Basketball Hall of Fame Visit

Last weekend we took the boys to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. Not sure what to expect - static museum or a fun-for-the-family place? - we were happy to find it a nice combination of interactive displays and the expected exhibits of memorabilia. To be honest, I'm a bigger fan of the "stuff" - old uniforms and balls, vintage scoreboards, trophies, and even sneakers. The wool uniforms and long wool socks of the early players, illustrated by the Celtics jersey pictured below, were especially fun - and itch inducing. And the boys, big fans of the movie Hoosiers, enjoy basketball's historic fabric - to a point. Thankfully the Hall of Fame also offered a basketball court with baskets from Naismith's original peach basket (shown in the first photo below) to modern professional goals. (And let me tell you: making a shot into the peach basket, with no backboard, was no easy feat!) Other interactive exhibits allowed them to pretend they were broadcasters calling a game, dunk the ball on 5-foot high baskets, and measure their vertical jump. In the end, we still didn't see it all, even after four hours of running between the exhibits and the basketball court. And although many of the exhibits reminded me how short I am at 5'10", next time we're in the area we'll definitely return.