When my family was planning to meet up in the Sunshine State
for a week and my Dad expressed interest in seeing the Kennedy Space Center, I
was reluctant to even consider it. If we
were headed the theme park centric market of central Florida, why would we take
a day to visit some antiquated museum full of useless junk? I could not have been more wrong. Not only did the space center exceed my
expectations, but it was the unexpected highlight of the entire a trip.
After making the hour long trip from Orlando, we parked the
rental car and headed towards the entrance around 10 am. At this point I was still thinking we might
spend an hour or two, maybe grab some lunch, and then be on our way. We grabbed our tickets and a map, took a few
photos of the entrance, and headed in.
Our first stops were the Early Space Exploration exhibit and
the Rocket Garden. Die hard space
enthusiasts would probably be more intrigued by these attractions than I was, but
to me they just felt like a cool museum.
A very well done museum, executed at a high level with some neat
artifacts, but still a museum none the less.
From there we headed to the IMAX theaters. The space center has two separate 3-D movies
to choose from, and they are both included in admission. We intended to see them both, but with each
one having a 45-minute run time, the clock got the best of us and we were only
able to see one. The film we saw was about
the Hubble Space Telescope and the attempts to repair it. It was a great film with absolutely
mesmerizing images, but I can’t say I was blown away by it. Don’t get me wrong. It’s definitely worth your time to see it,
but IMAX movies can be found everywhere these days so I did not feel this was a
unique experience.
At this point we were ready for lunch so we stopped at the
Orbit Café to grab a bite to eat. The
menu consisted of your run of the mill counter service offerings such as burgers,
sandwiches, and salads. I opted for a
Cuban sandwich, and was able to cobble together a side salad from the toppings
bar. It was good, not out of this world
good as was advertised, but still good.
The café also had a Pepsi Spire machine, and this was my first time
seeing one in person. I’ve experienced
Coke Freestyle machines plenty of times before, so it was nice to customize my
beverage with Pepsi’s lineup of drinks.
Strawberry Mountain Dew was delicious.
So far the Space Center had met my expectations. The exhibits were nice, there were a lot of
cool things to look at, but nothing really stood out. That all changed when we visited the Space
Shuttle Atlantis experience.
All I can say is WOW.
The exhibit begins with a pre-show outlining the origins of the space
shuttle program, followed by a video experience highlighting the Atlantis
shuttle. At the end of the video, the
screen lifts up and you find yourself face to face with the nose of the
Atlantis. Not a model, not a cheap
knockoff representation, but the actual, full size Atlantis space shuttle. It’s absolutely breathtaking. The sheer size and awe inspiring magnitude of
the shuttle cannot be adequately expressed in words. It’s something that must be experienced
firsthand.
The Atlantis exhibit also includes several interactive
experiences, a replica of the Hubble Space Telescope, a shuttle launch
experience, and much more. I could have
spent an entire day at this exhibit alone.
This was the first exhibit where I felt like I was no longer visiting a
museum and was experiencing something truly unique.
Despite the desire to spend the rest of our time at the
Atlantis exhibit, we knew there was more to see so we jumped on a bus and took
off on a tour. The basic tour, which is
included in admission, takes you around the rest of the space center complex
that is otherwise not accessible to the general public. You are provided an opportunity to drive by
the large vehicle assembly building, some of the launch pads, and several other
landmarks.
The bus tour culminates at the Apollo/Saturn V center. This was another exhibit that I was
thoroughly impressed with. Much like the
Atlantis exhibit, we began by experiencing a pre-show with an overview of the
Apollo program. Following the pre-show
was a simulated launch that gives the guest insight into the goings on in the
command center in the moments leading up to a launch. After the simulated launch, we exited the command
center and were greeted with an up close and personal encounter with a fully
restored Saturn V launch vehicle.
This thing was massive.
It’s one thing to see pictures or videos of it, but to see it in person
makes you marvel at how something that large ever made it off the ground. The exploded layout of the exhibit gives you
a great view of the several components that make up the Saturn V, and it gives
you a great appreciation of the engineering and technical innovations that were
required to send people to the moon.
The Apollo exhibit includes other attractions such as an
Apollo 11 moon landing show, displays of several articles from the moon
landings, and also the chance to touch a piece of moon rock. Overall, it’s a wonderful exhibit that you
might miss out on if you decide to forgo the bus tour.
After perusing the gift shop of the Apollo/Saturn V center,
we caught a bus back to the main visitor complex and headed back to the
Atlantis exhibit to try out the Shuttle Launch Experience. This is the closest thing to a pure theme
park attraction that the space center has to offer. If you’re looking for a thrill ride then you
might leave disappointed, but if you take it as the well-executed simulator
that it is then you might be surprised. We
ended our day by checking out some of the minor exhibits such as Exploration
Space, Great Balls of Fire, Nature and Technology, and the Astronaut Memorial.
Overall it was a wonderful day. All of the exhibits are very well done, and
there are more than enough experiences to fill your day. The Atlantis and Apollo exhibits blur the
line between a museum and themed entertainment in such a way that there is
truly something for everyone to enjoy.
When you take a step back and realize that these exhibits are based on
real, actual events from history, you can’t help but be filled with a childlike
wonderment of what we have accomplished and what is left to be discovered. I highly recommend checking out the Kennedy
Space Center.
