Although I am not officially on sabbatical – and wont be until July of 2026 – I decided to treat myself to a trip to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on May 3, 2025.
Kennedy is a little over an hour north of our home, so the trip was convenient on a Saturday. It also turned out to be a time of low attendance and amazing weather. The drive into the the park is spectacular as one must pass through the Merritt Island national wildlife preserve to reach the center. There is a wide variety of animals, from alligators to birds, that call the preserve home. It is not uncommon to run into something wild while driving to Kennedy. It adds to the park’s charm.
Upon entering the park at opening time, 9:00 AM, I noticed that many people went straight to the bus tour. Since there is a tour every 15 minutes, I veered in a different direction to the Journey to Mars complex. This particular exhibit did not disappoint, as about a half-dozen Mars rover replicas are on display. The first thing that caught my attention was the sheer size of the rovers. Whenever you see pictures on the news, the rovers look very small – perhaps as large as a hover-round. But they are tremendous, and all of the science equipment defies the imagination. There was also a live show concerning the possibilities of traveling to Mars. One of the things the presenter mentioned is how NASA aims to “redirect” the trajectory of an asteroid over the next few years, have it orbit earth, and train astronauts on it to learn about life on a planetary surface. (It can also double as a way-station for longer trips to the Mars.)
Next, I headed to the IMAX theater to watch a documentary on deep space exploration and the James Webb Telescope. It is one of two shows, the other being on space travel to the planets. By the time the IMAX film concluded, I was ready for the bus tour. The tour is a magnificent way to see NASA’s vast campus, home to Boeing Starliner, Space X, and Blue Origin. The NASA Vehicle Assembly Building is truly massive (the eighth largest building in the world, as stated on Wikipedia). The American flag that adorns the side brings pride in our country and the innovative work of collaborators who make space exploration a reality. The tour also highlights the crawler vehicle, used to bring rockets and shuttles to the launch pad. It too is massive and quite a sight, as shown in the video below…
The bus tour goes to one of the highlights of Kennedy Space Center: the Apollo – Saturn V Center, which displays various Apollo and Saturn-grade rockets, a launch command center (with demo!) that recreates the launch of one of the Apollo missions, and historical vehicles, such as the moon lander module and astronaut transport vehicles. Other displays, such as the Fisher Pen site and a memorial to fallen heroes, also catch the eye.
Thereafter, it was time to head back to the main park for lunch. I enjoyed a cheeseburger, fries, and iced tea at the Orbit Cafe on an outside table. The weather held up despite a slight chance for rain, and several birds kept me company, begging me to share my fries (which I gladly did!).
After lunch, I spent some time walking the grounds. The Rocket Garden shows the sheer size of all of the rocketry that NASA has employed over decades of space exploration, while a space mirror memorial honors heroes who have sacrificed their lives for science and progress. I also went to the Gateway center to ride a space-ship themed ride similar to Disney’s Soarin.
This brings us to my next stop, which was the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit, perhaps my favorite portion of the park. There is a theatrical show upon entering the pavilion that introduces visitors to the many trips the space shuttles have supported. Once the show is over, a curtain raises to reveal the Atlantis, a soaring and exquisite shuttle that impacts the imagination and moves the soul. I had tears in my eyes when I walked through the museum. The shuttle is an incredible piece of machinery and seems to live and breath as its 126-million-mile story is told through various exhibits and interactive displays. I was especially moved by the Challenger memorial.
The last stop for me was the Space Shop, which boasts the “world’s largest collection of NASA merchandise.” It was time to search for treasures to bring home to my family. I purchased a magnet for Kristina and a die-cast shuttle for my sabbatical bookshelf at church. I picked up a few postcards to send to my mother and to friends. (I struck out for the kids, but ended up buying them gifts on my way home — a journal with a dragon on the cover for Haleigh, and a pair of Mountain Dew slippers for Hayden.)
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the Kennedy Space Center, one, because there weren’t many people; two, because the weather was incredible; and, three — and most significantly — I was able to do everything I wanted to do in the park within an 8-hour day. It is a low-impact trip, with very little walking, that packs a high-return punch for the whole family!
Baptist Spirituality 