Kennedy Space Center

Our last adventure of the week in Florida was to Kennedy Space Center. I haven't been here since I was little and thought it was super boring. Now that I'm older, I can definitely appreciate it. There is so much history and awesome stuff here. It's kind of more like a museum than a theme park, but it is a very elaborate museum with some interactive parts in it.













Kennedy Space Center and the launch sites in Cape Canaveral are a part of NASA and they do still have launches from here. I learned that one of the reasons that they built a launch site in Florida was because it is closer to the equator and therefore, gives the rocket even more speed when taking off.











We started our day by walking through some exhibits and having lunch by the Rocket Garden. We watched a short film and reenactment about one of the launches from the 60s (I can't remember if it was Gemini or Mercury). I'm a weirdo who gets teary-eyed when watching important historical events because of how monumental it is. I mean, witnessing the first Americans to go into space? That's pretty joyous and awesome.













Kennedy Space Center runs bus tours throughout the day that takes you out to Cape Canaveral where you can see all the launch sites are and where there's another exhibit that is dedicated to the Apollo and Saturn V missions. They have a full-size rocket, the Saturn V, hanging in the building and it is amazing how huge it is. It is gigantic and you kind of stand in awe for a few moments when you first see it.













This is also the only place where you can touch a real moon rock. There are a lot of artifacts from the rockets, shuttles, astronauts, and more here. Oh, and on the way to the Apollo/Saturn V Center, you not only see all the launch sites, but also some gators along the way.













Apparently, not only could the heat from the rockets kill you if you were too close, but so could the sound. The sound of a rocket launch can literally stop your heart and turn your brain into mush. That is why people who watch the launches must be a certain amount of distance away. I'm wondering how many gators have died this way... Oh, and you know how it looks like there's a bunch of smoke when a rocket takes off? Well, that's actually steam. The steam helps to lower the decibels and quiet the rocket when it launches.













When we got back from the bus trip, we decided to check out Atlantis, which is one of the bigger attractions they got going on here. Atlantis is a space shuttle, which is unique in that it can be reused for many missions. There are lots of exhibits in here, including what the beds, kitchen, and toilets were like. I didn't get a picture of the toilet, but basically there is a camera somewhere in the toilet and you look up at a screen as you do your business and that helps you aim right.











Within the Atlantis building, there is also the Shuttle Launch Experience, which is a simulator that lets you feel what it's like to be in a shuttle while it is launching. It was mostly a lot of vibrating and shaking.













I wore my gorgeous space print dress from ModCloth here since it is super fitting for the occasion. I got a lot of compliments on it from the staff and other visitors. I love dressing to match where I am going!

Dress: ModCloth//Sweater: Delia's//Shoes: Payless//Bag: ASOS//Lipstick: Too Faced

The only problem we ran into while at Kennedy Space Center is that the exhibits take a while. We had gotten there at around 11 and the park closed at 5. The bus tour takes about an hour and a half, I'd say, so that was a good portion of the day. I'd say to definitely get there early if you want to see everything. They also have 3D IMAX movies, which are supposed to be awesome. My grandparents saw one, but we didn't since we wanted to do the Shuttle Launch Experience. I wish we had more time to see everything like the Astronaut Memorial, the Astronaut Encounter, and another interactive portion called Exploration Space. Maybe I'll go again in the future and see all the things I didn't get to!