The Kennedy Space Center, located on Merritt Island, Florida, is an amazing place to visit. The Space Center and adjacent launch pads, Shuttle Landing Facility and Vehicle Assembly Building are surrounded by the Merritt Island National Wildlife refuge. Blue Herons, Brown Pelicans, Southern Bald Eagles and Snowy Egrets are just a few of the birds visible along side of the major roadways and mangroves. It is also common to see alligators lying in marshy stretches throughout the vicinity. If you plan to visit the Space Complex, explore the wildlife refuge and miles of hiking trails that loop through the area.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is the hub for fascinating exhibits, astronaut encounters, IMAX theaters and bus tours. Of course, there are plenty of dining options, as well as three souvenir shops that carry everything NASA. Plan on at least two days for your visit if you want to see the entire complex and take the bus tour.

Once past the ticket plaza, head to the Exploration in the New Millennium building. These displays focus on the future of space travel with remarkable interactive science exhibits. The tour starts with replicas of the robot scouts, such as the Cassinin Hoygens four-year mission to reach Saturn and photographically explore its rings and clouds. A small piece of a meteorite from Mars is displayed for guests to see. For an amazing in-depth view of the meteorite, a video microscope is setup to show the specimen’s structure on a screen to the left of the exhibit.

Located in the same complex building is the fun and offbeat Mad Mission to Mars: 2025 exhibit. A great show for all ages, the show is a walk-through, live-action presentation with theatrical effects taking guests on a space adventure. Especially interesting are the five rooms that simulate the conditions and what it’s like to live on Mars.

The IMAX Theater complex features a new 3D presentation entitled Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon. This show is exciting; it’s the next best thing to actually walking on the moon! The other IMAX show, Space Station 3D, is fabulous as well, but if you only have time for one, go for a moonwalk. In addition, the IMAX complex hosts Astronaut Encounter. Meet an astronaut and learn what it’s like to live on Skylab and travel through space. Guests are able to ask questions and obtain autographs from NASA astronauts after the presentation.

There are numerous exhibits in the Space Center; however, make sure you check the bus tour schedules before exploring the entire complex. The bus tours are lengthy and end in the late afternoon. The tour starts with a drive out to the Observation Gantry. The gantry has multiple levels (and an elevator or stairs) with 360-degree views of NASA’s launch complexes. From the South vantage point, view Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Space Launch Complex 40 and L-Pad for the Titan Rocket. From the west, view the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), Launch Control Center and Crawler Transporter aircraft hanger. In the middle floors of the Gantry, one of the space shuttle main engines is suspended with great visibility. Even on cloudy days, the Gantry is an incredible place to view NASA and take advantage of photo opportunities.

After leaving the Observation Gantry, the bus tour continues past the Vehicle Assembly Building for a close-up view and the Orbiter Processing Facilities. Now, the best part of the tour resumes to the Apollo/Saturn V Center. Visitors enter into a space-age antechamber and have a few minutes wait until the doors open into the Firing Room Theater. The standing theater room displays the actual control consoles from the Apollo missions. Above the control consoles, a large screen comes to life with a breath-taking recreation of an Apollo Launch, including some actual footage from the launch. The emotional experience from watching the launch leaves many guests with huge lumps in their throats; they remember the pride of NASA’s magnificent ascension into space and the brave astronauts who pioneered early space exploration.

If the launch footage wasn’t amazing enough, the next room displays an enormous 363-foot moon rocket. The rocket lays on steel cradles that tower above the floor so that visitors can view the detail. In addition, a moon rock is mounted in a clear booth for both viewing and touching. This is probably the closest most people will get to touch the moon. Another gripping exhibit in the complex is the Lunar Theater, which features a presentation that depicts the first moon landing.

Next on the tour stop is the International Space Station Center. Huge viewing windows allow guests to watch Space Station components as they are readied for flight. The enormity and intricacy of assembling these components for the Space Station, gives the viewer a renewed appreciation for the dynamics involved in the project.

The tour bus now heads back to the Visitor Complex and it’s time to resume your own discovery of exhibits and future space exploration. It also reminds the visitor that new frontiers in space are just beginning; and that the pride Americans felt that warm July 37 years ago is at the heart of NASA and the astronauts who continue to bravely venture into space and beyond.

Patrice Raplee is an experienced travel photojournalist and editor of Travel Excursion and Seattle Spotlight for Positively Entertainment magazine. Her photographs and articles have appeared in numerous NW newspapers such as the Seattle Times, the Stranger, and the Oregonian. As a freelance photojournalist she has also worked with acclaimed musical entertainers, such as Santana, Billy Joel and Steven Tyler. Patrice is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators. Additionally, she has written several children’s short stories and is currently working on an adult fiction novel for publication. Email her at Patrice@travel-excursion.com

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