Family,  Florida,  Marriage Confessions,  Out and About,  Travel

To Infinity And Beyond: Fun at the Kennedy Space Center

April 11, 2010 /

Last week Chris, Bean, Chris’ sister, and I drove over to Titusville, Florida to watch the launch of the Discovery space shuttle.  Chris was mesmerized.  If he could have hitch hiked to space, I think he would have.  I watched his face light up as the night sky grew brighter and brighter with the light from the launch pad and it was like seeing a four-year-old boy.  Such perfect happiness.  Such incredible jealousy.

A few days later as we were coming back to earth after the excitement of the launch, I got the nicest email from a blog reader.  Her name was Leslie and she worked in public relations for Kennedy Space Center.  Lovely Leslie invited our family out to the Space Center for a day, including a visit to the launch pads and lunch with an astronaut.

I literally heard Chris squeal when he read the email.

So, on Friday, we dropped Bean with his grandparents and Chris and I headed over to the Kennedy Space Center for a little outta this world fun.

(If space puns bother you, you should just stop reading right now.)

We arrived bright and early at 10:00 on Friday morning and Lovely Leslie met us at the front gate.  See?  Isn’t she lovely?  And she’s tiny.  I look like a giant next to her.  I wanted to pick her up and put her in my pocket and take her everywhere with me.  Unfortunately, she kicked pretty hard when I tried stuffing her in my purse.

When we got into the park, I was amazed at the size and layout of it.  I thought it was just a museum, but most everything opens up outside so it really has a theme park feel to it.

It looks like no one is here, but remember that we were there pretty early.  By 11:00 that morning, the park had completely filled and lines were manageable, but much longer.

When you come into the park, immediately to your left there is something called the Rocket Garden.  Out of all the cool things we saw that day, I know its kind of lame for me to say, but I thought this was one of the best attractions.  It is a garden full of rockets that were built, but never launched for whatever reason.  They also have shuttle engines and capsule thingys and you can climb all over them.  Its like a museum of space stuff that has no barriers or glass cases.

We ended up finishing our day around 4:00 PM in the Rocket Garden and if I had kids with me, I would totally do it that way again.  In the garden is also an enclosed play area with a ball pit and slides.  The school groups that were there were using this as a place to let the kids play and get the last little bit of their energy out before the bus ride back.  It would be a great place for lunch, too, because there were picnic tables scattered around.

Oh, and there was also this fun little attraction for small children.  And Chris.

As I took these pictures, there was a fast line of five-year-old kindergartners forming.  Chris was undeterred.

When we got there that morning, Lovely Leslie suggested that we head right away to the Space Launch Simulator before the lines got really long.  She couldn’t even finish her sentence before Chris was practically sprinting across the center.  He had read all about the Launch Simulator online and he spouted nerdy little statistics off to me as we walked with Lovely Leslie over to the ride.  As if Lovely Leslie didn’t already know that this is the most life-like launch experience on earth.

I got a little nervous when I saw this sign:

Generally speaking, I don’t want to do anything that someone under 44″ can’t do.  I’m a big baby when it comes to roller coasters.  And heights.  And speed.  And basically anything else that might cause me to wet my pants in public.  I’m more of a “I’ll hold your stuff” kind of person.  But I’m a little better with simulators than I am with actual rides that drop me from incredible heights at incredible speeds, so I pumped myself up by counting all the elderly and pregnant ladies in line.  Turns out, it wasn’t so bad and it was a lot of fun!

After the Launch Simulator, Chris and I headed over to the I-Max theater to see the 3D movie, Hubble.  It is a movie showing all the pictures of the universe that the Hubble telescope has captured.  I have no pictures of this attraction because of 2 reasons.

1.  They were selling popcorn in the movie theater lobby and I was distracted by the smell.

2.  By the time the movie was finished, I could only walk silently out of the theater and directly to the nearest magazine stand where I could fill my head again with tabloid gossip because I had just been overloaded with such mind-boggling, LITERALLY OUT OF THIS WORLD information.  It was incredible.  Absolutely incredible.

