A new, permanent exhibit at the Lake Placid Olympic Museum examines the history and growth of snowmaking. The opening of the exhibition is timed to coincide with the start of the Milan-Cortina Olympics, an event New York’s Olympic Regional Development Authority expects will spark renewed interest in Olympic history in the North Country.”It’s important for visitors and also the local community, for the schools that we connect with every year, to bring something fresh to their classrooms,” museum director Courtney Bastian said of the new exhibit, called Snow on Demand. “The students who visited last year—they can come back and have a new experience and learn something new.”Snow on Demand focuses on warming winters and their impact on winter sports. It also highlights a lesser-known chapter in Lake Placid history that some feared would force the 1980 Winter Olympics to be urgently relocated. That year, technology saved the day because it was the first time the Winter Olympics relied on snowmaking.”We’re approaching the 1980 Olympic Games, and we’re experiencing the worst snow drought that Lake Placid had experienced since 1887,” Bastian recalled. “They were the pioneers of snowmaking, and we still are today, with the Legacy Sites.”The Lake Placid Legacy Sites and the whole village now expect a boost this month and beyond. Chadd Cassidy of ORDA said fresh attention on the Olympics from the 2026 Winter Games will inspire new interest in visiting Lake Placid.”Tourism is a very big part of our region up here,” Cassidy said in an interview with NBC5 News. “All of our venues welcome guests from around the world all the time. But you certainly see an increased intensity in that as we get close to the Olympics, because people want to visit the Olympic cities, they want to feel close and connected, and then being able to have them up here and tell them the story of what happened here in 1980 with the Miracle on Ice and all the great things that happened—that is something that our town and our area really thrive on.”Bastian said she hopes Snow on Demand offers new insights into the science of snowmaking and why winter sports can no longer rely on natural conditions.More information on visiting the Lake Placid Olympic Museum can be found on the destination’s website.
A new, permanent exhibit at the Lake Placid Olympic Museum examines the history and growth of snowmaking. The opening of the exhibition is timed to coincide with the start of the Milan-Cortina Olympics, an event New York’s Olympic Regional Development Authority expects will spark renewed interest in Olympic history in the North Country.
“It’s important for visitors and also the local community, for the schools that we connect with every year, to bring something fresh to their classrooms,” museum director Courtney Bastian said of the new exhibit, called Snow on Demand. “The students who visited last year—they can come back and have a new experience and learn something new.”
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Snow on Demand focuses on warming winters and their impact on winter sports. It also highlights a lesser-known chapter in Lake Placid history that some feared would force the 1980 Winter Olympics to be urgently relocated. That year, technology saved the day because it was the first time the Winter Olympics relied on snowmaking.
“We’re approaching the 1980 Olympic Games, and we’re experiencing the worst snow drought that Lake Placid had experienced since 1887,” Bastian recalled. “They were the pioneers of snowmaking, and we still are today, with the Legacy Sites.”
The Lake Placid Legacy Sites and the whole village now expect a boost this month and beyond. Chadd Cassidy of ORDA said fresh attention on the Olympics from the 2026 Winter Games will inspire new interest in visiting Lake Placid.
“Tourism is a very big part of our region up here,” Cassidy said in an interview with NBC5 News. “All of our venues welcome guests from around the world all the time. But you certainly see an increased intensity in that as we get close to the Olympics, because people want to visit the Olympic cities, they want to feel close and connected, and then being able to have them up here and tell them the story of what happened here in 1980 with the Miracle on Ice and all the great things that happened—that is something that our town and our area really thrive on.”
Bastian said she hopes Snow on Demand offers new insights into the science of snowmaking and why winter sports can no longer rely on natural conditions.
More information on visiting the Lake Placid Olympic Museum can be found on the destination’s website.
