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Exploreum reveals the 'inside story' of Football through Nov. 17
DOWN, SET, HIKE!
Are you ready for some football? Well, the Gulf Coast Exploreum certainly is!
Football-The Exhibit is now open so come check it out. The popularity of the game football provides an opportunity to introduce a large audience of diverse ages to the science, mathematics and technology content that underlies the game itself. Few individuals pursue careers in the fields of science, mathematics and technology, yet Football-The Exhibit produces just such a medium that can engage children and adults in these fields. A variety of participatory exhibit zones will capture everyone's attention.
Organized into zones that relate directly to the game, the exhibit encourages hands-on participation from beginning to end. To see if you can be as strong as a lineman, try the Grip Tester. Or rotate through the Passing Game Zone and focus on the stability of a well-thrown spiral by experimenting with the Bicycle Wheel Gyro. Who can resist taking a turn in the Passing Cage? You'll never get the kids or anyone who likes to throw a ball out of this one! For a moment, you can even feel like Michael Vick or Brett Favre.
Go long then hook a right through the Sprint Track and test your time with a turtle, or even a cheetah! Bring your running shoes, and actually run down the sprint track trying to keep time with the "flashing lights" which represent the animal you have selected to run against. You can race a cheetah, three-toed sloth or a sprinter and your time will be calculated for you when you reach the end of the track.
 | | People are drawn to American football for many reasons. For some it is the spectacle of the event, for others it is the opportunity to release steam and aggression as "armchair quarterbacks." For kids, it is often a symbol of being "grown up" -- and they will have an opportunity to look and feel like a football player behind the museum cutout, above. |
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Wind down in the History Zone where the beginnings of the game are explored (how did they ever wear those old leather helmets?), or join the tailgate party in progress over in the Football and Society Zone and check out the early versions of football board games on display. You can almost smell the grill cookin! Giant airbrushed paintings of players in action lead the way into the zones that illustrate key concepts like collisions, peripheral vision, reaction times, trajectories and balance. Audio and video kiosks also help tell the story behind football's mysterious hold on Americans.
Two, four, six, eight, who do we
appreciate? The cheerleaders of course! Watch some fascinating videos and great moves of real cheerleaders in action. In this section, you will learn about the inner ear and its role in balance. Bring your camera, stand behind one of our giant painted boards of players in action, who said you never could look like a real football player?
People are drawn to American football for any number of reasons. Maybe it is the sheer spectacle of the event, the athleticism, or the way an "armchair quarterback" can release his own aggressions.
Football holds a place in fans' lives that cannot easily be disturbed. As long as there's the sport of football, fans will continue to support their favorite teams. Whether on the high school, college or professional level, football captures our imagination as few other sports have in this century. Baseball may be "America's pastime," but football is our passion.
So, all you armchair quarterbacks...drop your remotes and meet us at the Gulf Coast Exploreum exhibit Football, on display through November 17!
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