system of museums in Washington are working on a new exhibit for the National Air and Space Museum, and to do it right, they need the help of old school Star Trek fans. As part of Star Trek 50th anniversary, next year curators will be exhibiting the original 11-foot model of the USS Enterprise. The catch is that the piece used in Gene Roddenberry's original show has been modified eight times since the series premiered, leaving the ship in a state far removed from how it appeared on the small screen.

Ahead of their exhibit, researchers at Emil Buehler Conservation Laboratory at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA are looking to restore the Enterprise to her full glory. But to do that, they need photos and footage of the ship in its original state. Since many such images are held in the hands of private collectors, the museum is asking for fans to forward any info they have to StarshipEnterprise@si.edu.

Model making is a lost art (we're pretty certain the version of the Enterprise above from Star Trek Into Darkness was never built as a full model), so any leads can help restore a piece of geek history.