The Science of Hockey
- Updated: June 30, 2015
Miss hockey already? Me too. With the NHL season complete, the ECHL post season ended, the Monarch’s won the Calder Cup, ‘Lil Kings had their graduation ceremony, the NHL Awards came and went (no love for Drew Doughty or Anze Kopitar, who were both nominated), we’ve had the draft and got a slew of new prospects (welcome future Kings!), but short of reliving past games dredged up on your DVR there’s little to do hockey wise all summer. The Discovery Cube LA however, provides an entertaining alternative to twiddling your thumbs counting down the days until October 7th. They have partnered with the LA Kings for a permanent exhibit on The Science of Hockey. There are a bunch of interactive exhibits and displays – I’ll take you through them one by one.
You be the Goalie
It turns out I’m actually a pretty good goalie – who knew? In this exhibit, you’re given a helmet, gloves and a blocker, you stand in front of the net and a virtual Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty or Jeff Carter skates up the large screen in front of you. Depending on where the player ends up (I faced Jeff Carter, who had some quite fancy moves!) a puck will shoot from one of three slots in the wall. Obviously it’s your job to stop it, or the goal horn behind you sounds. It’s harder than it sounds. The puck comes at you fast.
You be the Shooter
In a similar virtual game as ‘you be the goalie,’ a virtual Jonathan Quick stands in front of a virtual net. You stand about three feet in front of it and shoot puck at him. The screen tells you how fast your shot is. There’s also a display next to it that talks about the energy transfer when hitting a puck.
Penalty Box
This one is more for the kids, and Drew Doughty fans. You don’t sit in a literal box but Doughty did and he sits by you as you answer five questions to get him out. Each time you get one right he cheers for you.
Zamboni Test Drive
For those of you who aren’t season ticket holders or want to spend a few hundred dollars to get a ride on the real zamboni, you can ride this life size fake one here!
Suit Yourself
Ever wondered what you’d look like as a LA Kings player? This exhibit lets you design the colors of your own jersey, then it takes your photo in it.
Healthy Locker Room
I have always wanted to hang out in the Kings locker room. This is the next best thing. On one side are the lockers of most of our retired jerseys – Dionne, Gretzky, Taylor and Robitaille. On the other side sits Brown, Kopitar, Carter, Quick, Toffoli, and Doughty. While chilling in the locker room, some of the ice crew and our favorite Bailey have filmed an ‘Are you smarter than the mascot?’ type game, where they ask questions about healthy lifestyles and you answer them to get your own Kings crowns. On your stylus it says ‘Listen to the Coach.’ I can’t tell you how disappointed I was that Daryl Sutter-isms were not involved in this exhibit.
Skater Challenge
Here either Bailey or Dustin Brown – you choose – skates around the ice in the display in front of you, while you try to skate along with them. It’s also harder than it sounds; without skates it’s hard to tell whether you’re supposed to walk to get the speed meter to go faster, or use the skating motions to follow them around. Either way Brown seems impressed with you.
LA Kings Story
Possibly one of my favorite parts of the whole experience; here we see the Kings story in photos and you get to hold the Stanley Cup! Not the real one (though I have done that and it’s *awesome.*)
Equipment Lab
Perhaps the most scientific part of the exhibit; while each exhibit has the scientific principles of what it displays, this one shows videos of (among other things) how pucks, sticks, gloves, goalie pads and skates are made. Martin Jones and Kyle Clifford filmed a ‘fast as the eye can see’ segment that ties into the ‘you be the goalie’ segment. And a highlight reel of some spectacular hits, which mostly features Brown, Greene and McNabb, who I dubbed McSmash this season.
Little extras
There’s a small game you can play that tests your reaction time to sound, light or noise, to see if you’ve got the skills it takes to react quickly to any change in play. There’s also a display that shows a puck on different surfaces to show why ice is the best surface to play hockey on.
The Discovery Cube Los Angeles (not to be confused with the one in Orange County!) is open 9am-6pm most days. There’s free parking and for the rest of the year tickets are just $10.
11800 Foothill Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 91342
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