Keep Olympic Memories Alive

The Olympic cauldron will burn bright again this February, its symbolic flame attracting people from across the globe. Here in Park City, memories of the 17 days of the XIX Olympic Winter Games are still burning in our minds.

If you cheered when the U.S. swept the podium in men’s halfpipe, or if your spine tingled as Jill Bakken and Vonetta Flowers rocketed across the finish line, becoming the first women to seize gold in women’s bobsled, or if your eyes still water as you remember a grinning Jimmy Shea holding his grandfather’s photo (which was tucked inside his helmet during his gold medal skeleton run), then there is a place you can re-kindle Olympic memories without traveling across the world.

The George Eccles Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum opened on June 9, 2005, specifically designed for visitors to re-live and re-capture those Olympic memories.

“It happens to almost anybody that was associated with the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, whether you were a spectator, an athlete or a volunteer—you still remember,” Museum Executive Director Connie Nelson states with a smile. “People are not expecting to find a museum at Utah Olympic Park. They just know they can see the ski jumps from Highway 224.”

Located above Kimball Junction near Interstate 80, the Utah Olympic Park still hosts World Cup competitions on the K90 and K120 jumps and the bobsled, luge and skeleton tracks. Visitors are also surprised to find one of the best Olympic museums in the country showcasing Utah’s glorious legacy.

There amidst the costumes and behemoth buffalo and deer shadow puppets from the 2002 Games’ opening ceremonies, sits a vast array of Olympic memorabilia such as Bode Miller’s ski suit, Jimmy Shea’s helmet and the largest Olympic trading pin exhibit imaginable.

Nestled between such revered and fascinating items are interactive exhibits explaining curling, bobsleigh and ski jumping, not to mention how 2002 Olympic medals, the heaviest in Olympic history, were designed and cast. Countless monitors proudly run NBC event footage, the Olympic theme echoing through the hallways richly decorated in the same styles and colors of our 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

Designed to be a permanent reminder of Olympic grandeur and impact, this museum is a definite must on anyone’s “to do” list.

For information on the museum, please call 435.658.4200.