We visited the newly re-opened Richmond Olympic Experience: Here’s what we thought

The Olympic Games have a way of filling our air with a special feeling for two weeks — one where everyone is captivated by the highs, the lows, and the coming together of sport.

The games, and sports overall, have a way of shining light on an incredibly human side of all of us. Even if you’re not the sports junkie some of your friends or family may be, it’s pretty magical how competition inspires and binds people together. And if you’re interested in igniting that feeling (and trying out simulated surfing while you’re at it) then the newly reopened Richmond Olympic Experience at the Richmond Olympic Oval should be next on your must-visit list.

After taking some time during the pandemic to refresh, the Richmond Olympic Experience has re-opened as of June 3. It now features more gawk-worthy and interactive elements in its exhibit than ever before — like multi-wall-spanning cases of real Olympic torches and medals and a 180-degree surf simulator that allows guests to catch waves in Costa Rica and Tofino.

And we got to spend the day testing out all the new and improved additions to the experience — while we’re nowhere near Olympic-competition-level ready, we had an absolute blast.

A collection of real Olympic torches at the Richmond Olympic Experience (Richmond Olympic Experience)

The Olympic Experience aside, The Richmond Oval is a breathtaking building that in itself imposes a feeling of fun and calm at the same time. Its five-acre wooden roof could be featured in an architectural magazine, and considering the sheer size of the building that houses ice rinks, basketball courts, a gym, climbing wall, the Olympic Experience museum, and more.

But it is the Olympic Experience that will make your weekend afternoon most memorable. All about maintaining the legacy of the 2010 games and celebrating team Canada and local athletes, by the end, the experience almost has you feeling like an Olympian yourself.

New and improved exhibits

A collection of real Olympic medals at the Richmond Olympic Experience (Richmond Olympic Experience)

The experience starts in the Oval’s theatre with a short film called Pursuit of a Dream that floods your heart with appreciation for the games and all athletes, setting the tone for the experience. Within 15 minutes of arriving, I was already moved to tears.

Then the venture moves upstairs, into the super clean and modern museum where you’re first greeted by a vast collection of real Olympic torches spanning the 1930s to the most recent games. You can even hold an official torch that was actually used during the 2010 torch relay — it was a pretty empowering feeling, not going to lie.

The museum then moves through other exhibits, such as the new and notable hockey gallery that the Richmond Olympic Experience has put together in collaboration with the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Gear, jerseys, trophies, and more are on display here for anyone obsessed with Canada’s favourite game.

The hockey exhibit at the Richmond Olympic Experience, in partnership with the Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame (Richmond Olympic Experience)

Other Exhibits — like the Olympic Events That Shaped History — tie the relevance of the Olympics and sport to topics still pressing in modern society, and the Evolution of Equipment exhibit shows just how much the technology behind the gear used in sport plays just as big of a role as the athletes. Imagine swimming in a race in a wool bathing suit? No thanks.

The Olympic medal case, which is featured on your way out of the experience, is pretty breathtaking, too. Cases upon cases of real medals — all equally outstanding yet different in their designs based on year, summer or winter games, and the host city — are a stunning sight to see.

Next-level interactive experiences

High-tech race car driving simulator at the Richmond Olympic Experience (Richmond Olympic Experience)

But hey, maybe history isn’t your thing and you’re keener to actually do the Olympic-like activities (even so, we bet it’ll be hard not to be moved and intrigued after that initial film). Well good news, there’s plenty here for you.

The interactive experiences basically fill the entire museum area, mixed in with the gorgeous exhibits. A pristine, old-school bubble hockey table will have any arcade-lover busting with excitement, a balance beam surrounded by mats allows anyone to test their efforts at gymnastics, and hanging from a sport climbing beam lets you test your grip strength (we made it to one minute — it’s harder than you’d think).

A target area is open to kick soccer balls through nets or shoot hockey pucks at targets, reaction timers allow you to test out your high-speed moves, and a shot put and long jump area let you see what it’s really like to push 16 pounds or your bodyweight through the air with force.

High-tech kayaking simulator at the Richmond Olympic Experience (Richmond Olympic Experience)

All these low-tech interactive elements (and more) were added during the Richmond Olympic Experience’s recent refresh, and certainly give an extra oomph to the museum (and give you something to do while you wait for your next turn on any of the high-tech simulation experiences).

The high-tech simulators, however, are what set this experience apart. Even beyond the 180-degree surf simulator that was added in honour of surfing’s addition to the games in 2020, there’s also a bobsleigh, sit-ski, race car, and kayaking simulator. We could have spent all day pretending we were rushing through rapids, surfing some intense waves, or combusting on a race car track — it definitely felt pretty real.

Overall, we had an absolute blast making our way through the Richmond Olympic Experience and testing out everything new and improved. We left thinking, “What better way could there be to spend a rainy day?” — or a ridiculously hot one, since the Oval has AC. With introductory drop-in admission rates starting at only $5, this is a super affordable, educational, and interactive activity we think anyone would have as much fun as we did checking it out.

To learn more about the Richmond Olympic Experience at the Richmond Olympic Oval, visit olympicexperience.ca.