I’m a huge nerd. I love history and I love sports. Ranked high among all the places I have been in my life are two sports museums, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City. Both locations perfectly blend my love of sports and history. I love wandering through the exhibits geeking out about the collected items found behind the glass an thinking about the historic events were part of and whose hands they passed through. My passion for sports history isn’t limited to just baseball.

Nearly a a decade ago, I went on a tour of the World of Coca Cola in Atlanta. While others were excited about the part of the tour where they got to try Coke and other soft drinks from around the world, my favorite part was the part of the tour that featured torches and pins from various Olympics over the years.

Prior to researching the upcoming watch parties for the Milano Cortina Olympics, I never stopped to think if there were museums focusing on the Olympic games in North America. It turns out many of the 12 cities in the Canada, the US, and Mexico have established official museums to capture and burnish their Olympic legacies. Some cities, while not having an official museum dedicated to their games, have have memorabilia and other historic items in exhibits in other local museums. So where are these museums?

US Olympic Museums

U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum – In 1978, the US Olympic Committee moved its headquarters from New York to its current home in Colorado Springs, CO, where it established the first US Olympic Training Center. After almost 50 years, ties between the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Olympians, and Colorado Springs have grown so deep the city dubbed itself “Olympic City USA.” Those ties grew stronger in July 2020, when the doors to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum opened for the first time. The museum features 12 galleries ranging from an Olympic Hall of Fame to exhibits on the Summer and Winter Games to interactive features that allow visitors to experience the Parade of Nations and an Olympic medal ceremony. Among the items in the museums’ collection are the scoreboard from the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid which displayed the final score USA 4 – URS (Soviet Union) 3 at the 1980 Games and Same the Eagle, the mascot of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Lake Placid Olympic Museum – When it comes to the Winter Olympics, Lake Placid is many Americans’ first thought. The Miracle on Ice and speed skater Eric Heiden’s five gold medals dominate people’s collective memory. Often lost in the discussion is Lake Placid’s status as the only two time Winter Games host in North America (at least until 2034 when Salt Lake City joins the club). Serving as a two time host, the Lake Placid Olympic Museum has a huge artifact collection that reflects Olympic games from the inter-World War and Cold War eras. In addition to exhibits on the 1932 and 1980 Winter Games, the museum features an exhibit on on an area of growing interest for me, Olympic Art.

Eccles Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum – Following the completion of the 2002 Winter Games, a temporary exhibit capturing the history of the games was established at the Utah Olympic Park until the Eccles Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum opened in 2005. The museum is co-located in the Utah Olympic Park in the Quinney Winter Sports Center with the Alf Engen Ski Museum. Exhibits range from the behind the scenes preparations, such as the process behind production of the medals and the role of volunteers, to fan activities, including pin trading which is one of my favorite interests, to the events themselves. In short order, the museum will increase in size as the Winter Games return to the Beehive State in 2034.

Palisades Tahoe (Squaw Valley) Olympic Museum – Often seemingly forgotten compared to the Lake Placid Winter Games, the Winter Olympics held in the area formerly known as Squaw Valley, were no less historic than its US successor. The 1960 Winter Olympics featured the first appearance men’s biathlon and women’s speed skating, both of which are almost synonymous with the Winter Olympics at this point. The Games even featured a little US hockey magic as the US Men’s Hockey Team knocked off the Soviet Union in the Semifinals and Czechoslovakia in the finals to win the country’s first Olympic gold in the sport. The Olympic Museum, which is located at High Camp, features memorabilia from the Games, authentic US uniforms from 1960, and memorabilia from recent Olympians.

Atlanta History Center – The 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics don’t have their own dedicated museum. However, the Atlanta History Center features an exhibit that looks at the history of the Atlanta games and its legacy in the city. As of when I am writing this (January 2026), the History Center also features a variety of other exhibits including: “Our War Too: Women in Service” which honors the women who served during World War II and “Locomotion. Railroads and the history of Atlanta”.

Neither Los Angeles nor St. Louis have official museums for the Olympics held in their cities. Some artifacts from the 1904 St. Louis Olympics can be found in the Missouri History Museum. Maybe Los Angeles will look to create some sort of lasting historical exhibit after the 2028 Olympics close and the city has entered the three time hosts club.

Canadian Olympic Museums

Richmond Olympic Experience (Vancouver) – Located at the Richmond Olympic Oval, the museum features a number of different exhibits that may interest Olympic fans. Visitors can get an up close view of Olympic Torches from Olympics from the various Winter Olympics (YES PLEASE!) and then head to an exhibit on hockey before visiting an exhibit on how advances in science have impacted the Olympics.

Mexico

Museo Olímpico Mexicano – Opening in 1994, the Museo Olímpico Mexicano is located at the Mexican Olympic Committee’s facility. Touring the museum, you can see photos of every Mexican Olympic medalist and view historic documents.

Has anyone ever been to one of these museums? If so, what did you think of them? I hope to start visiting some in the not too distant future.