Space Coast - anything free to see?

[CindyVK]

Hi Everybody!
Well, we leave in three weeks! We are staying in the Orlando area but the hubby
really wanted to see the Space Center. However, I read in one of the guidebooks
that it's not cheap. After we will spend big bucks on Disney, he's hesistant to spend
more $$. Is there ANYTHING space related to see or tour for next to nothing? It would
make a nice day trip and I know my boys would enjoy it as well. Thanks for
any help you can us!

- CindyVK

 

[kellymonaghan]

Unfortunately, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex has started charging fairly hefty admission fees, but here's a tip from my book, "The Other Orlando":

Tip: The early Mercury program blockhouse and the adjacent Air Force Space Museum are open to visitors free of charge. If you didn't have time during the bus tour's short stop to read all the material accompanying the displays in these buildings (and you won’t), you may want to return. The catch is, you have to enter through the gate of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on weekdays or 10:00 a.m and 4:00 p.m. on weekends. To get there, take SR 528 East towards Cocoa Beach; turn left on SR 401 which will take you right to the gate of the Air Force base. Tell them you want to visit the museum and you will be given a pass. You must exit the way you entered; there is no access from the Air Force Station directly to KSC.

 

[CindyVK]

Wow! Thanks a lot Kelly! That sounds great! Excuse my ignorance, but what is
the Mercury Program blockhouse? Is it something kids would enjoy? Really appreciate
the help!

- CindyVK

 

[yzerfan]

If the kids need something brightly colored or highly stimulating, it could be a disappointment.

If they've got some sort of interest in the space program already, or have an interest in history in general then it's really, really neat.

The blockhouse is a fairly ordinary looking little building. Inside is the luanch/mission control room for the Mercury astronaut program. What I loved about it was that after they transferred the mission control programs to Texas for the Gemini program, they simply locked the doors to the building and let it set for years.

Pretty much a small dark room with neat rows of consoles lined up, and a big map of the world in the front with a row of lightbulbs that would show the capsule's rough position in orbit. You can still see the cigarette smoke stains on the ceiling tiles, and I enjoyed visualizing the rows of young men sitting there, wearing crisp white shirts with ties, sleeves rolled up, as they smoked away while they supervised the mission from afar.

There,s a small museum where for $1.00 donation, you can get a little piece from the Mercury launch pad. Coolest souvenir available there, IMO.

Not for yound kids, but I would have loved the place when I was eight, and desperately wanted to be an astronomer.