SPORT-tacular science awaits!
Throughout the first floor of the museum, we’ll be exploring the science of sports through hands-on activities, games, and a exhibit.
The Birth of Sports Science: From Gatorade to Other Amazing Game Changers
Explore how science and invention have transformed sports, from ancient training methods and homemade tonics to Gatorade, high-tech equipment, and data-driven performance tools. Discover the breakthroughs that changed the game, the inventors who dared to ask new questions, and the future of sports science.
This exhibit is sponsored in part by Visit Gainesville, Alachua County, FL.
September 18, 2025 – March 29, 2026
Coming Soon!
Snow: Tiny Crystals, Global Impact is a hands-on science exhibition about the nature and wonder of snow and the impact of climate change on our snowy planet. The exhibition follow snow’s journey from tiny crystals to vast winter landscapes to abundant spring snowmelt. Visitors explore how snow shapes and sustains life on Earth, snow’s vital roles in sustaining our water supply and cooling our planet, and the cultural and personal value of snow.
Snow was developed and produced by OMSI as part of a collaborative project led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks and funded by the National Science Foundation. This exhibit is sponsored in part by Visit Gainesville, Alachua County.
May 23 – January 3, 2027
The Sweat Solution
Learn the history of Gatorade from concept to commercialization and beyond… and the answer to that delicate but necessary question posed in 1965, “Why don’t football players ever urinate during a game?” The exhibit showcases the invention of Gatorade, the lives saved because of its science, the industries that emerged from its invention, and its incredible global impact.
At First Flush
Located in our bathrooms, this exhibit tells the stories of toilets, soaps, and Thomas Crapper. Find out how astronauts use the restroom, how toilets crowned the most powerful cities, and who used the first flushable toilet (and loved it).
Mothers of Invention
Everyone says that necessity is the mother of invention, but we see inventions born from many Mothers of Invention: Necessity, Curiosity, Imagination, Iteration, and Serendipity.
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