Making The Most Out Of Your Space Center Houston Visit

We were all pretty excited about our recent visit to Space Center Houston to get a sneak peek of behind the scenes at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. We are a homeschooling family and we live on the road fulltime so anytime we can trade the books for real life, hands-on learning we all get excited. 

Space Center Houston is the official visitors center of the NASA Johnson Space Center. It is an extremely family friendly Houston attraction and it is accessible for anyone regardless of their special needs. Even the tram tours are extremely accessible and the center offers sensory-friendly days where they dim the lights so everyone has the opportunity to be included. 

This is a museum that the whole family, including multi-generational groups, will enjoy. It allows you to dive deep into learning about space and the life and training it takes to become an astronaut so it’s definitely a place you want to include on your family’s destination list.

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Thanks to our most recent visit to @spacecenterhou the girls have been obsessing over everything space. The blood moon, reading and researching about the planets, reading about the first moon landing, and even studying constellations. I love #homeschooling for this exact reason. It’s so much more fun to study things that excite them (and easier too). They are also excited to follow the launch of @astro_christina at the end of next month! . . . . #independenceplaza #roadschooling #travelingfamily #worldschooling #spacecenterhouston #spacecenterhou #familytravelblogger #fulltimervfamily #fulltimefamilies #space #spacetime #spaceship #spaceshipearth #astro #astronaut #spacetravel #solarsystem

A post shared by Reid and Hilarye Fuller (@dottingthemap) on Jan 24, 2019 at 9:00am PST

Tips for Visiting Space Center Houston

We learned a lot from our recent visit and not just about space exploration. We also learned some tips that will maximize your time and make your visit to Space Center Houston more fun, especially if you have kids. Here they are:

1. Avoid Busy Seasons

If you can, avoid busy times of the year. Spring break, summer and winter holidays are Space Center Houston’s busiest seasons. Wait time for exhibits and tram tours can be long during those times so if it’s possible, consider visiting in the offseason so you can enjoy the museum and exhibits leisurely. If you can, avoid busy times of the year. Spring break, summer and winter holidays are Space Center Houston’s busiest seasons. Wait time for exhibits and tram tours can be long during those times so if it’s possible, consider visiting in the offseason so you can enjoy the museum and exhibits leisurely.

2. Arrive Early

Arrive right when it opens. This won’t be a complete necessity if you are coming in the off-season but it’s nice to allow the time to spend the better part of the day there. This way you can experience all that you will want to see. We recommend heading straight to Independence Plaza for an uncrowded experience, visiting the Early Space Flight exhibit, and then hopping on one of the 90-minute tram tours.

3. Grab a Schedule

Grab a show schedule right when you get in and decide which shows you would like to see and would fit the needs of your family. It’s worth it to watch a couple of them but you don’t need to see them all. You will want time to wander and explore, so your whole day does not need to be planned out. Just make a general note of the ones you want to try to see.

4. Take the Nasa Tram Tour

Plan on taking a tram tour with your family. This was by far our favorite part of the visit. You actually get to head into NASA’s Johnson Space Center and get a behind the scenes look at many important areas of the campus. There are two separate tours so make sure to take a look at the schedules and talk to the tram attendants to determine which one is best for you. On non-busy days they combine the tram tours into one. On these days you’ll get to see Mission Control, an astronauts training facility (Space Vehicle Mockup Facility), and Rocket Park where one of three of the Saturn V rockets is housed.

5. Plan for the Tram Tour

The tram tours are 90 minutes long and well worth it. They depart every 15-20 minutes throughout the day. We were nervous about the tour length for our two smaller children, ages 3 and 5, but there was enough to keep them engaged and they did fairly well. There are no bathrooms available on the tour until one of the last stops at Rocket Park so it is highly advisable that you visit the restrooms before getting on the tour. Part of the tour is outside so prepare for that. Depending on the weather you may need to plan for either coats or cool clothing. You can bring a water bottle with you as long as it can be sealed when entering the buildings.

6. Keep up with Their Social Media

Follow Space Center Houston on Facebook because they often announce special events happening at the center that may be of interest to your family. For example, they do family camp-outs in the summer, sensory friendly days, and homeschool days. Also in July 2019, there will be special celebrations and events for the anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing that will be worth checking out.

7. Plan Ahead for Meals

Outside food is not allowed inside Space Center Houston but they have a well-stocked food court inside with many different options that appeal to the whole family from specialty pizzas, salads, sandwiches and other hot meal options, treats, and drinks. You can also get a stamp on your hand and get easy re-entry so if you wanted to pack a lunch you could easily eat in your car or one of the picnic areas. There are also a wide variety of restaurants within close proximity to Space Center Houston so you could eat before or after your visit. We made note of a Five Guys, Chick-fil-A, Wendy’s, Dominos, Fuddruckers, Jimmy Johns, and a space-themed McDonalds all within less than a mile of the gates.

8. Prepare for Walking

The day will be full of lots of walking so if you have small children you will want a stroller and everyone will want to wear comfortable shoes made for walking. 

9. Take Your Time

Take your time and let the kids be kids. Let them play on the Angry Birds Space games while you rest your feet a minute and let them wander through the museum gift shop and point out all the fun astronaut food. While it’s an amazing educational experience some of the most fun we had was when we let the kids decide what they wanted to do.

10. Remember Parking

Parking is $5 and there are many handicapped spots available right in front of the building. It’s best to get there early if you would like a decent spot as it can get full on busy days.

11. Check Back Often

There is always something new going on and many of the exhibits are change and rotate so it’s likely if you have already visited you may have a completely different experience the next time. While we were there, there were a few exhibits under construction and their temporary exhibit was just about to change in a month so a return visit will be a must for us in the future.

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Any mom gets excited about giving their kids a top notch educational experience. But as a #homeschooling mama I thrive at the idea of closing the books for a day and letting them have real life hands on learning. Have you ever visited Space Center Houston?? Here were some of my kid’s favorites. – taking the tram tour and seeing mission control at NASA as well as an astronaut training facility. – walking through Independence Plaza and seeing the inside of a space shuttle and the 747 that transports it. – walking through the early space flight exhibits and learning about all the early space missions and seeing real life space capsule. – – – Have you been to any of the Space Centers around the USA? It’s now our goal to see all of them! – – – – #travelingwithkids #travelingfamily #welltraveledkids #familyadventures #lpkids #homeschool #worldschool #roadschooling #roadschool #rvlivingwithkids #fulltimervfamily #fulltimefamilies #familytravel #familytravelblogger #familytraveltribe #parentswhowander #spacecenterhouston #spacecenterhou #independenceplaza #space #nasa @spacecenterhou

A post shared by Reid and Hilarye Fuller (@dottingthemap) on Jan 18, 2019 at 1:07pm PST

If you are passing through the Houston area or going on a cruise out of Galveston then this the perfect addition to a family-friendly trip to add a fun and educational component. We all really enjoyed our visit and learned a lot of new things about space exploration from Space Center Houston’s educational programming.

Space Center Houston hosted our visit but our opinions are entirely our own.

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