Post 2: The National Museum of Roller Skating

As I entered the National Museum of Roller Skating, I was greeted by a glass display case in the entrance way. In the display case was an assortment of memorabilia, there were pictures of pas t champion roller skating pairs, singles champions, and the trophies and medals that they had won. There were also roller hockey sticks, which was played on the ice by both men and women, and vintage skates.
The actual museum was located in the back of the building. The first display that I saw was the evolution of the wheel. It began in the 1760’s and by 1883 the most common material that was used for producing it was wood. There have been a plethora of materials used in the production of the wheel starting in the 1890’s with metal, which was used by the Winslow Skating Company and deluxe ivory.
The in-line skate was created by Joseph Marlin. Rollerblades have since become the popular choice for many people in this day and age, but before that roller skates or quads as they are sometimes called was the popular choice for people. I remember my first pair of skates were roller skates until I saw my older siblings wear rollerblades and then I used them.
This museum also brought back memories from my childhood. I remember going to the roller rink in Norfolk when I was in grade school on the weekends to hang out with friends or having birthday parties at it. The first wave of popularity for skating in roller rinks came in the 1870’s-1890’s. Since then its popularity has gone done.
As I was finishing looking at the different displays in the museum a couple more displays had caught my eye. I saw the outfit and roller skates of Tara Lipinski, who is an Olympic ice skater. She had once been a champion roller skater herself. There was also a display on Roller jam. I had remembered watching this with friends when I was younger. It was part soap opera and part wrestling with a little skating mixed in. Roller jam had been an alternative to watching roller derby, which was popularized in the 1930’s. I chose this museum because I thought it would have been better than the other choices, and it was. I would recommend anyone interested in roller skating to visit it.