The Blakes: Houston Space Center

Literally in our backyard is the NASA Space Center. We have been wanting to go and see it for a while now and sadly didn't have the chance until this past weekend. Most the exhibits are geared towards younger kids but we were able to find some interesting things to learn and see. We started by going to the lunar vault where we were able to touch a moon rock. If I remember right it said the moon rock was 3.6 billion years old and it was pretty neat to see something so old. We also learned how moon rocks are examined and how they are preserved. Helium 3 is found abundantly on the moon and we learned that by adding just a few components it could provide energy and fuel that we need here on Earth. Also by adding a few nutrients to lunar soil, plants can be grown under a controlled environment. I had no idea they were figuring all of these things out. We learned about what NASA is working on next. It was interesting to hear their plans about working towards visiting asteroids and then eventually Mars. We also took a Tram Tour and saw the Astronaut Training Facilities and Saturn 5. At the training facility a lot of the things were covered because they were painting and getting ready to ship some things. We enjoyed seeing what we could anyway. We also saw the building where they keep all of the moon rocks that have been brought back and the building where the astronauts are kept for quarantine before their flight. Before leaving we bought ourselves a NASA shirt and took our picture in front of the shuttle. Unfortunately the shuttle won't be open as part of the exhibit until the Fall. For now a picture will have to suffice. We learned a lot and had a fantastic time. It's just too bad it took us this long to check out our own backyard.