What an incredibly fun day!'
After a breakfast of French Toast we headed down the road towards Hutchinson.
We greeted some turkeys (we think) first thing in the morning. There was a large group of them and they didn’t want to move out of the road, so we patiently waited.
Thankfully we arrived at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson, KS just as it opened at noon and we stayed until it closed at 6pm. If they weren’t hungry for dinner the kids could have easily spent another two hours here.
Brooke said her favorite part of the museum was the planetarium show. Scott commented that he thought it was probably the best space museum he has ever been to. I commented that it was one of them, but what about the Smithsonian new space museum. He pointed out that the new Smithsonian Air and Space museum is incredible, but it didn’t weave together a story with a timeline like the Cosmosphere. So, we have agreed this is the best Space Museum either of us has been to.
The entryway to the Cosmosphere includes a model of the space shuttle Endeavor and a real SR-71 Blackbird among other things. The kids were standing in front of a statue representing the US which was opposite a statue of a Russian diplomat. The museum starts right out with information about Germany and World War II. At first I was disappointed because I wanted the kids to learn about space, not war. However, the museum outlined how the German’s hunger for developing weapons led to advances in rocket technology. The story then focused on the Cold War between Russia and the United States.
“World War II sparked one of the world’s greatest surges of technology.”
The kids are sitting on an original B53 bomber ejection seat. Scott is touching an actual backup unit of Sputnik I from the company that made Sputnik. Sputnik means satellite or fellow traveler. The picture above and to the right is of Laika the first living creature to go into Earth’s orbit. Laika was sent up with Sputnik II. Brooke was bummed to find out that Laika did not make it back to Earth, but she did make it safely into orbit and stayed alive for about a week. A Russian was quoted as saying, “Laika was a good cosmonaut. She was trained to bark every time she flew over the United States.” This display noted how the Russians were beating the US hands-down in the space race. First, on October 9th, 1957 with Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite. Then on November 3, 1957 with Sputnik II with Laika on board. Next, on January 2nd, 1959 with Luna I, the first man-made object to leave Earth’s gravitational pull and the first spacecraft to orbit the sun. Then on September 12, 1959 with Luna II, the first man-made object to impact the lunar surface. There was another display that explained that the United States had to be more careful with testing than Russia did and thus developments took more time. In fact, Russia would announce a launch after they knew it was successful. The times that were not successful were never heard of. The United States televised each and every step, failures included, along the way. I also found it interesting that rules were slightly bent at times. For example, the International Space Agency’s rule for announcing a successful man sent into space meant the pilot had to land in the same space vehicle that he was launched in. The first man in space actually ejected from his space capsule before it landed. That fact only came out years after the celebration of the first man in space. These are all of course the facts presented at this museum and interpreted by your truly, but they do make you pause a moment and ponder.
Right before we went into a super fun show called Dr. Goddard’s Lab we spotted this display about Mars. Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons. They had a tiny model of the volcano for you to feel. I was telling Cody that it is the largest volcano in the solar system and it is on Mars. He looked at me with his eyebrows pointed inward in serious doubt. “That is not big!” He was off enjoying the next display while I was still laughing. Yes, I suppose the model is not very big. In reality Olympus Mons is fifteen miles high in comparison to Earth’s largest volcano, Mauna Loa, in Hawaii which is only 5.6 miles high.
Dr. Goddard’s lab was all about Rockets! Mostly about rocket power and much to the kids excitement, explosions! I somehow caught a picture of a large cotton ball soaked in liquid oxygen lighting up at just the right time. The kids could have sat listening to and learning from this guy for hours and that is saying a lot since most of the time the kids can’t get through a ten minute one-on-one talk with a ranger. He was informative, encouraged the kids to be inquisitive, and he was just darn funny. You can always tell a teacher that loves what they do. They have a glow that shouts that they are having fun and everyone who gets to be in their orbit for even a little bit benefits. Most importantly the message was about Dr. Goddard and how he was largely disregarded by the United States for all of his work in rocketry until he died and the US used his patents without permission. Too bad for the US government his whippersnapper of a wife noticed and sued the US government for a million dollars and won. The message: don’t give up. Keep working. Keep trying. Keep dreaming.
We went from the Dr. Goddard’s Lab to a planetarium and constellation presentation. I’ve never been to a constellation presentation that was so humorous and filled with great songs from the 60’s and 70’s. Brooke was really excited about the constellations. She said that was her favorite part of the entire museum, even though it was very hard to pick a favorite pat as the whole experience was pretty incredible. Cody was impressed by Dr. Goddard’s Lab. Truth be told he could have gone for a few more explosions, but then we all know who Cody’s dad is.
So the kids weren’t exactly running through the museum, but they were moving extremely quickly. We finally hit a dead end at an original Saturn rocket fin. The kids had the goal of finding the end of the museum all day that they almost didn’t know what to do. They actually stood still in confusion for a beat and then Brooke said, “Wait! I saw another way to go!” And they were off again.
The other way to go held the conclusion to the story the museum had laid out. In 1972, after eighteen years of battling in the Space Race, the United States and Russia joined in a manned mission to space. The US called it the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and of course the Russians called is the Soyuz-Apollo Test Project, The display noted that the scientific challenges of combining two different systems in space were far less than the political challenges of getting the project off the ground. The kids, really Cody and Scott, are stuck in a permanent stage of potty humor, so seeing the space shuttle potty elicited a few giggles. The picture above on the right is of a main landing gear tire from the space shuttle Endeavor. The shuttle usually lands at 250 miles per hour. Due to the immense impact of landing each tire is used only once.
We had to go in and out of the museum displays a few times for a lunch break and shows and each time we took a very cool elevator with a space scene on the other side of the glass. The kids called it their movie. The museum also had incredible artwork throughout. I would have liked to spend more time looking at the artwork, but that will have to be next time we come back. I have dreams of sending the kids to space camp here in about five years. Scott didn’t seem convinced. I have five years to convince him. :-) They even train the kids in underwater space exercises. Anyone else want to go to space camp?
The exit from the museum was lined with the newer space innovations from private companies. There was also a quote from Charles Lindberg, “I don’t believe in taking foolish chances, but nothing can be accomplished without taking any chance at all.”
It can’t be overstated, this was the best space museum we have been to. What a great way to spend the day!
We went out to Olive Garden for dinner and ate more in one hour than we have eaten all week.
Then we headed east to Chase State Park for the night.
