Vancouver Olympic Games museum opens in Richmond, B.C.
$10-million Richmond Olympic Experience is first in North America to join IOC Olympic Museum Network
A $10-million Olympic museum is opening at the Richmond Oval next weekend, becoming the first Olympic Museum in North America to join the IOC's Olympic Museum Network.
The Richmond Olympic Experience — or ROX — is being billed as one of the most interactive sports attractions in the world, featuring interactive videos and virtual reality exhibits that allow visitors to try out various sports.
John Furlong, former CEO of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) said the museum offers visitors the chance to see what it was like in Vancouver during the Games.
"It's a bit like putting Science World, the Olympic Games and Disney World together and coming up with a program to engage young people and the world," said Furlong.
"You can go down the bobsled track, you can ski jump, you can shoot hockey pucks, you can shoot soccer balls."
There's also a searchable database listing all the names of those who worked or volunteered during the Games.
"If you had anything to do with the Games, if you were in our database as a volunteer or worker, your name was in the system.
"You can follow the torch route all over the country to all the places it went. There isn't probably a venue anywhere in the world quite like it. Certainly the only one on this continent."
The City of Richmond contributed more than $500,000 to build the museum. Sponsorships and donations helped fund the rest of the project.
Furlong hopes the museum becomes a major attraction for tourists and locals.
"It will be a destination for people to go to," he said.
"It's sort of like deciding to go to Capilano or up to Grouse Mountain or go to the Richmond Oval, and you will have an experience [at the museum] that you can't really match."
The museum opens to the public on Saturday, Nov. 28, with Richmond residents receiving early access from November 21 to 24.
Tickets range from $13 for concessions, $17 for adults to $46 for a family of four. Tickets for children over six are $11, while younger children can get in for free. Annual memberships are also available and are currently on offer for $30.