Sportsology exhibit
at the Science Museum of Minnesota
Opens January 6, 2017
Fun facts
The Sportsology exhibit, presented by HealthPartners and TRIA, will give Science Museum of Minnesota
visitors an interactive look at what it takes to hit a home run, run a race, or turn a cartwheel. Below
are just a few of the fun facts visitors will discover when they run, jump, and play their way to a
better understanding of the body in motion.
Body composition
Your body mass is 70 percent water. The best way to replace the water lost during an intense workout
is to drink water, not energy or sports drinks.
Nutrition for peak performance
Your body needs a healthy mix of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats to support peak performance.
Proteins build and repair muscle tissue. Carbohydrates provide quick energy. And fats store energy for
future use.
Muscle composition for runners
Your mix of muscle fibers helps determine if you’re a speedster or built for the long haul. Training can
alter the balance of these fibers in your body to some degree, but genetics sets your personal limits.
Runners with many fast-twitch fibers, which are fueled by sugar, are super speedy over short distances.
They fire quickly, but tire quickly. Long-distance athletes have more slow-twitch fibers, which are
fueled by fat, than other people. They’re slower to fire, but take longer to tire.
Balance
Balance keeps your body centered over its support. To hold your position, you rely on feedback from
three senses. Vision keeps you oriented in space. Nerves in your hips and ankles sense changes in
surfaces. And fluid in your inner ear reacts to motion.
The “Sweet Spot”
A ball hitting a bat or a racket at an angle flies away at the same angle.
Hand-Eye Coordination
It takes roughly a quarter of a second – or 250 milliseconds − for the action you see to register in your
brain and trigger your body’s response. When you have to choose how to move, your response takes
slightly longer. Distractions, age, and disability also slow reaction time.
The body as a machine
Your forearm is a lever—a simple machine that multiplies speed. Close to the elbow, your muscles pull
on the bones and your arm moves just a little. But your hand travels much farther in the same amount
of time. That big swing means more speed and a faster, longer throw.
Find further media information about Sportsology at www.smm.org/media.
Media Contacts:
Kim Ramsden, Public Relations Director, (651) 221-9423, [email protected]
Sarah Imholte, Public Relations Specialist, (651) 221-9412, [email protected]