While in Galveston, we decided to stop and tour the Space Center Houston with Pa. We were able to walk through the museum portion of the space center and learn all about space travel and international cooperations at the International Space Station. We got to walk through examples of what some of the space crafts would look like, including seeing examples of their beds, toilets, food, exercise equipment, and more. It was a really fun learning experience for all of us. Reya even got to decorate her own rocket, watch it launch through one screen, and then orbit the planets on a digital wall!

We were also able to walk through a full-size Space Shuttle replica (the Independence), which was mounted atop the original, historic NASA 905 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft jet. Seeing the interior of what these were like was a really interesting experience. Reya and Kai said they’d have no problem learning the thousands of buttons and switches in the control panels!

We also took a tour of the NASA Johnson Space Center campus. This included seeing the Saturn V rocket on display as an example of the Apollo program, which sent astronauts to the moon. It was fun for the kids to see the actual scale of how large these rockets are and learn how different modules would get the astronauts to space and when they would drop off. We also got to see the Astronaut Training Facility, where every American astronaut has trained since 1980. This space gives them a chance to learn the equipment and modules they’ll be interacting with before they get to space. This was my favorite part of the tour!

Overall, we really enjoyed this experience and would definitely recommend it! The kids really enjoyed seeing things from ‘out of this world’ and learning about some aspects of space travel. The interactive exhibits helped the kids stay engaged and of course the astronaut ice cream helped. This was a good memory for the kids to create with us and their grandfather!