Snowboarding Snurfer prototype created by Sherman Poppen
Snowboarding Snurfer prototype created by Sherman Poppen
Usage conditions apply
- Description (Brief)
- Sherman Poppen, inventor of the snurfer, a predecessor of the modern snowboard needed a distraction for his two little girls on Christmas day in 1965. The kids were restless and his pregnant wife, Nancy, needed a break so Poppen took them outside to play in the Wisconsin snow. Bored with sledding, Poppen bound two children’s water skis together, tied a rope to the front and the Snurfer was born. Nancy combined the words “snow and surf” for the moniker “snurf” and pretty soon Poppen was building snurfers for all of the neighborhood kids. Poppen removed the front toe piece from the water skis and kept the nonskid pads for better grip on this first Snurfer.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- prototype
- prototype, snowboarding
- inventor
- Poppen, Sherman R.
- Physical Description
- wood (overall material)
- metal (overall material)
- rubber (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 39 1/2 in x 5 in x 3 in; 100.33 cm x 12.7 cm x 7.62 cm
- ID Number
- 2009.0092.01
- accession number
- 2009.0092
- catalog number
- 2009.0092.01
- subject
- Sports
- Snowboarding
- recreational
- Invention
- See more items in
- Cultural and Community Life: Sport and Leisure
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.
