Johnson Space Center
On our way through the sprawl that is Houston, TX, we decided to take a detour to visit the Johnson Space Center. The official visitors center is called Space Center Houston and gets mixed reviews in my book.
On the plus side, it does have some original rockets, capsules, and a moon rock, though the gallery is somewhat hidden off the main exhibition space. There are two tours of the actual center. Knox and I took the Blue Tour, which goes to the Rocket Park (where you can walk around a real Saturn V rocket) and to the VIP gallery of the actual control room used in the Apollo 11 and 13 missions (among others). Interestingly, the control room currently in use for the International Space Station was just one floor below us. We did not go on the longer Red Tour, which takes visitors to the current space shuttle control room.
The big drawback of Space Center Houston is that it is structured very much like an amusement park. It’s got a playground for the littlest ones, some very basic science exhibits, and several video games that are supposed to be “simulators.”
Except for seeing the actual facility and the warehouse-sized Saturn V rocket, I’d say you’re better off going to the National Air and Space Museum.
February 5th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Hey sounds like you had quite the trip. I just watched a video about a group who visited the space center, and I thought it looked pretty cool. They’re two ex marines who have decided to travel the world. It’s pretty cool. Check it out: http://travelistic.com/video/show/2198