Response to the Roller-Skating Museum

I went to the National Roller-skating museum. Apparently it’s not just an activity for birthday parties. As soon as I opened the front door I saw a case full of trophies and memorabilia. The walls were lined with posters of champion skaters from all over the world. Before stepping into the actual museum visitors had to walk through a golden hallway sporting plaques of hall of fame coaches and athletes. Once inside the museum visitors were bombarded with case after case of skating memorabilia. They told the story of how skating was developed, improved, and grew into its international grandeur of today.

The story began with the first roller-skate developed in the late 1800s. From there it followed the various styles, shapes, colors, and wheel alignments of the ever evolving roller-skate. Posters depicting roller-skating competitions and skates in pop culture covered every wall. I was reminded of the hand-me-down Minnie Mouse roller-skates I once had. I used to wear them all the time. I’d skate to the living room to watch TV, then to the refrigerator for a quick snack, and finally up the stairs to my room. Eventually I begged my parents for rollerblades. I live on a farm and smooth concrete is a rarity out there. I had no where to rollerblade, my mom would no longer let me skate in the house, if only I had known of the off-road rollerblades shown in the museum. I could have skated on any surface but probably not very quickly as the blades weighed seven pounds each.

I saw cases with sequined outfits, trophies with skates and skaters on them, and skating dolls and toys I remember from when I was little. I was so amazed by all the artifacts they were able to gather. They even had a sequined outfit Tara Lipinski wore as a girl in roller-skating competitions.

At first I thought this assignment was going to be completely ridiculous. I didn’t care about roller-skates and I really didn’t think a museum in Lincoln would have anything worth seeing. After going I realized it’s not so bad, I learned something new about roller-skates. Besides, there are worse ways to spend an hour.