Visitors can extend football season into the winter and spring of 2014 by experiencing Football, a popular traveling exhibit.

The exhibit opens this weekend at the Flint Hills Discovery Center in Manhattan.

Football is a 3,000 sq. ft. exhibition that introduces visitors to the science, mathematics and technology behind the game and how they relate to everyday life. The highly interactive exhibition provides hands-on learning, covering a wide array of science topics through football-themed areas such as Forward Pass and Game at the Line of Scrimmage.

Football is composed of nine different zones, each addressing a different aspect of the game, from the physics of tackling to the balance needed for cheerleading. Each zone features a mixture of artifacts, text, videos and hands-on activities.

While the exhibition enables visitors to relive all the excitement and experience of playing football, it also teaches about the science that makes it all possible. Test your throwing skills in the Passing Cage area and learn what people truly mean when they say someone has a “rifle arm.” Try and match the speed of an NFL running back and learn the ideal trajectory for kicking a field goal. Football covers everything from the history of the game to the science of catching a pass.

The Flint Hills Discovery Center has been open in Manhattan for nearly two years. Director Fred Goss tells KSAL News that the Flint Hills Discovery Center explores the geology, biology and cultural history of the Flint Hills, which is the last remaining tallgrass prairie in North America. The state-of-the-art facility has scientific displays and activities to educate visitors about the the Flint Hills region, but it also periodically brings in special exhibits of interest, like the new football exhibit.

To learn more about the Flint Hills Discovery Center’s exhibitions, programs and special events, visit www.flinthillsdiscovery.org.