Cameron Ramos, 11, smiles between snapping some shots at the Lake Placid Olympic Museum on Thursday, Feb. 20. Ramos was visiting for the week with his family to compete in the Lake Placid International Youth Hockey Tournament.

LAKE PLACID — What does it mean to be at the heart of Lake Placid? Admittedly, it’s a subjective question and one that you’re likely to find many worthy responses to.

After having the privilege to visit almost two dozen of the Olympic region’s most iconic sites, trails and attractions for the Visiting Lake Placid Column, I humbly posit an answer: The Lake Placid Olympic Museum. Lucky for you, dear reader, the museum just so happens to be this week’s feature.

The museum, which is operated by the state Olympic Regional Development Authority, is located within the Olympic Center at 2634 Main St. It was first opened in its current location in 1994. The museum showcases some of the most iconic memorabilia celebrating Lake Placid’s 1932 and 1980 Olympic winter games.

To access the museum, head into the first floor of the Olympic Center’s Miracle Plaza. There is an entrance above the corner of Main Street and Cummings Road, with a check-in desk to the right. Tickets cost $15 for adults; $12 for seniors 65 or older, teenagers ages 7 through 19, students with I.D., and military members; $10 per person in groups of 10 or more. The museum is free for children age 6 or younger. Tickets can be purchased at the desk or online in advance at tinyurl.com/3cyx3a9r.

After checking in, the adventure begins. The museum is structured in a convenient one-way direction that is generally chronological. The first set of displays take guests all the way back to the Olympic Games’ origins, with information on the first modern games held in Athens, Greece in 1896.

News photos by Chris Gaige Cutline: A sign for the Lake Placid Olympic Museum — located inside of the Olympic Center — is seen along Main Street on Thursday, Feb. 20.

The next area of the corridor features information on Lake Placid’s early history as a small community nestled in the snowy Adirondack Mountains, setting the stage for an ideal climate and environment to eventually host the winter games.

The area also focuses on the human element, and tells the story of how a dedicated group of locals, led in large part by Godfrey Dewey, won the bid against several other locations for the 1932 games, and the community support — through the Great Depression — behind the infrastructure construction process that followed.

The museum tour then arrives at the 1932 Games themselves, with several displays dedicated to the sports, equipment, sites, participating nations and most notable athletes of the games.

The museum’s next section is dedicated to the amount of skill, preparation and grit that it takes to become an Olympian, with an interactive Bobsled “run” — the sled is fixed to the ground, but surrounding video monitors simulate the sled shooting down the Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run. The area also includes a list of local Olympic athletes and information on the rigorous nutritional and travel demands an Olympian must endure to put themselves in a position to compete.

The museum’s next section adds a bit of flair to the tour. It showcases each Olympic venue’s artwork and designs that help to form each games’ unique identity. The room is chock full of artwork, pins, fashion, medals and torches from games held around the world — including original design prints from the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics. One wall features roughly 800 pins, which are popular to collect and trade amongst participants during the games.

News photos by Chris Gaige A lithograph depicting an alpine skier by American artist Leroy Neiman is seen at the Lake Placid Olympic Museum on Thursday, Feb. 20. It was used as cover art for the 1980 Olympic Winter Games official program.

The amount of material in the space is breathtaking. One could spend hours examining the various intricacies that went into the art to give each Games their identity.

The museum’s next section is dedicated to the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics, and features exhibits on each discipline. There is a small theater that features a short documentary on the game itself, and its historical significance.

The tour’s final exhibit area shows that Lake Placid’s Olympic legacy is still very much alive. Lake Placid is a success story in that many past Olympic venues fall into disrepair after the games, with their venues seeing no future use. The space emphasizes how the venues not only continue to be maintained by ORDA, used by athletes on a regular basis and serve as popular tourism sites open to the general public — perhaps giving some ideas for the next stop when visiting Lake Placid.

The Lake Placid Olympic Museum is a must-see stop for anyone drawn to the area for its storied Olympic legacy. It is open every day from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is self-paced, although it is recommended that visitors budget at least an hour of time to tour the exhibits, and two hours to soak in and fully appreciate the gargantuan volume of history on display. Guided tours are available upon request, with more information available at tinyurl.com/3n5a2kj9.

Designs for various Olympics are seen at the Lake Placid Olympic Museum on Thursday, Feb. 20.