Features 7 exciting, interactive, bilingual exhibits that explore the science behind sports!

Test your athletic abilities while learning about the human body’s skeletal, muscular and circulatory systems, and how they work together to perform athletic tasks. Investigate your own agility, endurance, speed, balance, coordination, and strength with this incredibly hands-on athletic exhibition!

Fast Ball

The visitor can test their pitching speed by throwing a tennis ball through the netted pitching cage at a large bull’s-eye. A radar gun records how fast the ball is moving. The target lights up if the visitor hits the center of the bull’s-eye, while their pitching speed is displayed above. The visitor learns about the muscles involved in a pitch and the three stages of good pitching form.

Wheel Chair Racers

Visitors are encouraged to race one another on stationary wheel chairs. One or two people can race in this 30 seconds test. The competitors sit in the wheel chairs and press the green start button. After the third beep sounds, the race begins! Informational signs that describe the significance of oxygen in muscle contraction accompany this exhibit.

Get a Grip!

Visitors learn about their weight to strength ration in this exhibit. A visitor pushes the green start button while standing on the yellow pad. When the visitor hears a beep (noting that their weight has been recorded), they squeeze the handle as hard as they can until they hear a second beep. The bottom number display shows the force of the visitor’s grip in pounds while the top display compares the visitor’s grip strength to their weight. Signage teaches visitors how grip strength to size ratio applies to various sports like gymnastics and rock climbing.

Vertical Vault

Visitors test their jumping abilities by comparing their standing reach and their jump reach with a touch-reactive vertical light panel. With both feet plat on the blue pad, the visitor touches the highest point the can reach on the center strip. A light will mark the height. The visitor then jumps and touches the center strip as high as they can. The distance between the low and high marks is their jump height!

Reaction Attraction

The visitor stands in front of a large display of buttons. When the visitor presses the “start” button, individual buttons within the array begin to light up randomly for 30 seconds. The visitor attempts to “react” by hitting each button as it illuminates. The number of illuminated buttons successfully touched is displayed at the end of the 30 seconds. This exhibit tests the reaction time and hand-eye coordination of the visitor.

Hang Time

A visitor steps on the Hang Time mat and presses the green button. When the timer reads 0:00, the visitor grabs a pull-up bar above their head and tries to hang for as long as they can. The time runs until the visitor drops and their feet touch the mat again. Signage teaches visitors about how muscle fibers in their arms contract and relax for sustained muscle use.

Flex-Ability

The visitor tests their “touch your toes” flexibility with a sit and reach box. The visitor sits on the bench with their feet flat against the metal plate, their arms extended straight out in front. While keeping their knees and back straight, the visitor pushes the silver bar as far forward as they can with their fingertips. Visitors can compare their stretch score to a flexibility average chart. Visitors learn about the importance of stretching and how their muscles, ligaments, and tendons play key roles in flexibility.