US Space and Rocket Center

The Society for Automotive Engineers had a special meeting in Huntsville Alabama at the US space and Rocket Center. As a member in the section I was invited to come, which I really wanted to do. I called if I could take the baby, and the organizer said that was fine, that in fact someone else was bringing a youth. So, I decided to bring all 3 kids, as she described it as a 'family-event'. There was to be a dinner, a museum tour and a 1-hr talk from a NASA representative. What more did I want (as my astronaut aspirations were finally shot down once again by rejection of my application :) )? So, I took the girls out of school early, drove 4+ hrs to Huntsville (I thought it was maybe 2.5 hrs, eeeeks), toured the museum with the girls, had a very quick dinner, felt embarrassed coming with my stroller and 2 5-yr-olds (the other 'youth' must have been 19+ yrs old), listened to the talk with the girls behaving perfectly until Jasper decided it was his time to talk, then left to explore the rest of the outdoor part of the museum. We all loved it. Inside was the apollo 16 which had actually been to the moon, with the charred exterior from entering the atmosphere. There were many other space items that were very interesting and that showed the interior parts of the space shuttle. Outside was an actual space shuttle with fuel tanks, as well as various rockets. Space camp was going on, in which the girls were very interested and listened in on some of the stories. We were allowed into the simulation room, where the space camp kids were experiencing various accelerations in rotating devices, etc. We all had a blast, adn the girls decided they wanted to become astronauts growing up too! At least space camp is on their (and secretly also on my) wishlist. The drive home was tiring but a piece of cake as all 3 kids slept most of the way!

The following day we decided to make a 'kijkdoos' (not sure what to call it in English): a closed box which walls you decorate and mount upright figures on the bottom. By allowing light to come in through the top (cut big holes in the lid), cover with transparent or colored transparent paper), and cutting a hole in the small side, you can get a 3D picture of whatever your creation is of. We made a 'space/rocket/astronaut' 'kijkdoos.' It was really fun to make, the girls were totally into it and it took like 1.5 hrs. Here are some pictures of the 'kijkdoos'.