Kennedy Space Center is located off the coast of central Florida. It’s about an hour south of Daytona Beach and an hour east of Orlando. If you love all things space, you will love to visit the Kennedy Space Center.
At the Kennedy Space Center visitor complex you will find all kinds of exhibits from the space race, shuttle program, even things that are currently happening today. Get an up close look at a Saturn V rocket which were used to get man to the moon.
See the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Or check out the Shuttle Launch Experience and take a simulated ride to space. The entire site is huge and will take you hours to see everything. Even just doing a quick glimpse at most things will take a couple of hours. However, it will be well worth your time.
Also remember that you will be visiting a working spaceport. Rockets get launched from the area a couple of times a year and can be quite the experience if you get to witness one. Even without a launch, the experience is worth it. Even if it is just to wonder what we will do next.
Visitor Complex
The Visitor Complex at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is made up of numerous buildings, restaurants, and shops. If it has to do with NASA and the space programs you are sure to find it in one of the many exhibits here.
Once you past the ticket you come upon the Rocket Garden. Some of these rockets are so tall you can see them from the parking lot. I found it interesting how small some of these rockets are. It makes you think how small does a rocket really need to be to reach outside Earth’s atmosphere?
From the rocket garden you have a couple different places you can check out. Head on over to Mars or Planet Play. Or go and see one of the remaining shuttles. The Shuttle Atlantis calls KSC it’s forever home.
Planet Play is a great place to let the kids run and climb around. Plus they can learn all about space while they are having fun. There is so much for the young ones to do. Plus it is all inside so it gives mom and dad a nice break too.
Kids can climb up tubs and slide down slides. They can run around and get that extra energy out while traveling around the sun. Maybe they can even pretend they are a comet flying around the solar system.
Journey to Mars is a small building but don’t let that fool you. There is plenty of things to see and learn about. Here you can try docking with the space station. Or just learn about some of the rovers that are on Mars.
Perhaps the main attraction at Kennedy Space Center is the Atlantis Building. Housed inside this building is one of the remaining Space Shuttles that were launched from Cape Canaveral. Let me also just say this. The way they introduce it is amazing. It really makes it feel larger than life.
Even though I always imagined it was bigger. I was really surprised by the size of the space shuttle. Don’t get me wrong. The Space Shuttle is huge. I was just expecting something else considering how many astronauts would be aboard during a mission.
Besides the Space Shuttle Atlantis you will learn all about the shuttle program in this building. See the different foods astronauts would eat in space. See how big the wheels are. Climb through a mock up of the ISS.
You can even see how well you would do landing the space shuttle. Let me just say that it is very hard to land that sucker. If trying to land isn’t your thing. Hop aboard the shuttle for a simulated launch. See how it would feel getting launched into space.
Apollo / Saturn V Center
It is a toss up between the Apollo/Saturn V Center and The Atlantis building on which is the top attraction at KSC. You can walk here. The only way here is by bus but boy is it worth it. You get to see different areas of the complex plus the Vehicle Assembly Building.
That building is massive. Make sure you listen up when you drive by and hear how big the logo is. It is incredible how big it is.
Once you arrive at the Apollo/Saturn V Center you will watch a short video and reenactment before you are let into the main video. It is something watching what happened during a launch of the Saturn V rockets.
Once you are let in the main building you will be blown away by the size of the rocket. The Saturn V is 363 feet long. Not sure how tall that is? Well, the Statue of Liberty 303 feet tall meaning the Saturn V rocket is 60 feet taller.
Also inside the center you will find everything to do with the early space program including the moon landing.
It is a great place to learn the history of what it took to get to the moon. Plus how all the early programs got us to where we are today.
Dining
There are a few different places you can grab a bite to eat at. One is located out in the Apollo/Saturn V Center. Another in located right next to Planet Play.
Orbit Cafe won’t be having you running back for seconds but the food and variety isn’t bad either. You can get burgers, pizza, chicken fingers, salads, and more here.
The burger wasn’t dried out and they had a nice little toppings bar to make your burger that much better. The mac and cheese was very cheesy and had a good flavor to it. The prices weren’t bad too. It is what you would expect to pay at any of the Orlando theme parks for the same type of meal.
If you love looking at the stars and wondering where we have been and where we will go. A visit to the Kennedy Space Center is the place for you. I wish my parents took me here when I was a kid. Maybe, just maybe, my path in life would have been different. My daughter found it very interesting. You never know, she just might change what she wants to be when she grows up.
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