The Lee Family: Spring Break 2017, Day 4: Exploring NASA

We woke up around 830am using our alarm because we wanted to get to NASA as soon after they opened as possible. After eating breakfast downstairs we drove the short distance to NASA and parked. We were one of the first groups in thanks to CK who bought the tickets and tram tour tickets on-line the week before. We had about an hour to explore before we had to line up for the tram tour. The girls enjoyed a lift-off simulator and we explored some of the displays, including an astronaut space suit that still had moon dust on the boots! Soon it was time to head to the tram tour and we stood in a short line before we boarded our tram. It was a surprisingly chilly and misty day so the four of us huddled together to try and stay warm. Sofia was still focused on wanting to spend Friday at the beach, so I asked her how much fun it would be to be in a wet swimsuit at the beach today. She agreed it would be best to go to the beach once it's sunny and hot!

The tram tour took us to the Mission Control building and we were lucky enough to be able to sit in the front row of the press area overlooking the original mission control room! It was so cool! It literally looked like everyone was at a lunch break and would be returning any minute. One fact that our tour guide told us that I found fascinating is that the keyboard hadn't been invented yet, so that is why each desk held a monitor and a row of buttons. Everything was controlled from a series of button pushes! He also said that we have enough computing power in just one of our iPhone apps to launch 1,000 Apollo 11 missions simultaneously! That seems impossible to believe! On the wall was a monitor showing the current mission control that is just one floor above the original, where NASA employees monitor activities of the International Space Station and any other space-related activities. It was so cool! I couldn't believe we were actually there and it was such an amazing part of history. Just before we headed back downstairs, we took a few pictures with the mission control room in the background.

We left the mission control room and loaded back onto the tram and headed over to see the Saturn V rocket. The Saturn V rocket is actually displayed on it's side in a huge building. Outside there are a number of other rockets that are displayed outside the building standing on end. We went into the building to see the Saturn V and it was incredible how huge a rocket it is! It is incredible and overwhelming! Of course, CK knows everything there is to know about each stage and each mission. Sofia stuck with him to learn all she could about the rocket and all-things NASA. Olivia and I stuck together and I read as much as I could in the snippets between Olivia wanting to run off to another area. After we'd seen all Olivia and I could, we sat down and waited for Sofia and CK to finish checking out every single aspect of the Saturn V. It was comical to hear all the other dads walk around the rocket with their kids and tell them all sorts of crazy things. I even know some of their comments were completely not true! I thought how lucky Sofia is to have a Papa who really understands everything about the space missions inside and out! In fact, as we left the building CK told me he noticed a mistake on one of the write-ups about one of the missions.

After Sofia and CK were done exploring, we returned to the main building for lunch. Needless to say, lunch was rather uneventful and typical of museum lunch options. Following lunch, We continued exploring the main building. We saw the lunar module replica and we also were able to touch a moon rock! The girls posed in front of the command module. It's hard to believe three men spend a few days together in such a tight spot!!

We headed out front to tour the Space Shuttle, which was a replica of the Independence. The Space Shuttle was really crowded and it was still pretty chilly outside, so we huddled together while we waited to go into the main bay area. The tour started with a walk through the airplane that carries the Shuttle. In order to save on weight, the airplane is very bare bones. It was so interesting to see a 747 without the rows of seats in it. It's actually pretty roomy inside. After seeing the inside of the 747, we headed upstairs to tour the shuttle, which was packed with people! It was incredible to see the insides of the space shuttle, even if it was a replica. The main shuttle controls are so overwhelming and cool to see. The whole shuttle was super cool!

After visiting the space shuttle, we returned to the main building and the girls watched the It's Science show which was really cool! The young man who led the It's Science show was in his 20s and dressed like a scientist. The science guy focused on how to figure out the best fuel to use in a jet or rocket. He actually used a variety of experiments to show which worked badly and which worked well. It was fascinating. He ended by asking who was in middle school. A number of hands shot into the air. He said "You are the ones who will be figuring out how we get to Mars, so get out there and start thinking how we are going to do it." He followed with "For all of you younger than middle school, you are the generation who will end up traveling to Mars. So study hard and good luck." I loved it! It really resonated with Sofia!

After the It's Science show, Sofia headed over to the hands-on tables where she built a circuit that turned a light on and off. She loved it and really loved showing us how it worked and how she built it. Both girls also took turns trying to control a little robot on wheels through various obstacles. It was much harder than it looked. Finally, we decided to head to the gift shop before taking a break before dinner. The gift shop was packed with people and both girls wanted to bolt to opposite ends of the shop to explore. It made me nervous, but also wanted to let them explore. We told the girls that they could pick out one souvenir. Sofia completely fell in love with a shirt that had the NASA symbol but had "NERD" written across the symbol. I tried to talk her into a regular NASA shirt, but she wasn't going for it. Olivia fell in love with a shirt that had a lot of cute space-related words and symbols on it. It was super cute. Finally, CK told Sofia she should go ahead and get the NERD shirt! Sofia was SO happy! CK and I also picked out a NASA shirt each and then we were ready to check out. Frankly, I was done with the crowds and people and just wanted to go. We gathered and headed toward our car. We ended up taking a few great pictures in front of the shuttle and then headed to our car.

We returned to our hotel room and relaxed. The girls and I turned on Kid's Chopped on the Food Network and they loved it! We'd never watched it before and I loved how interested they were in the show. It was fun to watch and talk about crazy food! CK had to do a little work, so he headed downstairs for an hour or so. After he returned, we headed to dinner at a Thai restaurant called Thai Stellar that I found on Yelp. It was absolutely awesome and so delicious! The reviews were spot on and it was great to enjoy something different. After, CK found a Dairy Queen where we ordered an ice cream. After, we returned to our hotel where we cuddled together on their sofa bed and watched Chopped. They really loved it and it was a fun ending to a great day!

We made it to NASA!!