As the Super Bowl takes over the Valley, it brings a lot of history with it. A new exhibit downtown is displaying artifacts and equipment from decades ago, with some pieces standing up to the test of time better than others.
The Gridiron Glory exhibit at the Arizona Science Center features artifacts that make you feel like you’re in the Hall of Fame, but with a science twist to it. Along with interactive fitness and skills tests, jerseys and equipment of famous plays and players dot the exhibit including a real sterling silver Lombardi Trophy, made from a material that goes beyond just its shine.
“As far as the sterling silver for the trophy goes, silver nanoparticles have antimicrobial properties," said Hunter Enright, a Gallery Interpreter at the science center. "It does not tarnish very easily and it’s incredibly easy to polish at the same time.”
He said that with all the grabbing and kissing the trophy goes through when won, those silver molecules hold up well.
"Because then you’re not just talking about oils and grease and dirt on people’s hands, then you’re talking about enzymes and pH differences and you’ve got a little bit more of an acidic tone to it, so the sterling silver resists acidity,” Enright said.
The exhibit covers some physics and biology of the game, including casts of linemans' legs the size of my torso. But there is also technology on display, like the evolution of the radio helmet and the increasing shock absorbency of pads.
“They’re putting non-Newtonian fluids inside of the helmet now. It’s not really a solid, not really a liquid," Enright said. "It kind of has the properties of both of them so we can’t classify them as just, oh, this is a solid, it's an ice cube. Oh, this is a liquid, that’s water. They’s starting to put that into pads to absorb the shock.”
Even though the equipment is off the field, it can still go through some wear and tear. Exhibit Technician Victor Serovic said that moving the rare artifacts requires special handling and some science of its own.
“Hardware you’re going to find in these cases, most of it's going to be stainless steel because it corrodes the least," Serovic said. "The footballs have acid-free paper around them. All of the jerseys are in garment boxes with acid-free tissue in between each one.”
Much older artifacts like original pig-skin footballs that look like oblong grapefruits and leather-strap helmets are on display. But as more Super Bowls pass, time will take its toll on the original equipment of the game.
“The older leather gets, there's dry rot that happens," said Serovic. "There’s very little that you can do to stop it.”
But little to worry, the artifacts are in temperature-controlled glass cases ready to be seen. And while the Super Bowl is this Sunday, the exhibit is up until May.
