Be Inspired at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville
Before visiting Louisville with my teenage son, I only knew of Muhammad Ali as a boxer. I knew he had won some championship titles, but my knowledge of him was very limited. While researching activities in Louisville, I saw a lot of positive ratings for the Muhammad Ali Center. As I explored the center’s website and read about his work for equity, freedom of religion and social justice, I knew it was a place I wanted to include in my Louisville itinerary. I am very glad I did.
If you’re looking to be inspired to do good in your own life, book your visit to the Muhammad Ali Center. Here are some tips to help you plan and maximize your experience. As you learn about his life, he will inspire yours.
COVID-19 UPDATE: Masks or face coverings are required during the visit.
Preparing for Your Visit to the Muhammad Ali Center
Prior to visiting the Muhammad Ali Center, you can purchase your tickets online. Tickets can be purchased any time and are not for a specific date or time. Once purchased, show them upon check-in up to one year after purchase. The last entry time is 45 minutes before museum closing. However, I recommend a solid two hours to really learn about Muhammad Ali.
Parking is available at the parking structure adjacent to the Center. However, if you don’t have a car, you can take an Uber/Lyft, rent an electric scooter (Lime, Byrd, etc.) or simply walk.
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I did see photography policy on their website, but the short of it is no commercial photography or audio/video recordings. And please, turn off your flash. In some of the temporary exhibit areas, photos are not allowed. Be respectful of those signs.
Starting Your Tour of the Muhammad Ali Center
After checking in at the front desk, take the elevator up to the fifth floor. Follow the arrows down the hall to the theater. Wait patiently for the doors to open, and don’t skip ahead to the exhibits until after watching the video. While waiting, I was reading things from a Cassius Clay. I quickly learned that Muhammad Ali’s had changed his name from Cassius Clay around age 22.
The theater shows a brief overview of Ali’s life. It refers to lines from Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “If”. I wasn’t familiar with the poem, but I found a copy of it in the gift shop later. If you can familiarize yourself with the poem before your visit, that’s always a good thing.
Learn the Principles that Guided Ali’s Life
After learning about Ali’s life from a 30,000 foot level, head out into the exhibits to dive deeper into the experiences that influenced his life. The fifth floor has six different areas dedicated to the principals that guided Muhammad Ali.
- Confidence
- Conviction
- Dedication
- Giving
- Respect
- Spirituality
Each of those exhibits were powerful and meaningful to some of today’s challenges. I often look for great quotes during my visit to museums. Well, this place had so many it was hard to choose the best. But the areas that had the most impactful quotes were Spirituality and Conviction. The most powerful quote I read was not from Muhammad Ali, but Robert Kennedy. And it’s very applicable to today:
What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.
Robert F. Kennedy
Muhammad Ali: Boxer. Humanitarian. Olympic Torch Lighter.
Learn more about Ali’s timeline as a boxer in a large oval room. Learn about Ali’s time in the ring by following the timeline along the wall. It includes the years he was stripped of his title and his boxing license and passport were revoked because be refused to be drafted into the Vietnam War. Watch the short film projected on the boxing ring on the floor below, which is narrated by Samuel L Jackson.
Before taking the stairs to the fourth floor, train with Ali. As you can see from the photo above, I had the opportunity to shadow box with The Greatest. Let’s just say, I was still standing after taking a few punches. 😉 You can take a step into the boxing ring and train, following the instructions from a trainer on the TV screen nearby. But be sure to take your shoes off before stepping into the ring.
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As you venture down to the fourth floor, take a seat and watch some of The Greatest fights in his career. Use the touchscreen to select the fight you want to watch. Then sit back, and watch each and every round in that given fight. You can see how he followed his creed to “Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.”
After watching his boxing matches, step into the 1996 Olympic Games opening ceremony in Atlanta. A video presentation shows the honor bestowed upon Muhammad Ali as the designated person to light the Olympic Cauldron.
Story Booths and a Poster Pledge
Now that you’ve spent your visit reading about and learning about Muhammad Ali, you can take a pledge to become better. Find the pledge booth and have a seat. Select the image you want to use – a Wheaties Box, for example, and pose for your photo. If you don’t like the photos they captured the first round, simply back out and do it again. After taking the photo, select which pledge you will make.
It took me a moment to decide which one to pick, because I really did want to pick one I could stick to. My pledge is to Inspire Others. I hope to be able to keep that pledge as I share experiences about my travels with others and inspire them to learn more about the world around us and the people who made the world a better place.
After completing your poster, you can enter an email address or phone number so your poster will be saved in the system. After your tour, you can visit the gift shop and print out your poster for $4. The poster is printed on a nice 11×17 sheet of cardstock and rolled up into a plastic bag to help protect it.
Nearby, you can step into a story booth and capture your response to questions like – What’s your Red Bike Moment? or What are you fighting for? You can also listen to stories from other patrons of the Center and see how others can inspire you to be better.
Learn About the Red Bike Moment
I wasn’t familiar with the Red Bike Moment. Maybe I had missed something earlier on in the Center. But I red a short blurb in the gift shop and then understood the principle. Cassius’ red bike was stolen when he was only 12. He was in tears about his bike and went to find a policeman to report the stolen bike. He told the policeman he wanted to beat up the person who stole his bike.
The policeman, Sergeant Joe Martin, also trained boxers and encouraged Cassius to first learn how to fight. Cassius showed up at Joe’s gym the next day. Joe trained Cassius for the next six years. Would Cassius have become the boxer he became, had the red bike not been stolen?
Special Events and Temporary Exhibits
As we wrapped up the fourth floor, we stepped into one of the special exhibit areas. The first one had art displays around messages and inspiration from the Black Lives Matter movement. The second special exhibit housed a photography exhibit about women taking a stand for the right to vote. The final special exhibit area had some great art on the walls about Ali’s life.
Throughout the year, The Muhammad Ali Center has special events, which you can access on their online calendar.
This year, the Center will host the Fifth Annual Ali Festival (June 3-13, 2021), which is a celebration that marks the anniversary of Muhammad Ali’s passing and celebrates his impactful legacy and love for Louisville. The Center is open every day during the festival.
The Details:
Address: 144 N. Sixth Street, Louisville, KY 40202 USA
Cost: $14 for adults; $9 for children (ages 6-12); $13 for seniors (65+); $10 for students and military (with IDs).
Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. (Closed Monday & Tuesday). Last admission is at 4:15 p.m. The museum is open on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (a Monday). The Center is closed on Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, and New Year’s Day.
Website: https://alicenter.org/
Phone: (502) 584-9254
Disclosure: I received two complimentary admission tickets to the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own.
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