After the movie, we headed over to the Early Space Exploration Building to meet Lovely Leslie who would be joining us for lunch.  She had arranged for Chris and I to attend Lunch with an Astronaut, a program the park offers that allows small groups of guests to have a buffet lunch while listening to an astronaut talk about things like military defense missions to space and – equally important – how to use the bathroom in space.  I was completely satisfied with this conversation because of 2 reasons:

1.  The buffet had mini corn dogs.

2. Our astronaut, Bob Springer, was a fantastic speaker.  He was retired from the Navy AND the Marines (I didn’t even know you could do both!) and had flown in space on two separate missions.  One was for research for medical and scientific purposes and one was for super top secret military defense purposes.  He didn’t really elaborate on the second reason and during the Q&A portion I wanted to ask him to tell us more about that, but I was afraid he’d tell me and then have to kill me.  Or send me to the moon.  Which would be awful because, as I mentioned, I’m afraid of heights and fast-moving anythings.  Kind of eliminates space travel for me.

After the discussion and lunch, Lovely Leslie took us over to meet Colonel Springer and he was just as nice of a person as can be.  He didn’t even laugh when Lovely Leslie introduced me as a blogger.  He even took a picture with us.

After lunch, Lovely Leslie became our own personal tour guide.  She took us behind this secret, private, VIP-bloggers-only gate, where we got into a car so she could drive us around the complex.

She drove us out past the security gate and into the launch area.  We drove right along beside the Crawler tracks – which I totally knew about, thanks to Apollo 13.  This is the track that runs from the building where they build the space shuttles (pictured below) out to the launch pads.  There is an enormous machine called the Crawler that transports the shuttles to the launch pads and this is the track that the Crawler and the shuttles take.

We continued driving until we came to this giant thing in the middle of nowhere…

This is one of two launch pads at the Kennedy Space Center.  We got insanely close.  Uncomfortable close.  I felt like I was having an alien encounter.  Only without the alien.  Or the encounter.

We kept on trucking out past this launch pad until we got to this enormous building:

This is where the rocket scientists live.

Not really.  I just made that up.

But this is where the rocket scientists play solitaire on their computers and shop online all day.  And, when they get around to it, its where they think of things like how to build a rocket.  As we drove by, I felt my brain blushing at its inferiority.

Lovely Leslie didn’t take us inside there.  I think she realized whatever she showed us would be lost on me.

Instead, she took us to this lookout point.  During launches, this is the closest any person can be to the launch.  And even then, its only emergency people at this point.  From this view, you could see both of the launch pads on the skyline:

When we were finished taking pictures, Lovely Leslie drove us over to another exhibit in the park.  It is sort of a separate museum on the complex that you take tour buses out to.  Only, we didn’t have to take a tour bus, thanks to Lovely Leslie.  And we also didn’t have to stand in line, thanks to Lovely Leslie.  I like to pretend people pointed and stared and whispered about who we could be when we just casually walked to the front with our PR escort.  Maybe they thought we were astronaut family.  Or maybe they thought I was Kim Kardashian.  With fair skin.

In reality, no one even looked twice.  I was kind of bummed.

In this building, we got to go inside the actual mission control set up from Apollo 8 in the 60s.

And as “museum-like” as that sounds, it was pretty awesome.  They showed actual video footage of inside mission control during the launch.  Then, the lights lowered and you could hear take off and the windows rattled and it felt like we were really inside mission control during a launch.  I thought it was pretty cool.

After that, the room opens up into the actual museum.  Only, it doesn’t feel like a museum because THERE IS A GIANT SPACE SHUTTLE HANGING OVER YOUR HEAD.

I pretty much spent the rest of my time in this museum making “Is that a rocket in your pocket or are you just happy to see me jokes.”  Because, according to Chris, I am immature.  And inappropriate.

I also found my lunar module in this room, too.  I was super excited about this because lunar modules are the only part of space I understand.  And the only reason I understand them is because in Apollo 13 Tom Hanks explains them to his four-year-old son and I was able to understand that explanation.

It’s the little “spider-looking guy.”

