'Center Ice' exhibit debuts at Marbles

Synthetic rink is part of the new Marbles Olympics theme

RALEIGH -- Young Carolina Hurricanes fans will have a new way to pass the time before the start of next season.

On Saturday, Marbles Kids Museum debuted its newest exhibit: Marbles Olympics, which includes the Hurricanes-sponsored "Center Ice."

To celebrate the opening, Hurricanes captain Rod Brind'Amour signed autographs for over an hour. Caniacs both young and old showed up decked out in black and red, toting posters and jerseys for Brind'Amour to sign.

Tabor Miller, 15, from Raleigh waited 45 minutes to get an autograph. Earlier, the Canes fan got a chance to talk with and play against Brind'Amour at the attraction.

"It was fun, and I got to have a whole conversation with him," Miller said. "It's been good with all of the Caniacs when you're all fans and talk about the same things."

The exhibit gave the Hurricanes organization an opportunity to work with the community, especially younger Canes fans.

"People in this community have really become hooked on hockey and on the organization," Brind'Amour said. "These are the next generation of fans. Our exhibit is really neat and kids will definitely enjoy it."

The Marbles Olympics exhibit, co-sponsored by WakeMed Health & Hospitals and John Rex Endowment in addition to the Hurricanes' Kids 'N Community Foundation, features numerous sporting events, including the long jump, a basketball goal and a scooter kayak course. The other two components of Marbles Olympics are "The Spirit of the Games," with a craft area to build torches and medals while standing on the winners' podium and, "The Kids' Decathalon," featuring 10 different sports for the kids to try out.

According to Pam Hartley, the Vice President of Education & Exhibits at Marbles, the purpose of the sports-themed exhibit was to increase activity and promote healthy lifestyles.

"Healthy, active families is one of our main initiatives. We've usually been doing that through programming and camps, but this is our first exhibit that focuses specifically on the theme," Hartley said.

Many of the sporting events featured are less about competition and focus more on encouraging kids to try new activities.

But a majority of the crowd was gathered around the synthetic rink. Even a few adults got in on the action, putting on a pair of socks to slide around and practice their slapshot.

Next to the goal, there is a replica of the team's locker room, complete with the jerseys of forward Eric Staal and goalie Cam Ward.

The popularity of the exhibit was evident. Hartley said that a thousand people had visited the museum in just the first three hours Saturday morning.

"It's been massive," Hartley said. "You see this great mix of Marbles members and red and black. It's just a sea of red and black, which is a great thing."

The exhibit will be featured in the museum until mid-September. However, the partnership between the Hurricanes and Marbles is far from over, with another Hurricanes exhibit, including the synthetic rink, scheduled for next January.