Olympic Museum in Squaw Valley
After taking the tram up to High Camp in Squaw Valley, I was surprised to see that an Olympic Museum was waiting for me up at the top. I know I should have realized this beforehand, but it’s nice to be surprised every so often. I loved seeing the Olympic Rings when I drove into Squaw Valley, so I was excited to learn more about the history of the Olympics in this area at the museum. Here is all the information if you want to check it out as well.
The museum itself is just one big room, so it doesn’t take a lot of time to see everything. That being said, I did enjoy what they had to offer. Located right under the big Olympic rings on the mountain and right next to the ice rink, this is an excellent spot to get a better understanding of the history of the Olympics and what put Squaw Valley, and Lake Tahoe for that matter, on the map.
When I arrived in the museum, I was the only one there, so I had time to look at the attractions. I started in the back where there was a 4 minute video on the Olympics and what they meant to the area, then made my way around to the front. The video was interesting to me as it told a lot about how different these Olympics were from a technology standpoint.
Here are some of the main exhibits:
The Technology Area
I was amazed to learn that this was the first Olympics where they did not have to keep score manually. They had a computer that they used for doing the calculations, and it was as big as a typical bedroom. It saved them over 5 hours of manual work to get the scores ready for the athletes to see how they did.
The Clothing
There were many glass cabinets dedicated to the clothing that people wore and used during the Olympics. This is another fascinating area as well since this has changed almost as much as the technology over the last 60 years.
The Medal Podium
The medal podium was a fun spot for photos as they had it set up for you to pose on. What’s not to like about that?
There were a few other things here as well such as old skis and athlete spotlights but not much else. I wouldn’t say the Olympic Museum is worth the trip up the tram just by itself, but it is a fun spot that you can go to for free when you make it to the top, so why not learn about the area’s history? Let me know if you have been in the comments.
