Family Travel: Places Kids Should See – Kennedy Space Center

Fifth in our series "Places Every Kid Should See" will take us into outer space - or at least to the launch pad. The Kennedy Space Center in Florida will bring the exciting story of the United States' space program to life for your kids. The Center is located on Cape Canaveral, a headland along the Atlantic Ocean known as Florida's "Space Coast." Rent either an Orlando timeshare (a 45-minute drive), or a beautiful Daytona Beach timeshare (a short hour's drive) for a great family vacation.

Today's children have grown up with space travel becoming more and more common place. Hardly a ripple goes through the public when a space shuttle is launched, a rocket blasts into space, or the International Space Station is mentioned.

The beginnings of human space travel is really the stuff of science fiction, and kids will get a thrill to see what it was like to take those first heady steps into space - the courage, the determination, the tragedies and the scientific breakthroughs that made it all happen.

The Kennedy Space Center is the U.S. government's installation that operates America's astronaut launch facilities. It has been the launch site for every U.S. human space flight since 1968. Its Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) is the 4th largest structure in the world by volume.

The Center is a major tourist destination, with a visitor's center and public tours available. Here your kids have the unique opportunity to not only explore past history but also see history in the making. Because this facility is constantly preparing for space launches, much of it is restricted. But that will only make it more exciting for your kids, knowing that they are at the actual site of America's space program.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex offers a number of displays including actual space craft such as the Gemini 9 capsule and the Apollo 14 command module, and thrilling interactive exhibits including the Shuttle Launch Experience, and a simulation ride into space. Two IMAX theaters will give your kids the exciting experience of being inside the firing room during an Apollo launch, and a simulation of the Apollo 11 moon landing. A tour of the Space Station Processing Facility will allow your kids to see where modules for the International Space Station are tested.

Bus tours will take your family around the Cape Canaveral facility to see the VAB up close, a restored gigantic Saturn V rocket, and even transportation to the observation platform at Launch Complex 39, which provides unobstructed views of both launch pads, and the surrounding Kennedy Space Center property. If they're lucky your kids might even get a glimpse of one of the space shuttles standing on a launch pad in preparation for a blastoff. See all Florida timeshares.
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