Abutting the snowy Front Range, ever-growing Colorado Springs is famously known as Olympic City USA – and with good reason. For starters, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee is headquartered here, along with over 20 governing bodies. Scores of national sports organizations call Colorado Springs home as well. The city also plays host to one of two U.S. Olympic Training Centers – the other is in Lake Placid – and comes complete with a swimming pool, shooting range, velodrome and more. Opened in 2020, the latest addition to Colorado Springs’ fantastic Olympic repertoire is the state-of-the-art U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum.

The museum aims to preserve the history and achievements of American Olympic athletes, as well as the tradition of Olympic Games hosted in the United States and around the world.

From the moment you walk in the door, you can tell there’s a heavy focus on being an institution for the digital age. It begins with an RFID badge and lanyard that allows all visitors to create their own unique experience as they progress through the museum, and continues throughout the exhibits. Videos and other interactive touchscreens whisk visitors away to Olympics of the past, highlighting special moments from Games dating all the way back to the inception of the modern event in 1896. High-tech projections and immersive displays really make you feel as if you’re there amidst greatness. The best example of this mesmerizing effect is the gallery which highlights the Parade of Nations, with enveloping audio and 360-degree video overwhelming your senses.

Impressive technology doesn’t always equal an impressive museum, however. The high-tech extravagance somewhat overshadows the classic artifacts and more traditional museum exhibits. One of the major highlights of the museum is the array of gold, silver and bronze medals from every Olympic Games dating all the way back to 1896. Positioned along a ramp near the end of the walkthrough, it’s kind of unfortunate that this presentation almost feels like an afterthought. Olympic Torches from 1936 to the present are another major display – actually one of the first things visitors get to see – although there may have been a better way to show off these beauties without all-encompassing glass cases.

Nestled in the core of the building is an interactive area where kids and adults alike can try their hand at some Olympic sports. The technology here seems to be a little subpar, with unresponsive controls and generally glitchy software. Although focused mainly on winter sports like hockey and slalom skiing, there’s also a short track where friends and families can go head-to-head in a footrace.

All in all, the US Olympic and Paralympic Museum is a fun place to immerse yourself in the rich history and tradition of the modern Games, with plenty to see and do. Hopefully, the museum will continue to grow and improve its methods for preserving and presenting Olympic history well into the future.