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.