"Hey mom, can we go to space today?"
I pride myself in being the fun mom who's always ready for an adventure, so when I found out there was an epic space museum only a day trip away from us, I packed up the squad and we were off to space.
The Cosmosphere Science Education Center and Space Museum located in Hutchinson Kansas was the perfect place to not only learn about astronauts and rockets, but be fully immersed into the history of space for a day.
We started our exploration at the Hall Of Space Museum in CosmoKids. We were instantly in awe of this hands-on, interactive play experience. Some of the STEM based activities included a Gravity Well, Wind Tunnel and the Orion Spacecraft.
Inside the spacecraft, the kids could experience what it's like going to space. With windows and a countdown, this simulation felt SO real!
After exploring the spacecraft, the boys moved on to the interactive Mars Habitat building area and Audri went for designing her own air rocket. As a kid who loves engineering, crafting and designing, this was by far her favorite activity in CosmoKids. All materials and instructions are provided and once your design is complete you can actually launch your rocket.
Next on our list after exploring CosmoKids, was Dr. Goddards Lab! This interactive live show that included explosive surprises while taking us on a journey of the history of rockets was captivating. I loved how engaging each experiment was while also giving little tidbits of facts about how rockets were invented and tested.
The Cosmosphere Hall Of Space, featuring the largest U.S. and Russian space artifacts in the world was, in the words of Maddox "magical and awesome!" We explored the X-plane, Mollett Early Spaceflight, German and Apollo Galleries.
What sets the Cosmosphere Space Museum apart from other museums we've visited is the significant artifacts in each gallery. Instead of just reading about facts, we had an up close and personal view of artifacts like Kansas Astronaut Joe Engle’s X-15 flight suit, Apollo space suits, Apollo 11 Moon rock and the XLR99 rocket engine from the X-15 program. The flown spacecraft were SO interesting. We saw the real Apollo 13 command module, the Gemini X, which astronaut Michael Collins (who also flew on the first Moon mission with Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong) and the Liberty Bell 7! In addition, we were also able to see the Russian spacecraft. It was incredible seeing so many “real” artifacts.
After grabbing lunch in the cafe we enjoyed our final activity for the day; a movie in the Carey Digital Dome Theater. This theater is not your average movie experience, with a two story dome and 4k digital projection you feel like you're in the film. We enjoyed viewing Into The Wild, a visually captivating documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman.
Our visit to the Cosmosphere Space Museum was one of my favorite adventures this year. We left feeling as though we took a trip through history and experienced the magic of space. When you plan your visit, be sure to spend the ENTIRE day exploring because you'll lose track of time in this epic adventure!
*Thank you to the Cosmosphere Space Museum for sponsoring this post.