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I skedaddle through the bathroom hallway, at Kennedy Space Center, passing by the tense scene.
“Are we done yet?” groans the girl.
“No.”
“Why? Can’t we go? This is so booorrrriiinnggg” The girl’s body goes limp to convey her level of boredom.
“We are going to stay here the whole day,” her adult responds evenly.
“WHAT!!!??? I HATE YOU!!!!!!!!”
The energy is all around. I know this energy. It’s amped up theme park energy. The days spent getting an adrenaline high, then immediately lining up for your next. Being immersed in a wonderland of smells, sights, sounds, and snacks, snacks, snacks.
The space center is different. It encourages learning, far above Epcot. There are areas to elicit quiet, contemplation. You can identify the families that left Kennedy Space Center as the last activity of their trip. The kids have a wild look in their eyes. They are running in circles. Climbing on things that shouldn’t be climbed on. Hating their families for subjecting them to this non-theme-park misery.
The rope-drop line is longer than expected. Lots of people are curious about space.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER BUS TOUR
The number one piece of advice, when visiting Kennedy Space Center, get on the bus first. Most of the visitors make their way to the Atlantis building, we make a B-line to the bus queue.
The early morning line is short, but in a few hours, the queue is packed, and the wait is long. The bus also stops running 2 1/2 hours before center close.
The fancy tour bus drives around the grounds of Kennedy Space Center. We move past the rocket assembly, while the driver/guide verbalizes information.
We learn about the private sector space exploration companies. They are providing lots of jobs to workers, who were previously laid off, after the government space funds were cut.
The grounds of Kennedy Space Center are teeming with wildlife. Through the bus windows, tour guests snap pictures of birds, armadillos, and alligators (we have plenty of gator picks from Big Cypress National Preserve).
APOLLO/SATURN V CENTER
Dropped off at the Apollo/Saturn V Center, we are encouraged to have a seat in the control room theater. Kennedy Space Center has great shows. In the Apollo control room, we learn about the history of the Apollo program.
Of course the highlight of this building is….space rocket!
It is an impressive, grand sight.
Most people are not lingerers. They snap a picture. Do the Clark -Griswold-Grand-Canyon head nod, then move on to the next thing. If you want uncrowded views of the rocket, wait a few minutes.
The Apollo/Saturn V Center houses several exhibits, including a moonscape, a space toilet, and space suits throughout history. Hours could be spent in this building alone, but there is more to see.
The only way to leave is to board a bus back to the main visitors’ area. Like all tourist destinations, to get to the bus, you must exit through the gift shop.
ATLANTIS
Back at the main visitors’ center, our next adventure is the Atlantis Building.
No spoilers for the show, but NASA loves a reveal.
Although the Atlantis Space Shuttle looks huge, hanging from the ceiling, I can’t imagine spending a significant amount of time, floating around inside.
The shuttle room appears to be perpetually thronged with visitors, but a few steps away, the space opens to a room filled with hands-on, activities.
There is a neat slide.
This is where you will find the Shuttle Launch Experience, a ride, simulating a space flight. I promise it’s very mild and not scary.
More Star Tours than Mission Space. Seeing the stars when the ceiling opens is magical. It’s worth a stop.
FOREVER REMEMBERED
In elementary school, January’s 1986, current events reader, was Challenger Space Shuttle themed. You couldn’t turn on the tv without seeing Christa McAuliffe. Teachers excitedly discussed the teacher going to space. No matter what science unit classes are studying, there is a pause in January, to learn all things space. My school is small and technologically behind. There are not enough televisions for every classroom. The upper grades are crammed together to share. Us little kids, whine, disappointed about missing the much-hyped, shuttle launch.
News of the disaster spreads swiftly from class to class. This is the day I mark every space related job, off of my potential-career list
One of my favorite exhibits at Kennedy Space Center, is Forever Remembered, the memorial honoring the astronauts on Space Shuttles Challenger and Columbia.
The exhibit shares their inspiration that endures.
GATEWAY: THE DEEP SPACE LAUNCH COMPLEX
The large, enclosed, buildings have a casino effect. Time is slipping away.
Gateway, is Kennedy Space Center’s newest attraction. I imagine it’s purpose is to satiate the theme park enthusiast folks. There are several queues, each offers a different movie. We jump in the shortest line. Gateway is Disney’s Soarin’ ride, but space themed. It’s fun. If it wasn’t almost closing, we would have tried the other story lines.
IMAX THEATER
Our final activity of the day, is the IMAX theater. It’s a film about the scientists who study meteors and figure out ways to subvert the planet being completely destroyed. The film goes into great detail about how it is totally plausible for a meteor to smash into the earth with cataclysmic results. There’s even a CGI sequence demonstrating the annihilation. I’m thinking there should have been a warning for kids and individuals prone to overthinking and anxiety….
At closing, Kennedy Space Center is no joke. Unlike other Florida spots, that are happy to have you loiter, if it means you’ll spend a few extra dollars, Kennedy staff sweep every inch of the center, assertively shooing guests to the exit.
Even with 8 hours, and smartly doing the bus tour first, there are areas and buildings, left unexplored. If visiting, it’s important to set priorities, and have an itinerary planned, so you don’t miss a part of the center you really want to see. If traveling with kids, consider visiting Kennedy Space Center first. It’s a good way to ease into the Florida vacation excitement, but after a week of overstimulating theme parks, it’s full stop into a calmer environment, and most did not transition well.
Kennedy Space Center, located on Merritt Island, Florida, is an engaging, outstanding, learning experience. It’s certainly required for space enthusiasts, and an enjoyable day even for ladies who marked space careers off their list many years ago.
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Ivan Kralj
atThanks for taking us on this Kennedy Space Center visit! Whenever reading your reports, I always have a feeling of being transported to the place. Or is it, in this case, teleported to space?
I understand your determination to cross space-related jobs out on your dream list, but if given a chance, I’d have a hard time saying ‘no’. Or maybe I say that only because I know it is highly unlikely I will ever be asked to go up. I did apply for that around-the-Moon mission, but (un)fortunately I wasn’t picked.
obligatorytraveler@gmail.com
atThanks. I had a friend who was working towards it, but apparently you can’t be too tall to be an astronaut. I didn’t even know there was a height limit.