I also saw a moon buggy…

And a space suit…

And the landing capsule thing that had a questionable heat shield when it dropped into the ocean at the end of Apollo 13…

And a lunar pooper scooper…  (not really – I’m just making things up now)

And I got to touch a moon rock…

See that kid next to me?  He’s blurry because I pushed him out of the way about 2 seconds before this picture was taken.  And see that woman across from me?  She looks angry because she was the kid’s mom.  True story.

After I was done picking fights with small children, Lovely Leslie took us back to the main building and we said goodbye.  I was shocked to look at my watch and find it was 4:30 in the afternoon!  We had spent a complete, full day at the Space Center and I still feel like there was more to be seen.

I can’t tell you how much fun I had on our day trip.  I realize that I was a guest of the Kennedy Space Center and so you might think that would make me biased, but you know how I feel about honesty and I can honestly tell you that this is a must-see stop if you find yourself in the Orlando area.  If you have kids, they’ll be mesmerized and entertained and worn flat out (YAY!).  If you don’t have kids, you will enjoy yourself just as much simply because its a fun place to learn AND play.

Thank you so much to Lovely Leslie and the staff at the Kennedy Space Center for making Chris and I feel so welcomed.  We had a wonderful day and will definitely be back to visit with Bean Man.  I think he needs to experience the lunar pooper scooper.

Now, Chris and I felt guilty that we got to spend two days doing spacey things and you guys didn’t get to come with us.  So, we thought the least we could do was bring a little spaciness into your lives.  So, today, we are giving away a space themed DVD package.  One lucky reader will receive the following DVDs:

When We Left Earth – A Discovery Channel mini-series special about the history of NASA and U.S. space travel.  Chris has this and watches it all the time.  And now you can be as nerdy as he is.

Space Balls – Arguably one of the world’s finest cinematic feats.

E.T. – My favorite space movie.  And I think Bean kind of looks like E.T.

TO BE ENTERED TO WIN THE DVD SET, LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW TELLING ME WHEN THE NEXT SHUTTLE LAUNCH IS SCHEDULED.

(Hint:  You can find this information on the homepage of the Kennedy Space Center website…)

Comments will close at 8:00 PM EST on Tuesday, April 13.  A winner will be announced on Wednesday, April 14.


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123 Comments

  • kat

    April 11, 2010 at 10:13 pm

    i went to the Johnson space centre in Houston just before christmas and saw a bunch of similar stuff – and i cant believe HOW MUCH i loved it!! I am a closet space geek and didnt even know it! Did they have any info about that astronaut with the nappy though?

  • Heather

    April 11, 2010 at 10:24 pm

    May 14th! I know the date well because after reading your first post about watching the shuttle launch, I decided it would be a good thing for our family to see so we are planning a trip there to see it! Any tips on best viewing area? Is Titusville a good spot?

  • Katie

    April 11, 2010 at 10:25 pm

    Looks like so much fun! I’m going to be in Orlando in July, so I think I need to put this on the agenda! The next launch is May 14th!

  • Caroline

    April 11, 2010 at 10:28 pm

    May 14, 2010! I really need to make it down to a launch since my brother is one of those rocket scientists! Yeah, the building that Lovely Leslie didn’t take you inside of is where my rocket scientist of a brother works. All I can tell you about his job is that he pushes buttons and works in GNC – that’s Guidance Navigation & Control, but I always think of the health food store! haha! 🙂 Glad you had a fun day!

  • Sarah H.

    April 11, 2010 at 10:29 pm

    I’m so glad you had a great time! I grew up going to the air and space museum in D.C. so I got to see a lot of stuff like that—very cool! But of course no astronaut lunch or stimulator at the museum. Oh and the answer: May 14, 2010.

  • Nikki

    April 11, 2010 at 10:31 pm

    May 14, 2010! Glad y’all had a nice time. This space center looks much more exciting than the one I lived by in Huntsville!

  • Maria

    April 11, 2010 at 10:37 pm

    Wow, that looks like such a fun day. My Uncle worked for NASA most of his adult life – it was part of his job to figure out what happened when things went wrong with the shuttles. Needless to say, it was a very stressful job, but he loved it (he died a few years ago). And the next launch is May 14, 2010!

