Behind an urban chain-link fence assembled on the lower floor of the Design Museum, members of the public are skateboarding on a 3.5ft mini-ramp. The noise provides a glorious rolling soundtrack – trucks clinking on a metal lip, plastic wheels growling as they carve shapes on wood – to author, designer (and skater) Jonathan Olivares’ small but instructive exhibition documenting 70 years of skateboarding history.
This interactive element (a go on the ramp is a bonus for ticket-holders, but slots must be booked in advance) is in keeping with the inclusive spirit of a sport which has boomed in popularity since its birth in 1950s California, back when rudimentary boards were made from crates attached to steel wheels.
