I am not a space nerd, have never watched Star Trek or any show like that (on purpose) and have never really been that interested in “space travel”.  That is why I was so surprised at the awesomeness of the Kennedy Space Center.  It may be in their “presentation”, but this place is….AWESOME.   We took an Up-close tour, which I would highly recommend, and got to see two launch pads, the Saturn V rocket, the Space shuttle Atlantis, the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) and a giant “crawler” that transported the rockets.  Before you get to see the space shuttle Atlantis and before you get to see the massive Saturn V rocket, you are shown a presentation of the events leading up to and the launch, before the doors open to these exhibits. At the Apollo/Saturn center, the presentation is made in a room that has all of the original control consoles used during the launch. At the Atlantis exhibit, you are shown a move about the concept, design, production,  failures and success of the shuttle idea.  Then this giant door opens up to the actual Atlantis shuttle.  It is very moving and makes you want to cry.  When the giant door opens up to the Space Shuttle Atlantis, it takes your breath away…yes I’m serious.  Go see it!  Then let me know how many of you actually cry.

Our guide told us that someone reviewed the park and said “It was lame, there are no rollercoasters here.”  No, there are no rollercoasters, but you get to see history!  Our history, up close and personal.  If you are not moved by this place, then I’m not sure what would move you.  The inventions that came out of the space program has not only saved lives, but made life better for all of us.  I’m not sure if young children or even teenagers would understand the impact that the space program has had on the world, hell I didn’t.  Without it we wouldn’t have TV remote controls, scratch-resistant lenses, invisible braces, memory foam, cordless tools, etc….the list goes on.  Who knew? I’m so glad we came here and didn’t even miss not getting to ride a roller coaster!