American Space Museum facts for kids
Apollo Monument in Space View Park
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| Established | 1994 |
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| Location | Titusville, Florida, USA |
| Type | Space museum and outdoor monuments |
The American Space Museum is a cool place in Titusville, Florida. It includes the US Space Walk of Fame. This is an outdoor area along the Indian River. It honors both astronauts and the people from NASA and other companies. These people helped make American space travel with humans possible. The monuments are around a pool. They celebrate the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle missions. The museum has many space-related items and is at 308 Pine Street.
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Why This Museum is Awesome
The museum's main goal is to "Preserve Achievement; Inspire Innovation." This means they save important space history, items, and stories. They show these to inspire young people like you. They want you to invent, explore, and discover new things. The Walk of Fame is special. It's the only one that honors both astronauts and the many people who worked behind the scenes. These people helped America become a leader in space exploration.
Amazing Space Monuments
The monuments at the Walk of Fame were built by a group called the US Space Walk of Fame Foundation (USSWOFF). This group includes local leaders and space industry workers. The foundation is also creating a huge list of space workers. It has over 10,000 names so far! They also record stories from people who worked on early US space missions.
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The Mercury Monument
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The Gemini Monument
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A Look Back: Museum History
The USSWOFF worked with the City of Titusville to create the US Space Walk of Fame. This was a big part of making Titusville's downtown waterfront better. The idea started in 1988. A doctor named Doyle E. Chastain suggested it to the city. The city liked the idea because they wanted to improve the riverfront. This led to the creation of the US Space Walk of Fame Foundation.
Many volunteers, including early space pioneers, helped start the foundation. The city helped by building the park area. The foundation raised money for the monuments, plaques, and other space-themed items. People can even have a space worker's name carved on a monument.
In July 1994, the city opened the new riverfront area. It was named Space View Park. This park is the main spot for the US Space Walk of Fame. The Mercury Monument was opened on May 12, 1995. It has bronze handprints of six of the first seven astronauts. The Mercury mission symbols were shown on May 23, 1997. This monument is a copy of one at Launch Complex 14.
Work on the Gemini Monument began on July 19, 1996. The Gemini Monument was officially opened on November 7, 1997. Work on the Apollo Monument started on July 16, 1999. This was exactly 30 years after Apollo 11 lifted off! This event started a week-long celebration of the first Moon landing. The Apollo Monument was opened on July 17, 2009. Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden was there. The Gemini and Apollo monuments also have bronze handprints of astronauts.
The Space Shuttle monument was opened in 2014.
Inside the Museum
The American Space Museum is close by at 308 Pine Street. It shows America's history in space exploration. You can see hundreds of items there. These include photos, actual space equipment, flight suits, Space Shuttle tiles, and space patches. Many of these items come from the personal collections of space workers. The museum also has launch consoles from Launch Complex 36. The museum was called the U. S. Space Walk of Fame Museum until 2016. That's when its name changed to the American Space Museum.
In 2016, the museum updated its exhibits. They added new signs, more artifacts, and interactive displays. The museum is also adding 3D printers, computers, and other tech exhibits. These are designed especially for children.
The museum also runs the STEAM space program. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. This program focuses on science and technology.
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A space suit, possibly from the Gemini program
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An early model of the Apollo Lunar Module
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Neil Armstrong's hand prints
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The hatch of the Mercury-Atlas 1 spacecraft
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See also
