Although I live in Florida, I’d like to take you along on a day trip approximaty 200 miles north of my home in Fort Lauderdale to Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, for a trip to explore our past, present and future in space travel.
When you arrive at the space center, which is open 364 days a year (closed only for Christmas day) you enter into a large parking lot, and the first thing you notice is...parking is free!..You then go to the admission gate and find fairly short lines and an admission price of under $20.00!.(Public admission is from 9A.M. until dark)
Once inside you go to the Apollo/Saturn V center where you see recreations (through multi-media shows and hands on attractions) of actual Apollo/Saturn flights. On display is a true to life replica of a Saturn rocket, measuring 365 feet in length and weighing over 6 million pounds.
At the spaceport you can check out early space exploration going as far back as the 1950’s. That is when Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral was used to test and launch military rockets.
You can check out the Gemini and Mercury programs of the 1960’s when we had our first manned spacecrafts.
After that, you can actually board and explore a replica space shuttle and hear what our astronauts heard on their missions, through actual sound recordings.
You then stroll through the rocket garden and memorial, where there are 12-15 rockets displayed, with plaques explaining the mission they were used for, who manned them and the outcome of the mission.
After that you are led into the actual facility, where you get a guided tour and recreation of a rocket launch.
Ther is also an IMAX theatre, which is a giant (5 stories high) movie screen, showing a journey in space, with booming sound and 3 D vision.
This day outting is relatively inexpensive costing about $20.00 per person, including a soft drink.
It is a wonderful experience for both children and adults. We’ve been there twice and plan to return again. There is always a sense of awe and amazement and pride when we do go.
I highly recommend a visit to Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral for anyone visiting Florida.