Space Center Houston Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Space Center Houston
Entrance to the Space Center Houston
Location	1601 NASA Parkway Houston, Texas 77058 US
Coordinates	29°33′07″N 95°05′54″W / 29.5518812°N 95.0983429°W / 29.5518812; -95.0983429
Status	open
Opened	Oct. 16, 1992
Owner	NASA
Operated by	Manned Spaceflight Education Foundation
Theme	NASA and space exploration
Operating season	Closed on Christmas Day and Thanksgiving
Attendance	>1 million (2022)

The Apollo 17 command module America is on exhibit at the Space Center

Space Center Houston is a cool science museum in Houston, Texas. It's the official visitor center for NASA's Johnson Space Center. This is where NASA controls space missions and trains astronauts!

The center opened in 1992. It's a huge place, about 250,000 square feet. You can see over 400 real space items there. This includes actual space capsules like Mercury 9, Gemini 5, and Apollo 17.

Explore the Starship Gallery
Visit Independence Plaza
See Rockets at Rocket Park
Journey to Mission Mars
Other Cool Things to See and Do
Learning and Education
Images for kids
See also

Explore the Starship Gallery

This amazing gallery shows off real spacecraft and other cool space stuff. You can see:

The Mercury 9 capsule, called Faith 7, flown by Gordon Cooper in 1963.
The Gemini 5 capsule, flown by Gordon Cooper and Pete Conrad in 1965.
The Apollo 17 Command Module America. This spacecraft orbited the Moon 75 times in 1972! It was part of the last mission where humans landed on the Moon.
A Lunar Module test vehicle (LTA-8).
A Lunar Roving Vehicle Trainer, which is like the Moon buggy astronauts drove.
The Lunar Samples Vault, where Moon rocks are kept.
A special Moon touchstone, one of only eight in the world you can actually touch!
A Skylab 1-G Trainer, used to practice living in space.
An Apollo-Soyuz Test Project docking module trainer.

Visit Independence Plaza

The Space Shuttle replica Independence sits on top of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft 905.

Independence Plaza is a unique part of Space Center Houston. Here, you can see the only Space Shuttle replica in the world. It's even mounted on one of the real planes that used to carry the shuttles!

This is the only place where you can go inside both the shuttle replica and the carrier plane. The shuttle replica, named Independence, used to be at another NASA center. It was moved to Houston in 2014 to sit on top of the retired Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, NASA 905. It was a huge job to lift the shuttle onto the plane!

See Rockets at Rocket Park

Rocket Park is home to one of the three remaining Saturn V rockets on display. What's special about this one? It's made of parts that were actually meant to fly into space!

The Saturn V is a giant rocket. It was used for the Apollo missions that sent astronauts to the Moon. This huge rocket was on display outside the Johnson Space Center for many years. It was later restored so everyone could enjoy seeing it.

You can take an open-air tram tour into the Johnson Space Center. This tour takes you to Rocket Park to see the amazing Saturn V rocket up close. You can also see the historic Mission Control room and astronaut training areas.

Journey to Mission Mars

The Mission Mars exhibit opened in 2017. It was created with help from NASA. This exhibit teaches you all about NASA's plans for future trips to Mars.

You can learn about the Red Planet through fun activities. Imagine stepping onto a Martian landscape with a virtual reality wall! You can also see real-time weather forecasts for Mars. There's even a Mars meteorite that you can touch!

At Mission Mars, you can also see a full-size Orion research capsule. This is a spacecraft designed for future deep-space missions. You can even try out an Orion spacecraft simulator. Plus, get a look at the next generation of Mars rovers!

Other Cool Things to See and Do

Tram Tours: Take a guided tour to see NASA Johnson Space Center's historic Mission Control center. You can also visit Rocket Park and the astronaut training facilities.
Astronaut Gallery: See a large collection of spacesuits. This includes Pete Conrad's suit from his Apollo 12 Moonwalk.
Space Center Theater: Watch amazing films on a five-story screen. Learn about spacewalks and the heroes of the Apollo missions.
Destiny Theater: Watch a short film called Human Destiny about space exploration.
Living in Space: Enjoy a live show that uses cool projection technology. It teaches you what daily life is like on the International Space Station.
Mission Briefing Center: Get live updates on current NASA missions.
International Space Station Gallery: Take a peek inside a model of the space station.
Talon Park: See two NASA T-38 Talon jets right at the entrance.

Learning and Education

Space Center Houston has a great education department. It's known for its science learning programs. These programs focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). They help kids of all ages learn and develop problem-solving skills. They especially focus on human spaceflight and exploration.

Some of the programs offered include: