The best museums in the United States often leave you feeling contemplative, awed, and inspired. Upon exiting Colorado Springs’ US Olympic & Paralympic Museum, you’ll leave feeling all those things — but most of all, you’ll leave feeling hopeful.
The high-tech, touch-free museum first opened on July 30, giving new life to the Colorado city’s title as “Olympic City USA.” The experience, however, starts in the parking lot: The 60,000-square-foot structure shimmers with over 9,000 anodized diamond-shaped aluminum panels, designed to give a sense of movement — like a discus thrower. And in between the cascading layers of silvery steel rises Pikes Peak, a juxtaposition begging for a photo op.