Can you outrun a T. rex? Find out at the Science Museum
Have you ever actually thought about how you throw a ball?
A lot goes on inside your body before the ball leaves your hand, and the Science Museum of Minnesota's new "highly interactive" Sportsology exhibit hopes to explain it – and all the other things your body does to allow you to run, jump, swing and compete, a news release says.
The exhibit, which opens Friday, includes a motion lab where people can record themselves throwing a football or scoring on a goal kick (among other things), then analyze their movements and compare them to how the professionals do it – like Lindsay Whalen or Joe Mauer.
Race a dinosaur
There's also a place where you can race a T. rex to learn about the physiology of running. The museum says you won't beat the dinosaur, but you can also compare your stride to athletes like Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen, Wild center Erik Haula, Paralympic athlete Mark Braun, and Twins mascot T.C. Bear (you might beat him), plus others.
“We’ve been working to make this exhibit and its programs just right for our visitors, and we are eager for them to experience Sportsology,” Alison Rempel Brown, president of the Science Museum of Minnesota, said in a news release. “Sportsology represents a fun way for visitors to get a better understanding of what it takes to throw that ball, run that race, shoot that basket, or just move your body for joy.”
What else is there?
Other parts of the exhibit include:
- Practicing your high jump – and seeing how it compares to NBA players.
- Looking at how angles can help improve your game, and finding that "sweet spot" on your racket or bat.
- How hand-eye coordination makes it possible to hit a fastball.
- What goes into balance, and how that makes sports like gymnastics and ice skating possible.
- Why eating a nutritious meal is important for athletes at any level.
- Explore sports injuries like concussions – what they are, the symptoms and how people recover.
- Artifacts that show how people from around the world play sports.
It's modeled after a similar exhibit at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas – which the Science Museum of Minnesota actually built.
If you plan to go, the exhibit is included in the price of admission to the museum: $18.95 for adults, then $12.95 for kids ages 4 to 12 and seniors.
