52. Kansas Cosmosphere





Our daughter has been looking forward to the Cosmosphere since before we decided to visit 150 plus sites in Kansas this year.  We had decided to make this our Spring Break trip this year last summer, and we kept our plans.  I (Angel) do not know who was more excited, Eric or the kids.

The traveling exhibit was about To the Moon: Snoopy Soars with NASA.  No pictures can be taken of traveling exhibits, but if you love the Peanuts and especially Snoopy, it is definitely worth seeing.  We can say, even after viewing the museum, that Snoopy may not have been the first dog in space, but he was probably the first beagle.

The museum did a great job of sharing the history of rockets and space exploration.  Angel fully expected to see information about space exploration, but she was shocked to read about the beginnings of rocketry.  The whole connection to Hitler and the Nazi Party was especially shocking.  She had no idea that rockets were made in concentration camps--more people were killed making the rockets then were killed when they were used in warfare.  It was also cool and unexpected to see an actual piece of the Berlin wall.  Angel and Eric remember when the wall came down.

The museum also did a great job showing the history of the space race between the USA and the USSR.  It was intriguing to read about decisions made by past presidents and how their decisions could have impacted the outcomes of the space race. 

 

 

The first show we got to experience was Tornado Alley in the IMAX Theater.  We got to see going right through the middle of a tornado as well as other severe storms.  Angel discoverd she had double vision when lying back in her IMAX seat, but things became single again when she sat up straight.  We all enjoyed the movie and hope that is as close as we ever come to experiencing a tornado.

Another show we got to experience was Dr. Goddard's Lab.  It taught about rocket propulsion and how to make a rocket work.  There was a lot of blowing things up which we all thought was fun.  The kids were fascinated.  We also learned that a rocket is anything that expels a gas from the rear and moves forward.  That has caused a lot of giggles and fun at our house.  We all agree that Dr. Goddard's Lab was our favorite part of the Cosmosphere. 

The final show we got to take part in was the Planetarium.  It is awe inspiring to get to sit back and watch the entire night sky surround you with no clouds or anything else hindering your vision.  It is especially amazing to get to have the constellations pointed out to you along with tips on how to find them.  Unfortunately it was a cloudy evening, so we could not try out our new skills that night.  We will probably completely forget how to find the constellations by the time we get a clear sky.  Angel fully expected the Planetarium to be her favorite, but Dr. Goddard' Lab won the race.    Angel has such fond memories of the Planetarium her Dad used to set up for his sixth grade science class, she is not sure anything could beat that.  It may have been just as wonderful as she remembers it.  Or, it may have been so exciting because she was younger and had never been to another Planetarium.  It is sometimes hard to recreate experiences you have as a child



Astronaut Ice Cream



Always a Classic



We came home and watched Space Chimps 2