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Space Center Houston
Space Center Houston is a visitor-oriented facility located
adjacent to the Johnson Space Center, the mission control, training, and
research facility for the US space program.
During our summer visit, it was easy to see that Space
Center Houston attracts, in a Disney-like fashion, mass numbers of families.
The $70 million center was filled to bursting with children engaging in
hands on video fun by piloting a shuttle, driving a lunar rover, or other
video exhibits.
The was designed to explain space travel in terms even
the youngest visitor could understand. At Kids Space Place, 17 interactive
areas invite exploration as children ride across the moon's surface in
a Lunar Rover or command a space shuttle.
A full-scale mock-up of the space shuttle allows visitors
to tour the flight deck while nearby Texas's largest IMAX theater showcases
large format films about space travel.
The real technology lies in the far less flashy Johnson
Space Center. Visitors have their choice of three tram tours for a behind-the-scenes
look at the training facilities, mission control, or an underwater training
area.
The Mission Control Center tour is, by far, the most popular;
wait times can exceed one hour. All the tours take visitors of a guided
look at the space center and several stops. We took a tour of the training
facilities and viewed three areas from a glassed-in observation level.
At the end of each tram tour, travelers can get out and photograph early
rockets.
Location: Located at 1601 NASA
Road One, 25 miles south of downtown Houston off I-45 South.
For More Information:
visit www.spacecenterhouston.org.
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