If there's anything better than getting a free Wendy's chili after a Walleye game, it might be making your own slap shot just down the street from the downtown arena.
For an exhibit that will appeal to sports, science, and history fans alike, Imagination Station deserves a goal horn.
The interactive exhibition titled Hockey: Faster Than Ever is set to open at the end of the month, exploring both the history and science of Toledo’s favorite sport.
“Our exhibit is able to let people see hockey in a different way,” said Sutton Reekes, a spokesman for the science center. “When we're at the Huntington Center watching the Walleye, we're invested in the game; we're cheering for the Walleye. And then you can come to Imagination Station and see our hockey exhibit and be able to learn the science behind it ... that these players have internalized and use every time they're on ice.”
The traveling exhibition premiered in 2021 in Seattle, and has been “wildly popular” since, said Anna Clark, spokesman for the exhibit’s production company Flying Fish. The international service partners with a museum for each of its exhibits, and, in this case, the Montreal Science Centre contributed to the accuracy of the science and history of its native sport.
“There's other hockey exhibitions out there,” Clark said, “but this one really is the only one that does the science, history, and culture; the foundations, all the way through. It's like 120 years of hockey history.”
Science is involved across several aspects of sports. With hockey, that ranges from the nature of ice to the design of a player’s gear.
Visitors to the exhibit’s Science Lab will see videos explaining the science behind ice skating, shooting a puck, and more. Carl Nelson, chief scientist at Imagination Station, explained some of the many connections between STEM and what he considers one of the fastest sports.
“Most things, when they get cold, shrink and sink. ... If ice didn't float, we'd be playing hockey with scuba gear,” he said, discussing the nature of solid versus liquid water. Negating a previously believed idea about how skates glide through ice, he explained that the surface of the ice is slippery because of "dangling molecules" at the interface of the ice and air.
A player builds potential energy by winding up before a slap shot, transferring momentum both from their own motion and from a bend in the stick, to bring the puck up to 100 miles per hour.
Gameplay is dependent on the way players shift their weight, move on the ice, and the preferred design of their equipment, such as the shape of the skate and the material of the stick.
Displayed artifacts will explore how the evolution of gear — and the puck — has allowed the game to get faster over time, said Clark, who said she gained a new appreciation for the sport by working with the exhibit.
“It's not about being necessarily the fastest velocity player, but it's who can accelerate or decelerate the fastest,” Nelson said, noting that larger players are advantaged in their momentum, while smaller players can more quickly change their speeds.
The immersive exhibition will give visitors an opportunity to test how fast they can hit and catch a hockey puck. They can check out a Stanley Cup touchscreen or appear on a Jumbotron — whether that’s on the kiss cam or in the penalty box.
“I understand that games are fun for everyone, but it genuinely is teaching you about scientific concepts at the same time,” Clark said. “And that's the best thing.”
The main hall will house a replica ice rink and a small-size Zamboni that people can take photos with before entering the hockey exhibit. Nelson explained how the Zamboni resurfaces the ice: first picking up debris then placing a fine layer of water to get players back up to optimal speed.
Part of the traveling exhibit is left as a template customizable to each city’s history, such as a portion of the locker room being reserved for local content. T-Town’s lockers will feature gear from a current and a former Walleye as well as from players on the Toledo Fire Hockey Team and the adaptive Walleye Sled Hockey League.
The science center confirmed former Walleye goalie Sebastian Cossa, now of the Grand Rapids Griffins, and Walleye sled hockey player Valerie Fatica will be among those highlighted.
In collaboration with the Toledo Walleye, Imagination Station will display historic photos, jerseys, and other memorabilia, as well as history on the Toledo Storm and Goaldiggers.
There will also be events featuring Walleye players and giveaways for gear people can take to the games
“For hockey fans in our city, they will either know those facts and be able to look back and remember them, or they'll be able to learn something new, not only with science, but our own city,” Reekes said.
She added that a "perfect storm" came together to bring the exhibit to town in time for people to enjoy Walleye games and the interactive hockey exhibit at Imagination Station at the same time.
“We're glad that people can see their favorite sport here in the Glass City and also learn the science behind it,” Reekes said.
Hockey: Faster Than Ever opens Jan. 31 and runs through April 27. Entrance is free for members and $5 for non-members. The science center is located at 1 Discovery Way, Toledo, and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
First Published January 15, 2025, 12:30 p.m.
