National Museum of Roller Skating

As I entered the house-like museum of Roller Skating, I was amazed by the thousands of pictures, costumes, trophies, skates, pins and much, much more. As I curiously looked around the museum, I was drawn to the hundreds of different types of roller skates that have been traced back since the early 1700’s. The first roller skate had a huge problem; they wouldn’t turn, making skating unsafe and hard to control. This problem was fixed when the father of roller skating, James Leonard Plimpton patented a safer and more efficient roller skate in 1863. Thereafter he opened a skating factory in New York City and Rhode Island, thus turning roller skating into an enjoyable family activity. Since then, there have been rinks on wheels; a traveling rink, ice rinks, roller rinks, and hockey rinks.

There have been many odd and unusual skates, some looking as if they would be impossible to ride. I was drawn to a few certain skates. One was composed of three wheels, each weighing slightly more than seven pounds. Another looked as if the roller skate was sitting on metal stilts, floating a couple feet in the air. Since those skates, patentees have decided there needs to be ways of enforcing to skate safe. Using knee-pads, helmets, elbow pads, and wrist guards have helped this problem. Skating has revolutionized across the world, not only being used as a leisured activity, but also as a competitive sport and delivering meals to people at fast food restaurants. This sport 'rolls' with a few down sides; easily falling, spraining ankles, breaking bones, running into each other, thus explaining why safety is so important.

Same as the roller skate, costumes have changed over the last few decades. The art of skating is enhanced by the costumes that the roller skaters wear. The style has changed dramatically from the 1950’s to today, going from highly decorated to very simple and back to flashy. This museum gives information not only about roller skating but alot of other intersting facts that I would have ever imagined. Since going to this museum, I have a greater appreciation for the sport of skating and a better understanding of where roller skating was invented and how it is used across the world.