  • Lori @I Can Grow people

    April 11, 2010 at 10:37 pm

    I’m not entering the contest but I am commenting to tell you that when I was five years old I had ET sneakers. The were white and light purple with ET on the side, and a little zipper pocket. AND THEY WERE AWESOME.

    That is all.

  • Amanda

    April 11, 2010 at 11:00 pm

    next shuttle launch is may 14, 2010! i love NASA and so jealous that y’all got to visit the kennedy center, i have once before and i LOVED it 🙂 so fun to be a nerd!

  • Casey

    April 11, 2010 at 11:15 pm

    I have spent so much time in Orlando and never done the Space Center… it looks like so much fun! (Oh, and the next launch is May 14)

  • Alicia

    April 11, 2010 at 11:33 pm

    May 14, 2010!!

    Loved reading this post. I’ve been to the Huntsville, AL Space Center, but it’s been years and years ago. This makes me want to visit again.

    I wanted to tell you that my father-in-law was in the Army, Air Force, & Navy! He apparently just couldn’t make up his mind! ha ha!

  • Sara

    April 11, 2010 at 11:45 pm

    sounds like you guys had an awesome time! and that is so great you are near family now and could drop bean off with his grandparents for a few days!

    Shuttle launch is May 14, 2010.

  • Abby @ They Lend Me Their Hearts

    April 11, 2010 at 11:47 pm

    not entering the giveaway this time, but it looks like you had a great time! Can you imagine the excitement and squealing and freaking out when Bean is a few years older and you guys can take him there and Chris can share and educate little Beany on all things space!? That’ll be a lot of squealing and freaking out!

  • Courtney

    April 11, 2010 at 11:57 pm

    I lived in Orlando for 4 and a half years and I never went. Your post made me think of I Dream of Jeanie and the Dirty Job episode where Mike Rowe cleaned the crawler.

    Anyway, the answer is May 14, 2010.

  • andrea

    April 12, 2010 at 1:04 am

    awesome post, it looks like you had lots of fun! it’s been almost 15 years since i last went to the space center. my son, AJ, loves rocket ships. he finds anything that resembles one and then counts down and yells ‘BLASTOFF!’ so maybe we will take him there for the next launch (May 14, 2010) he will be turning 3 years old nine days after the launch, what a great birthday that would be!!!

  • Lisa

    April 12, 2010 at 6:16 am

    Looks like an awesome place. Will definitely need to put that on our list of places to see someday. The next shuttle launch is May 14, 2010, hopefully the weather is cooperative for it!

  • Diane

    April 12, 2010 at 6:55 am

    May 14, 2010. And I have ALWAYS wondered how they go to the bathroom in space. I guess I’ll have to go visit to find out…unless that’s another post.

  • Bridget

    April 12, 2010 at 7:12 am

    When We Left Earth are AMAZING DVDs. I’m a high school Earth Science teacher, and I use them (and Apollo 13!) with my class every single year. SOOOO GOOD. ET, however, terrifies me.

    I’m so jealous. This looks so fun!

  • Ashley

    April 12, 2010 at 7:20 am

    May 14, 2010! 🙂 It looks like you both had a great time there! Rob and I went in January and he was just like Chris…he had a blast. He was begging me to go for months like a little boy. 🙂

  • Meredith

    April 12, 2010 at 7:49 am

    May 14 2010!! I went to the Kennedy Space Center when I was visiting Orlando and it was seriously the highlight. I LOVE space. In fact, Apollo 13 may or may not be my all-time favorite movie.

  • Kelli

    April 12, 2010 at 8:07 am

    May 14, 2010!
    I used to live near Kennedy Space Center, and we went there a few times throughout my childhood. It looks like they’ve added a lot of new things! BUT my favorite part was always the rocket garden as well 🙂 I’m glad you guys had a good time!

  • Katy

    April 12, 2010 at 8:47 am

    May 14, 2010

    I LOVED going to the space center as a kid, but certainly didn’t get to see all the fun stuff you did! And, really, you have readers that don’t enjoy a good pun? I don’t believe it.

