Science of Sport
Open
10 am to 6 pm; tickets start at
£6.95
Science
Museum, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2DD; tel +44 (0)870 870 4868
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/sport/site/index.asp
www.topspeedfilm.com/broad.html
Rating:****
Science
of Sport is a striking exhibition now on at the Science Museum, London,
which promises children and parents a fun and energetic day out
investigating the relevance of science and technology to sport. The
exhibition is timely-2004 is a big year for sport and an ideal
time to draw children into the joys of different
sports.
When there is growing
concern in the United Kingdom about childhood obesity and its impact on
the future health of our nation, this exhibition highlights one way of
tackling the bulging waistlines of the younger generation. It uses
simulators and interactive displays to draw children into the games and
get them excited about sport.
The
most popular display is the 20 metre sprint station, where two visitors
compete from the start line to see who sprints fastest, and this comes
complete with action replay to check the start and sprint technique.
However, all the major sports are covered-there is 360°
indoor climbing wall, target practice for tennis shots, and a maze
through which you can dribble a football or hockey puck against a clock
before shooting for goal.
CREDIT
One of the
more impressive stations is virtual volleyball, a futuristic computer
simulation that allows you to hit a virtual ball to the opponent across
a virtual net and shows the result on a large screen. It is rather
difficult to master but does provide a challenge to anyone who is up
for it.
But does exhibition help
children to learn about the science behind sport? Aided by the
displays, parents can talk through various topics including
coordination, ability, diet, sports psychology, and how the body
changes with exercise. But these written displays are quite dry and not
attractive to the children. Displays that allow you to check your
reflexes (in response to visual and auditory cues), check your pulse,
and see how high you can jump give a fun insight into general
fitness.
The exhibition is endorsed
by various sports personalities who are keen that the exhibition will
draw children to sport. Athlete Tess Sanderson said that she hoped it
would encourage families to make physical activity a part of their
lifestyle in a fun way.
For older
children and adults there are interesting displays of novel sporting
exhibits, including a climbing boot worn by Edmund Hilary as he scaled
Everest as well as seven prototypes for the revolutionary Predator
football boot. Also included is a section dedicated to the yachtswoman
Ellen MacArthur, describing how she has trained herself to follow a
polyphasic (as opposed to the normal monophasic) sleep pattern when she
sails, giving her a total of 5.7 hours sleep per 24 hours. She enlisted
the help of the neurologist Claudio Stampi, who trained her to take
short naps, much like the way most animals sleep. This allowed her to
sleep as efficiently as possible and to maximise her active sailing
time, while avoiding the effects of sleep deprivation which can have
profound effects on
performance.
Another display showed
The Cheetah Foot, a bizarre looking prosthetic limb for athletes, which
is actually more biodynamically efficient than a real limb. It is made
of carbon fibre allowing flexibility and enough springiness to allow
the athlete to sprint and jump. There are videos showing the athletes
in action in a way that shows the human spirit overcoming the adversity
of losing a limb.
Also showing at
the IMAX cinema in the Science Museum is Top Speed, a film that
explores the lives of four of the fastest individuals on earth for home
the pursuit of speed is paramount; among them is an Olympic medallist
and a mountain biker. This film (narrated by the actor Tim Allen) is
well put together and gives an enticing insight into the challenges
facing those who seek to push themselves to the limit in pursuit of
speed.
The exhibition's
website contains a good introduction, though it could be more
extensive. There are some interactive games and film clips showing
aspects of the exhibition with some examples of the exhibits on show.
Overall, this is a well thought out exhibition that will be enjoyed by
any medical student interested in the theory behind sport and who has
an interest in sports memorabilia and history—as well as those of
us who are just young at
heart.
Aula Abbara, fourth year medical student, Imperial College, London
Email: aula.abbara@imperial.ac.uk
Ali Abbara, final year medical student, Queen Mary and Westfield College,London
studentBMJ 2004;12:265-308 July ISSN 0966-6494
