Sunday, we drove over to worship at the Katy congregation, where we worshiped when we lived there. We had lunch and dinner with friends, an ice cream break with friends, and a tour of the Katy Mills Mall.
Monday, we packed up and cleaned the trailer (I think I like leaving on Monday's better than Sunday's; I have time to clean the trailer before we leave instead of waiting until we get home) and headed to Space Center Houston. We arrived not long after opening so we were able to get in a small tour group. We occupied 2 rows on the tram. N enjoyed being able to reach Z and kept pulling his ear. The tram took us by the shuttle exhibit which is not ready for visits yet. Guess we'll have to go back when it is ready.
Our 1st stop on the tour was at the International Space Station training facility. We've met astronauts, we've been studying space vehicles at the Astronomy club meetings, and we've followed the adventures of the astronauts we know on the ISS. All of that didn't prepare them for the realization that these pods we are looking at are FULL SIZE! A new appreciation for what we've been studying.
In this area, tests on rovers and robots and capsules for use on Mars are being tested as well. An interesting look at the future.
Unfortunately, ISS activities prevented us from being able to tour Mission Control. Another reason to return? Our tram then visited the Rocket Park which now houses an indoor exhibit of a real Saturn V rocket. Very impressive!
After our facility tour, we enjoyed the visitors center. This was my 1st visit with kids and it was fun! We tried on space helmets, toured SkyLab mockups, watched an IMAX film, and played!!
We even got to touch a moon rock!!!!
And yes, Mama even found a way to include school and that dreaded thing called Math! Craig showed them how Algebra is used to control and steer objects.
There was also a block building area......
....... and a sleeping area.......
........ and a balance area.......
....... and an area to play with mirrors and blocks. This is one I'd love to have at home. All of them kept kicking me off so they could play. The one below is Z's design. He just sat down and created it. We have a future engineer on our hands.
Monday, we packed up and cleaned the trailer (I think I like leaving on Monday's better than Sunday's; I have time to clean the trailer before we leave instead of waiting until we get home) and headed to Space Center Houston. We arrived not long after opening so we were able to get in a small tour group. We occupied 2 rows on the tram. N enjoyed being able to reach Z and kept pulling his ear. The tram took us by the shuttle exhibit which is not ready for visits yet. Guess we'll have to go back when it is ready.
Our 1st stop on the tour was at the International Space Station training facility. We've met astronauts, we've been studying space vehicles at the Astronomy club meetings, and we've followed the adventures of the astronauts we know on the ISS. All of that didn't prepare them for the realization that these pods we are looking at are FULL SIZE! A new appreciation for what we've been studying.
In this area, tests on rovers and robots and capsules for use on Mars are being tested as well. An interesting look at the future.
Unfortunately, ISS activities prevented us from being able to tour Mission Control. Another reason to return? Our tram then visited the Rocket Park which now houses an indoor exhibit of a real Saturn V rocket. Very impressive!
After our facility tour, we enjoyed the visitors center. This was my 1st visit with kids and it was fun! We tried on space helmets, toured SkyLab mockups, watched an IMAX film, and played!!
We even got to touch a moon rock!!!!
And yes, Mama even found a way to include school and that dreaded thing called Math! Craig showed them how Algebra is used to control and steer objects.
There was also a block building area......
....... and a sleeping area.......
........ and a balance area.......
....... and an area to play with mirrors and blocks. This is one I'd love to have at home. All of them kept kicking me off so they could play. The one below is Z's design. He just sat down and created it. We have a future engineer on our hands.
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