Tampa Bay Lightning and the History Center Encourage Kids to ‘Play it Forward’

Bolt into one last summer adventure with the History Center and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, August 20 from 10-3 p.m.

Join Lightning mascot Thunderbug and get your hands on real hockey equipment, play street hockey in Cotanchobee Park, or go on a scavenger hunt through the History Center's galleries.

Plus, receive one free admission per family with a donation of new school supplies. Donations benefit the Salvation Army.

Activities are free with admission to the History Center.

Play it Forward is part of Sports in Tampa Bay: Through the Eyes of Lamar Sparkman, currently on exhibit at the Tampa Bay History Center through September 12.

Play it Forward is presented by the Tampa Bay Lightning and Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine. Regular admission rates apply. For more information, visit www.tampabayhistorycenter.org or call (813) 228-0097.

Sports in Tampa Bay: Through the Eyes of Lamar Sparkman - Behind the Scenes

We're just a few short days away from the opening of our sports exhibit here at the History Center. Opening Father's Day weekend, Sports in Tampa Bay: Through the Eyes of Lamar Sparkman covers more than 70 years of competitive play in the Tampa Bay area.

The exhibit features artifacts from high school stand-outs to home-grown pros and includes the Buccaneers' Vince Lombardi Trophy, the Lightning's Stanley Cup replica and the Rays' ALCS trophy.

Here are a few behind-the-scenes shots as our curatorial team puts the finishing touches on the exhibit.

Sports in Tampa Bay opens this Saturday, June 18 with free admission for Dads all weekend courtesy of Verizon.

All images courtesy of Tampa Bay History Center and may not be reproduced without permission.

Sports in Tampa Bay Draws on Area's Sports History

The NFL’s Vince Lombardi Trophy, MLB’s American League Championship Trophy, and a replica of the NHL’s Stanley Cup will be on display to the public during a new exhibit opening Father’s Day weekend at the Tampa Bay History Center.

Bring dad to the Tampa Bay History Center and experience 70 years of competitive play during Sports in Tampa Bay: Through the Eyes of Lamar Sparkman, a new exhibition opening Saturday, June 18. All dads will receive free admission on both Saturday and Sunday, courtesy of Verizon.

Sports in Tampa Bay recounts teams and players from Tampa’s past, highlighting spring training stars, Super Bowl champions and college stand-outs. Tampa Bay’s modern sports franchises are also celebrated, with memorabilia from the Tampa Bay Rays, Lightning and Buccaneers, as well as personal items from some of Tampa’s home-grown sports heroes.

In addition to the Buc’s Vince Lombardi trophy and the Rays’ ALCS trophy, the exhibit will include Lou Piniella’s World Series trophy, Tino Martinez’s Silver Slugger award, and line up-cards from the Rays’ 2008 World Series run.

Perhaps best known as the creator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ original swashbuckling logo, which fans labeled “Bucco Bruce,” Lamar Sparkman’s drawings of professional and amateur athletes span more than 40 years. In 2010, the Sparkman family donated more than 200 original drawings by the late cartoonist to the Tampa Bay History Center. Those drawings, along with objects from Tampa’s professional, collegiate and amateur teams, tell the story of Sports in Tampa Bay: Through the Eyes of Lamar Sparkman.

Sports in Tampa Bay is made possible with support from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Rays, USF, Kimmins Foundation and Clear Channel Communications and is on exhibit June 18 through September 12, 2011 in the History Center’s Wayne Thomas gallery. For more information about the exhibition and related programming, visit www.tampabayhistorycenter.org or call (813) 228-0097.