Los Angeles Kings forward Tyler Toffoli donned a goalie glove and blocker, and he did his best to stop shots taken by teammates Drew Doughty and Dustin Brown.
This wasn’t, however, during a lighthearted Kings practice in which Toffoli tried his hand at playing goalie. Instead, it was at the Discovery Cube Los Angeles science center, where the Kings’ Science of Hockey exhibit opened recently with the hope of sharing the game of hockey with the next generation of fans.
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The Science of Hockey exhibit, part of the Kings’ 10-year commitment to Discovery Cube Los Angeles, is up and running.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES (2)
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In conjunction with its Kings Care Foundation, the Kings made a 10-year, $2.5 million commitment to the science center resulting in a permanent exhibit that aims to provide an up-close look at the sport of hockey and the science around the game, as well as an introduction to the Kings, the team’s players and the franchise’s history, including its recent Stanley Cup successes.
“It’s important for us with all the progress we’ve made with the Kings Care Foundation to establish more of a permanent
footprint and have the opportunity to address the youth community,” said Kelly Cheeseman, COO of Kings parent company AEG Sports. “Really what the museum is about is educating children on important math and science topics, and with the amount of kids that come through there, the opportunity to expose them to our Kings and our sport is great.”
The exhibit, which was designed and produced by BaAM Productions, has a number of hands-on exhibits and displays that highlight elements of both the Kings’ team and the sport of hockey. Attendees can shoot or save pucks to test their reflexes and accuracy; drive a replica Zamboni to understand how the ice is resurfaced; get an understanding of physics through a display of new and old hockey equipment; and learn about health and nutrition in a replica of the team’s locker room.
The Discovery Science Foundation, which serves as the program-development, marketing and fundraising arm for the museum, is no stranger to hockey teams. It worked with the Anaheim Ducks on a hockey exhibit that launched in 2009 at an Orange County museum it also oversees. When the foundation was in the process of building out the Los Angeles site, which opened in November, it reached out to the Kings with the idea of doing a smaller, temporary exhibit, Cheeseman said. The team and the Kings Care Foundation decided to push even further, making the effort part of a larger, $4.5 million investment in the community over the next decade.
Through its foundation, the Kings also made $1 million donations to both Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times recently.
“Having sports teams being champions for your cause is tremendous,” said Joe Adams, Discovery Science Foundation CEO. “Having the Kings involved especially — being league champions and excelling because they embrace the science around the sport — is even better. It makes it fun and cool for the kids, and that’s exactly what we’re trying to do.”
Adams attributes recent attendance gains at the museum to the new exhibit. While these kinds of exhibits help to bring in new visitors, he said they also help bring in repeat attendees, who come back to play with the interactive experiences.
“Especially for the kids out here in Southern California, they’re not going to see ice outside in the winter or be introduced to hockey in ways more commonly seen in other parts of the U.S. or Canada,” Adams said. “But with the exhibit, we’re going to have half a million kids come through the doors who are here to learn more, and hopefully this will inspire them to want to learn more about the sport, math, science and our local teams as well.”
