I had an opportunity to duck out of my conference around 2:45 pm to Space Center Houston, the official visitor center of JSC.

Admission was discounted to $14.95 because they were closing at 5pm. The tram tour, another extra cost item, had already made its last departure for the day. Thus, I was confined to the main facility, much of which is targeted at kids (giant play area, hands-on exhibits) and souvenir buying (two stores plus a cafe). Luckily, it was uncrowded.

I liked the astronaut suit exhibit, showing the evolution of the technology through the years, but the shuttle “Adventure” was disappointingly plexiglassed off. (The technology looks 1970s.)

To me, the most interesting part was the computer simulation of building a mission to Mars. I’m a sucker for that sort of thing, playing it for a half hour until the mission was successful.

The main exhibit “hall” (for lack of a better word) is not worth making a special trip to. Because I had gone spur-of-the-moment, the Level 9 Tour was well-sold out. It’s a pricey option, but would seem to provide a more intimate experience.