Feb. 20, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State All-Sports Museum is offering a variety of programming this spring. All events will be held in the Clemen's Family Theater in the Museum and are free and open to the public.
The Museum will be hosting a program on Friday at noon that explores the science of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Friday's program will address questions such as how skiers go downhill so fast, why some skis are longer than others and why skiers tuck for some events and not for others.
Research scientist and educator Dr. Brendan Mullan will discuss the whys and hows behind several Winter Olympic skiing sports.
The Museum will also be hosting family friendly activities on Saturday from 10am-12pm to celebrate the 2014 Winter Olympics with free activities and crafts followed by a showing of the film Miracle at 1 p.m.
Directed by Gavin O'Connor, Miracle tells the story of Herb Brooks. Cut from the 1960 team, Brooks dreamed of coaching the U.S. Olympic hockey team and his dream came true in 1979. The team consisted of collegiate athletes rather than NHL all-stars and went into the 1980 Olympics as underdogs. Beating all odds, the U.S. defeated the Soviet Union and Finland to bring home gold.
On Tuesday, February 25 at 6pm the Museum will have a free showing of the film 42 followed by a panel discussion and Q&A period with Dr. Bob Allen, Dr. Mark Dyreson, Dr. Yukelson and Blake Beemer.
In 1946, Branch Rickey made history when he signed Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking Major League Baseball's historic color barrier. Facing racism from every side, Robinson was forced to demonstrate tremendous courage and restraint, knowing that any incident could destroy his and Rickey's hopes. Instead, he let his talent on the field do the talking - winning over fans and his teammates, silencing his critics and paving the way for others to follow.
Finally, on Thursday, March 6 at 6 p.m. the Museum will host Katie King, former Penn State Lady Icer. As a member of the Penn State hockey club team, Katie fired 143 goals and provided 126 assists in her four year career from 2001-2005. Her efforts earned her team MVP honors in 2003 and 2005 as well as the 2003 Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference MVP award. Katie will share her experiences as a student at Penn State.