  • Brook

    April 12, 2010 at 9:00 am

    Looks like an awesome place to visit. Hopefully the hubby and I will make it there one day.

    The next launch is: May 14, 2010!

  • NIkki

    April 12, 2010 at 9:02 am

    May 14th! I WILL find a way to make it to one of the last launches. I was so bummed that I slept in and missed watching this last launch from my computer….

    • Nikki

      April 12, 2010 at 9:07 am

      I forgot to ask, did you happen to see the special on Apollo 13? It was on last night with Matt Lauer. If you didn’t, I would see if they have it on-line. Great show.

  • Omaha Kat

    April 12, 2010 at 9:24 am

    What a great trip! I hope to go someday, myself. I had NO IDEA they had all that stuff for people to see there! Shuttle launch is May 14.

  • Emily S.

    April 12, 2010 at 9:27 am

    May 14, 2010!
    Glad to see I’m not the only one that gets totally geeked out by this stuff! I was actually in a Young Astronauts club in grade school!

  • Magimom

    April 12, 2010 at 9:42 am

    Wow! How much fun was that trip!!! My aunt and uncle worked for NASA back in the “early days” of the shuttle program. My uncle worked as a “tracker” in NC and tracked Apollo 11 – I have the certificate of thanks signed by the astronauts on my wall. He also got a kickn’ Zippo from them too! (Which I also still have)!
    The next launch is May 14, 2010

  • Melissa N.

    April 12, 2010 at 10:35 am

    Next launch is May 14th this year.

    I wish we lived closer to Orlando so we could see the liftoff, me and my husband have both been fans of NASA since we were kids.

  • Cristy

    April 12, 2010 at 10:38 am

    Shuttle Atlantis launches on May 14th…

    We spent two days of my family’s DC spring break at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Fun!

  • Courtney Sloane

    April 12, 2010 at 10:43 am

    It looks like you had an absolutely wonderful time! Thanks for sharing your trip with your readers; the pictures were amazing. I’ve never been to Kennedy Space Center, but you make me want to go.

    And… May 14, 2010.

  • Sarah!

    April 12, 2010 at 11:17 am

    May 14th! May 14th!! I wanted to be an astronaut so bad when I was younger! I even got my pilots license when I was 16 because I knew you had to learn to fly a plane before they would let you fly a spaceship!

  • Alexandra

    April 12, 2010 at 11:21 am

    May 14th! And it looks like you guys had an amazing time there. When I heard you were going (via FB) I told my hubby and he was SOOO jealous!! (He’s a bit of a geek like Chris – sorry Chris, but it seems kinda true!) So glad you guys had fun 🙂

  • Jessica

    April 12, 2010 at 11:29 am

    Your posts always make me chuckle.

    “Or maybe they thought I was Kim Kardashian. With fair skin.” I LOVE it!

    Then you pushing the kid out of the way. OMG I am so horrible to laugh at that, but it is SO funny 🙂

    Launching: May 14, 2010

  • kirsten

    April 12, 2010 at 11:56 am

    May 14 …
    my brother is in orlando and he went to the last launch .. not the one you guys went to but the one before that. he said it was a blast (no pun intended)

  • Jennifer

    April 12, 2010 at 12:37 pm

    May 14th. 🙂 My husband got to do a tour with a rocket scientist once when he visited Orlando with said scientists son – he pretty much thought he’d died and gone to heaven 🙂

  • Joy

    April 12, 2010 at 1:12 pm

    The next shuttle launch will be on May 14, 2010. This is my very first comment. 🙂 I love reading your blog, Katie. My 3 children will always remember their road trip from Canada to Florida, and our visit to KSC was definitely a highlight!

  • Deanna

    April 12, 2010 at 2:09 pm

    May 14, 2010. So you know, as a single, baby-less woman, I get a total kick out of your view on all things family. Keeps me smiling!

  • Maureen

    April 12, 2010 at 2:52 pm

    May 14! It would be awesome to see but I think Houston is closer to me than Orlando. So I will have to go there for space-related things. That first DVD sounds cool!

  • Miriam

    April 12, 2010 at 3:47 pm

    May 14th, but I’m going to leave a wicked long comment anyways.

