If Space Center Houston is not on the top 10 list of places parents feel they have to take their children, it should be.
The visitors center for NASA’s Johnson Space Center is right up there with the White House and Smithsonian in the educational must-see category.
There is one difference. Space Center Houston, as well as being relevant and historical, is fun.
Even two worldly teens were impressed. “S’OK,” they muttered in unison, bobbing their heads a few millimeters for emphasis. High praise indeed.
The price of admission, $11.95 (adult fare), is a bargain by today’s entertainment standards. A single ticket buys unlimited time in the Space Center Plaza–a cavernous building filled with realistic space experiences, two IMAX theater presentations, a visit to the mission status center, a film shown in the Starship Gallery and two tours of the Johnson Space Center.
The tram tour is the only loser. After spending what seemed like hours in line (outside, middle of summer, in the Houston humidity) we were taken deep inside the grounds of NASA to a windowless office building. We climbed five flights of stairs to reach the Mission Control viewing theater and were stranded there for 20 minutes.
At 4 o’clock on a weekday afternoon, the only thing going on in Mission Control–the heartbeat of the U.S. space program–was one guy sitting at his console, eating a Wendy’s burger. “BOR-ing,” proclaimed the teens.
Back at Space Center Plaza, the action picked up considerably.
Here, the kids were able to test their future-astronaut abilities in a manned maneuvering unit. They were given two minutes and a limited amount of fuel. The object: to repair a floating satellite and return to the ship without depleting their fuel supply.
After fixing the satellite and using all but 100 units of fuel, a commendable result, they raced to what looked like the video arcade room. Here, parents and their kids patiently waited for a turn to land the shuttle or dock with a space station via video simulators.
Crashes were common, successful completions rare. The programs were challenging, and children tried time and again to master their landing techniques. For parents, the minutes crawled by; it was all too brief for the kids.
In the Kids Space Place they strapped themselves into an Apollo module and weighed themselves on Mars. They touched a moon rock and explored a mock-up of a shuttle craft.
The challenges of living in space are demonstrated in a replica of the astronauts’ living quarters. And there are facilities that display the answer to the most-asked question at the Space Center: “How do the astronauts go to the bathroom?”
There are scads of hands-on experiments and demonstrations around Space Plaza, and children as young as 2 and 3 find plenty of things to touch and over which to climb.
There are space suits displayed much like the first ladies’ gowns, and photo displays, and breathtaking views of Earth. An enormous mural painted by astronaut Alan Bean depicts the exhilaration of Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon.
Jingoism is at a minimum. Most of the films and live entertainers keep their scripts focused on the challenges of discovery that the space program offers.
Still, amid all the frenzied kids, bright lights and bustle, the Space Center can evoke a very quiet, lumpy-throat moment of awe at the accomplishments and bravery of the men and women who have experienced space travel firsthand.
It was a mom emotion, not one shared by the teen travelers. But one of them did say that “being an astronaut might be cool.”
Definitely worth the price.
DETAILS ON SPACE CENTER
Getting there: Take NASA Road 1 exit off Interstate Highway 45 south of Houston. Travel east three miles. Space Center is on the left at 1601 NASA Rd. 1.
The basics: Winter hours (between Labor Day and Memorial Day) are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays (closed Christmas Day); summer hours (Memorial Day to Labor Day) are 9 a.m.-7 p.m. daily.
Tickets are $11.95 for ages over 12, $10.95 for seniors 65 and older, $8.95 for children ages 4-11, children under 4 free.
For Fido: Air-conditioned kennels are available free of charge for families traveling with pets.
Accommodations: Days Inn, 2020 Nasa Rd. 1, 281-333-0308 or 800-329-7466; Nassau Bay Hilton, 3000 Nasa Rd. 1, 281-333-9300 or 800-634-4320; Holiday Inn, 1300 Nasa Rd. 1, 281-333-2500 or 800-682-3193; and Super 8 Motel, 18103 Kings Row, 281-333-5385 or 800-800-8000. Each offers Space Center Houston discounts.
Information: 281-244-2100; fax 281-283-7724; Internet: www.spacecenter.org
