The Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky (By Brian)

A few weeks ago, Jessica was once again competing in The World Robotics Championships in Louisville, Kentucky (she also went last year, but this year her team were UK national champions!). Brian accompanied her there. And he was particularly taken by one, fantastic, musem:

"The Muhammad Ali Center is a museum is dedicated to the life of the three-time heavyweight champion boxer, and was the highlight of my brief time in Louisville.

My visit began in the Orientation theatre, and the multi screen short film sets the mood perfectly. James Earl Jones and Maya Angelou read alternating verses of Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” and the footage has been expertly edited to match the words. The section accompanied by the line “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster. And treat those two imposters just the same” ends with Joe Frazier spectacularly knocking Ali onto his back. The woman beside me gasped.

There was much more to see in the museum than just boxing footage. The first section was about social history in racially segregated Louisville, and the set of a diner was used to re-enact the discrimination the 18 year old Ali experienced when he was refused service in a whites only restaurant after winning his Olympic Gold medal. The onscreen interviews describe how Ali gave confidence and pride to African Americans, encouraged by his lack of fear.

His press interviews and chat show appearances are mesmerizing and entertaining, but the museum does not hide from any of the controversial aspects of his life – his association with Malcolm X and conversion to the Nation of Islam, changing his name from the “slave name” of Cassius Clay, and refusing to fight in Vietnam.

Ali’s story is inspirational, and his many charitable works are highlighted, but the museum certainly does not idolize the man. The interview footage describes him as a womaniser, shows him not allowing his first wife to speak on camera, calling white people and Jews “devils”, and repeatedly taunting Ernie Terrell in the ring with “what’s my name, Uncle Tom...what’s my name”. So, no saint, but what a story.

Despite all his fame and fortune, Ali seems to have suffered more than his fair share of disappointments and hardships. He grew up in poverty in a segregated city, was vilified for his religious beliefs and banned for over three years when he should have been at his peak of his career, having to wait another three years to fight for the undisputed title again after losing to Frazier. He also boxed on well past his prime, and was then afflicted with Parkinsons’ disease in his later years. The footage of him lighting the torch at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 was truly touching (even though I had seen it many times before).

One of the highlights of the museum was the film “The Greatest” in which Ali’s boxing career is projected onto a full-sized boxing ring one level below. His great fights against Sonny Liston, Frazier and George Foreman are spectacular.

[caption id="attachment_2447" align="alignnone" width="1200"] A very dark picture of Brian![/caption]

The museum also has lots of interactive boxing displays where you can “train with Ali”. I loved holding onto the punchbag that simulates how hard you are hit when punched in the stomach, and being able to shadowbox with him. The speed of the bursts of punches was frightening. You can also receive onscreen boxing lessons from Ali’s daughter Laila in a boxing ring setting, and can enjoy hitting a speed bag at head height. I had a great time in this section practicing my boxing moves, particularly as there was no-one around at the time to watch me!

Ali proclaimed himself as the “greatest”, and perhaps he was. I can imagine a young Mike Tyson giving him a good run for his money in the ring, but Ali was bigger than just boxing. With his incredible good looks, charisma, showmanship and larger than life personality, it is no surprise the BBC named him ‘Sports Personality of the Century’ in 1999.

The museum is a great place to learn more about the man and his legacy."

The Muhammad Ali Center is open Tuesdays to Sundays. It costs $9 for adults, $8 for those aged 65+, $5 for students and $4 for children aged 6-12. Children aged five or under are free.

Also on Family Travel Times

Science and Baseball bats in Louisville

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The Kennedy Space Centre, Florida

Science and Baseball Bats in Louisville, Kentucky (By Jess)

Last week, I spent a week in Louisville, Kentucky as part of the VEX IQ International Robotics Finals, which was a very exciting seven days indeed! We had a spare day in the city before the competition, so we decided to visit the Kentucky Science Center and the Louisville Slugger Museum, where the famous baseball bats are manufactured.