    I’ve been to Kennedy Space Center twice in my life. Once when I was in 4th grade and the second time when I was an engineering major in college in Florida on Spring break. Both times I was the wierdo who couldn’t wait to go look at nerdy stuff.

    4th grade – My parents brought us to Orlando and we both hated Disney, my brother wanted to go to the gift shop and go home. I wanted to go to the Kennedy Space Center.

    College – Our coach is trying to plan rides to attractions on our day off. “Who wants to Go to Disney”, a crowd of hands goes up. “Who wants to go to Cocoa Beach”, a bunch more girls excitedly giggle. “Who wants to go to the Kennedy Space Center”, myself and a Chemical Engineering major are jumping around excitedly. Needless to say, we just looked too hopeful to cancel the trip due to lack of interest. So the coaches dropped us off and picked us up like a couple jr high kids going to the movies.

    We joyfully ran around the park getting excited over every little thing, taking pictures and discussing discoveries. A guy stopped us “girls, girls, you two are having WAY too much fun.” We giggled and ran off to take a picture of me next to a plaque memorializing a National Mechanical Engineering achievement.

    So yeah, Kennedy Space Center IS my DISNEY. And I really wish I could go back and visit it properly on my own time. And meet a real astronaut instead of just getting a picture of me fake kissing a Gemini astronaut’s cardboard cutout.

  • Vdragon

    April 12, 2010 at 4:15 pm

    May 14, 2010.

    Another really cool museum to go to if you ever get the chance is near Pensacola. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays you can watch the Blue Angels practice for FREE! And tour their amazing museum and take fun pictures in the cock pits of helicopters and planes.

  • Kari

    April 12, 2010 at 4:26 pm

    I loved reading about your adventure, I’m completely and utterly jealous!

    The next launch is on May 14th – two days before my birthday! Maybe I can see if they’d let me go as an early birthday present … hmm …

  • Sarah

    April 12, 2010 at 4:47 pm

    May 14, 2010!

    My fiance is also a space nerd like Chris. This is something, when I move to Orlando in May, that I would love to bring him to. 🙂

  • Hallie

    April 12, 2010 at 5:48 pm

    May 14th, 2010! I’m pretty sure I’ve been to the Kennedy Space Center, it was a really cool place!

  • Margaret

    April 12, 2010 at 7:01 pm

    May 14, 2010 We watched the shuttle go up. I enjoyed reading about your trip to the space center. We took our kids to the space center in Huntsville. The rockets were awesome.

  • Nancy

    April 12, 2010 at 8:31 pm

    May 14th, 2010!

    I wanted to be Sally Ride when I was a kid (that dream ended when I saw the shuttle disaster on TV when I was 5, but let’s not talk about that.) My favorite space movie is Space Camp. 😀

  • Ashley

    April 12, 2010 at 8:37 pm

    May 14, 2010! So glad you guys had an awesome time! It looks really interesting! Thanks for sharing 🙂

  • Maggie

    April 12, 2010 at 10:25 pm

    May 14, 2010! Glad to know there are equally nerdy husbands out there. My husband might think at this point that he IS an astronaut. I tell him watching the NASA channel before falling asleep doesn’t count as years of technical training.

  • Farihah

    April 13, 2010 at 12:21 am

    May 14th! I really need that E.T. dvd. Why? Because as sad as it is, I am 17 and still have not seen the movie. Nevertheless, I constantly make E.T. references. Yes. I make so much sense.

  • Sarah

    April 13, 2010 at 3:13 am

    I wish I was in Orlando so I could check out the space station, sounds and looks pretty cool. May 14th 2010 is the next launch 🙂

  • Laura

    April 13, 2010 at 3:21 am

    i am currently taking an astronomy class at college right now. today in class, we talked about the first mission to the moon: Apollo 8.

    then, imagine, if you will: my professor, a tiny, sickly, very old man (he must be in his 70s, at least), saying “there were bags inside of the space suits to hold the urine- but Buzz Aldrin’s broke after he exited the spacecraft. so, technically, Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon… but Buzz Aldrin was the first one to squish around on it.”