Houston Travel Photography: Bring the Family to the Doorstep of Space at Space Center Houston
Your Houston travel photography begins with the city’s #1 attraction, Space Center Houston. The wonder and awe in the faces of your children will become some of your favorite pictures.
The NASA Tram Tour will take you into the facilities where astronauts train, scientists are developing future manned missions and engineers are building the robots that will travel to places humans cannot go. Your tour includes NASA’s Johnson Space Center, the Mission Control Center for the historic Apollo moon missions and the Saturn V Complex. Depending on when you visit Space Center Houston, your Tram Tour may also include the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory and the opportunity to watch astronauts preparing for future flights.
For the ultimate adventure to capture in your Houston travel photography, choose the 4-hour to 5-hour Level Nine Tour. Only 12 visitors a day are brought as close as possible to the operations of the Johnson Space Center. (They must be 14 years of age or older.) Advanced reservations are highly recommended for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. A Level Nine Tour guide will reveal as much information about the space program as any member of the public will ever know. You’ll visit Building 9NE, the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility; Building 30S, the New Mission Control Center; Building 30N, Historic Mission Control Center; and the Sonny Carter Training Facility. The highlight of the Level Nine Tour is a free lunch in Building 3, at the Astronaut Cafeteria.
Take your family and camera into the Starship Gallery for more amazing images to fill your Houston travel photography album. Settle into a comfortable chair in the Destiny Theater to view the film, “On Human Destiny.” Then, explore the Gallery to see and photograph the many displays that presents Americans’ journey into space: an original model of the Goddard Rocket from the early 20th century; “Faith 7,” Gordon Cooper’s Mercury capsule; the Gemini V Spacecraft that was the home of Pete Conrad and Gordon Cooper during their historic mission; a Lunar Roving Vehicle Trainer; the Apollo 17 Command Module; the huge Skylab Trainer; and the Apollo-Soyuz Training Module.
At the Mission to Mars exhibit, the family could witness history in the making. View real-time data from Curiosity, the most advanced Mars Rover, as it travels the surface of the planet in search of signs of life. Just imagine what kind of Houston travel photography you might capture if it happens while your there!
The Feel of Space is an educational experience your children are unlikely to ever forget, especially if one of them is chosen to be a volunteer to show how astronauts live on the International Space Station. A Mission Briefing Officer explains how astronauts are able to live a “normal” life with a tour of the Living in Space module. Your child could be zipped into a vertical sleeping bag; and you’ll be there to take the photos that will make your Houston travel photography nothing short of spectacular.
Kids Space Place is another attraction at Space Center Houston that is filled with interactive exhibits, so your children can “command” the Space Shuttle or experience living in space. Plan your visit to Space Center Houston to coincide with its Day Camp Programs, for children, ages 4–5, 6–8, 9–11 and 12–14. Rent a compact camera for your older children, so they can take pictures of their fun and all they’ll learn. Then, together, you can create a special album of their Houston travel photography to share with their friends and their classrooms when they return home.
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