Inside the headquarters of USA Roller Sports, you will find the unique National Museum of Roller Skating. Located right in the center of Lincoln at the corner of 48th and South Street, this location is quite accessible. Full of fun displays and interesting artifacts, having a national museum here gives Lincolnites a great opportunity. Due to being inside a business, they are only open during weekdays from 9 to 5.
This museum has always had a place on the Lincoln’s “Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown” passport program, so we have stopped here several times. While the majority of glass cases are only in one large room, they continue to add more memorabilia every year. As you will see evidenced by my display pictures, this is the perfect place for a scavenger hunt!
These two displays were just added to the entrance area. All kinds of fun things to find including roller boogie, a superstar with her own skating doll and antique skates.
The above picture is in the USA Roller Sports area – I always liked watching Apollo! The hallway lines include tributes to former coaches and skaters. Have your kids see if any names are duplicated. Or if any players ended up becoming coaches.
The museum itself features all kinds of displays. If you took time to read about each item, you could be there for several hours. Have your kids pick their favorite outfit. Have them find cartoon characters featuring skates. What is their favorite item?
This player is a fun replica of the music that used to entertain skaters around the rink. For $.25, you can get a live rendition. I thought it was worth the quarter to see all of the drums and pipes moving. I will attempt to post the video that I took in a bit. The Mickey Mouse drum is also a fun item to find.
Identifying items by decades would be fun. The display of unique skates, such as cowboy boots, is definitely interesting. Finding your state in the “sticker” section is also a good challenge. Trying to imagine yourself in some of the old time outfits would also be fun.
My kids each had parts they appreciated more. My boys always seem to enjoy spinning all of the wheels on the large display. My daughter loves seeing the sparkly outfits. The roller skating children statue is a new one and provides the perfect photo opp.
Take a spin into the National Museum of Roller Skating – you will be glad that you went!
I love quirky little museums like this one! Reminds me of an ancient roller skating rink we used to have here in the Detroit area that I went to a few times as a kid. It’s no more, but the couple who bought it to turn into a gift and home decor store kept a few of the old skates, signs and fittings, incorporating it into the new store decor as a sort of nostalgic touch.
What a fun stop! All they need is a huge statue of a pair of roller skates outside and they could drag in the roadside attractions fans. This is my type of museum! I grew up roller skating on Friday nights. So fun.
We have been meaning to get there for the longest time! We will continue to try. I think that they have limited hours don’t they. I have not been skating for a long time. I hope that I could still do it,
I like the giant roller skates idea! I need to take our kids skating – I do have fond memories of that growing up also. The museum is just open during weekdays, so I guess that does make it challenging to visit if you are working.
That is awesome. i love those cowboy boot skates!
How much fun! We have one of the old wooden rinks near here (outside Chicago)–so I am sure a lot of people here would love to here about the museum! It really takes you back, doesn’t it!
I think I would enjoy skating on a wooden rink – your skates would make a cool sound! Definitely takes you back and reminds me that I really do need to take my kids skating. Of course that involves me skating – hopefully that skill is just like riding a bike. 🙂
I didn’t even know there was a museum like this! How cool.
This is definitely a fun one to experience!
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