The Kentucky Science Center

[caption id="attachment_1226" align="aligncenter" width="940"] I visited the Louisville Science Museum in the morning[/caption]

We rushed into the Science Center first to escape the pouring rain, and quickly saw something which shocked us:

[caption id="attachment_1227" align="aligncenter" width="768"] We spotted a very unusual (and worrying) sign outside the museum[/caption]

There was lots to see and do inside the museum, and we starting by walking upstairs into an exhibition on the human body. This was a large room, full with information about the different functions of organs and organ systems. There were displays about the digestive, respiratory and circulation systems, and we enjoyed finding out our heart rate by holding on to a bar. There were lots of interactive exhibits, such as one where we had to team up with each other and press buttons to destroy viruses, and another where we had to mimic the human heartbeat. I knew most of the facts in the room but I am sure that my brother Robert wouldn't, and would have learnt a lot. Sadly, many of the exhibits were out of order and some were quite old.

[caption id="attachment_1231" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Standing inside a bubble, building a bridge and finding out about muscles![/caption]

There were lots of other exhibits taking place in the museum, which we all liked. One of my favourites was pulling a rope which created a bubble - this was extremely exciting, especially as I managed to get it up to my shoulders before my backpack popped it! We also created a bridge out of blocks, which took countless tries to finish. We were surprisingly proud to finally manage it...

Before we left, we decided to watch the 3D Film "Journey To Space" in the museum's cinema. The film was around 45 minutes long and was fascinating, talking about life in space and the challenges of reaching Mars. Although I am not a major fan of space exploration, the film was certainly interesting, and allowed me to think about the engineering challenges that a trip to space presents. The rest of the museum was aimed at younger children, so it was nice to have something aimed at the older members of the family.

The Louisville Slugger Museum

[caption id="attachment_1236" align="aligncenter" width="940"] The tallest baseball bat in the world outside the Louisville Slugger Museum[/caption]

After a pizza lunch just opposite the Science Center, it was a short two minute walk to the Louisville Slugger Museum, where the famous Louisville Baseball Bats are made. It was dangerously close to closing time so we had no chance to walk around the museum, but we had a walking tour around the factory instead.

None of us knew anything about baseball, but our tour guide was wonderfully useful at answering any questions we had. We walked through the factory, stopped at certain machines and watched videos. We were told that the factory produces 1.8 million baseball bats a year, and that they first arrive at the factory as billets (cylinders) of wood. When the factory was started, every bat was hand carved - taking up to half an hour to shape each one! Nowadays, there are machines which have countless of bat models saved, and each one can be made in 30 seconds. It only takes a click of a button to switch designs!

We got to see bats being dipped to get distinctive colours, and were shown how each bat gets the Louisville Slugger logo pressed onto it. My highlight of the tour was being given full-sized bats to hold, which was enthralling. At the end of the tour, we were given an opportunity to ask questions, and were all given a free mini bat to take home with us. The tour was quite short at only 30 minutes long, but our guide was really friendly and knowledgeable so we learnt a lot and had a great time.

Overall, we had a really exciting day visiting the Kentucky Science Center and the Louisville Slugger Museum. Our highlight of the day was definitely going on the walking tour of the Slugger Museum factory, and we wish that we had more time to visit the rest of the museum and go to the batting cages. I thought that the Science Center was quite old and not advanced enough, but I'm sure that younger children would really enjoy playing with the exhibits.

Despite the fab museums we visited in Louisville, my favourite part of the trip was eating at all the American chains, such as Applebee's; the portion sizes were gigantic!

To see the exhibits and the movie at the Science Center, adults are $20.00 and children (aged 2-12) are $15.00. Full pricing information can be found here.

To visit the Louisville Slugger Museum, adults are $12.00, seniors (aged 60+) are $11, kids (aged 6-12) are $7.00 and kids five and under are free.

 

More by us about science:

Churchill’s Scientists: An Exhibition at The Science Museum (By Jess)

Enjoying an educational day out in Winchester

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