Friday, March 11, 2011

Visiting the Space Center in Huntsville


Command Module
From In the Garden
Where can you go to see spaceships? 



Jimmy. 5 March 2011
From In the Garden
Dig for moonrocks...
From In the Garden
See gigantic rockets and totally understand just how big they really are....



Elizabeth, 5 March 2011

Even pretend you are an astronaut.

From In the Garden

When real astronaut suits are close by.


Liz and Jimmy.
From In the Garden

You can even climb to the moon!

Mr. Fix-it.
From In the Garden
Someone can find you with the moon video explorer and you are now on television!
From In the Garden
See a moon lander and a gigantic wristwatch? Where can you see all of these great space related things? No where else but the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville Alabama. 

Mr. Fix-it, the Jimster, myself, and our daughter Liz all took a trip to the Space Center in Huntsville Alabama and had a fantastic time. The museum is quite large and had tons of stuff to do. My personal favorite was the IMAX. Wow on getting air sick without flying. 

For a limited time entry to the Space Center is FREE to active duty military and their family members. What a deal!

Seeing the Space Center and remembering our race to space made me remember where I was when the first American man walked on the moon. I was at my mother's knee in our little trailer in Maine. My mother laughed, and she cried, and she slapped her knee so much I truly thought she was nuts (I was nearly six years old)! I will never forget that memory. During all of this she was wondering if she should wake up my younger sister to also come and watch the moon landing. You remember it was broadcast late at night? We girls were usually in bed at the time. The moon landing is one of my earliest memories. Seems like yesterday sometimes.

Do you all remember the moon landing? And if so, please share your memory with us....

in the garden.... 

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

17 comments:

  1. We really need to take a trip down there soon. It's not all that far away from us and I'm sure my oldest girl would love it. I can't share a memory with you on the moon landing...I wasn't born yet!

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  2. I remember..and I would go out after that and look at the moon amazed we had actually sent people there--and they literally walked on the moon. Still gives me chills! Thanks so sharing your trip. Have a great weekend! (I am headed to the nurseries!) :)

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  3. It's so much fun to take the whole family to a space center. I've not been to the one in Huntsville, but SAM has when he was working up there a few years back. The kids and I went to the one in Florida many years ago while SAM was attending a business seminar. One of these days, we will all have to go to one together.

    I think I was asleep when the initial broadcast about the landing came on. Darn! We did watch it together as a family when they replayed it the next day. It was all that people talked about for weeks, and I remember how proud all the grownups were that our nation had done this. Space travel seems so routine now, and kids today have no idea what an awesome accomplishment that landing was at the time.

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  4. What a fun get-away! I have yet to visit this space center but have visited the Air and Space Museum in DC. While in Disney World, we took a Rocket Simulator and never again for me! I about lost my cookies girl... I don’t really have any major memories of the moon landing, sigh….

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  5. Dave, It is really close to you and easy to find. I think both girls would enjoy it a lot. Lots to do for little ones.

    Linda, It was a really special thing back! Have fun shopping!

    W2W, Yes! You are right kids now a days don't appreciate these things. With technology it seems anything is possible but heck, back in the 60s we didn't even have cable-so no technology. I try to impress upon Jimmy how different it is but it escapes him. Adults and the country were most proud of America as I recall and it was a good feeling.

    Skeeter, I didn't even know there was a space center in DC until I looked up the real name of this center. I've never really visited DC, just passing thru. Perhaps one day. Glad you kept your cookies!

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  6. Hi all.
    That was a good thing. Glad you all had such a great time.
    I really don't remember what I was doing. Living in N.Y. & trying to raise a very young child.
    I think that would be an educational thing for all kids & adults.

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  7. Yup, now I guess it really does pale in comparison to todays technology but oh boy, what an event the moon landing was at the time. Like you said there was not even cable tv back then. No cel phones, not even a simple cordless house phone. No computers or electronic games. Oh horrors, how did anyone live back then? LOL. Times sure were different. I and your grandmother cut all the articles out of the newspapers about it (as we did with the assasination of JFK) to save for you kids. Can you believe I still have them all in a box somewhere in the knee walls?

    BTW, I got all 3 of your younger sisters outta bed and made them watch history being made. Your youngest sister was not even old enough to care (actually none of you cared) and just kept going to sleep but the rest of you were most unhappy with me making you stay awake and watch!!!! But guess what, if I could change that night, I would not!!!

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  8. Hi Lola, The space station was so awesome and sure was educational. I'm so glad we got to go finally. I think there is one in Florida? the NASA? It would be so neat to see a rocket launch!

    Mom, Of course you wouldn't change a thing! I still remember it all vividly and am glad I have that memory indeed. I didn't remember you waking up the younger girls but kind of remember you trying to wake Dawn up. I hope she is doing well btw. And yes, I can surely believe you have a box full of newspaper clippings under the knee walls somewhere. Maybe not such a great thing now but back then well worth it to say the clippings. Who knew technology would make newspapers almost obsolete now? Hard to believe how much has changed in forty years.

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  9. I was born six months after, missed if by a few years.
    This looks like a an incredibly fun museum. My husband loves all sorts of spacey stuff.

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  10. Fun post Tina. I remember the moon landing--- was in 9th grade. We went to the next door neighbor's house because they had a color TV. It was very exciting.

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  11. Rosey, I guess I am dating myself a bit here huh? Oh well, it was an exciting time. The space part was cool too.

    Janet, You remember! I too remember how exciting a color tv was and can definitely see this making it better!

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  12. Tina, yes, they have one near NASA. Sometimes on a clear day you can see the trail of liftoff. I do believe I saw the tail of the one that Christa the teacher died in. So sad.

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  13. Lola, that was very sad. All the school children were watching the teacher (Christa McAuliffe) going to space. My parents saw it happen. Not at the sace center but where they used to winter in FL, they could see it. A whole group of people in theRV park where they would go was outside watching and they all ran inside to turn on their tv's as they had a sinking feeling and was hoping the tv would say everthing was ok. As we all know, they did not hear what they wanted to hear. They went to many of the lauchings and sat on the beach across from the space center and loved it but really loved the night ones. My brother can watch them where he lives also.

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  14. What a fond trip down memory lane. Thanks. We went there some years ago more or less by accident. A civil war buff trip to Chattanoga led to a panic attack for Mrs T on the road up to Lookout mountain. Pulling out an atlas I looked for a nearby Plan B. Huntsville in northern Alabama... where the rocket center is. We went and had a wonderful day.

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  15. I've never been to the Space Center in Huntsville, but many years ago we visited the NASA center in Houston. I remember being amazed by the moon rocks. It's funny how traveling to space has become so commonplace now that I don't always pay attention when a new space mission takes off. I can remember not only where I was when we landed on the moon--with my then-boyfriend, now my husband--but also where I was for the first flight into space. We watched Alan Shepherd lift off into space and then later John Glenn orbit the earth during class when I was in grade school. We were all just spellbound.

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  16. You and your family have been really taking advantage of all the things to do in your area. :)

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  17. Now that looks like fun!

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