Hot & Humid in Houston: NASA

One evening this week we watched some of America's Got Talent. They had winners from other countries there competing and Caroline was enamored by all the acrobats they had. She kept saying, "I want to do that," while some lady spun from a metal circle 25 feet in the air. The very last contestant of the show was a contortionist who won Africa's Got Talent. I have never in my life seen such unbelievable contortions. He literally popped his shoulder out of the socket. We were screaming in shock and a little horror at what he was able to do. Caroline couldn't handle it. She was so freaked out that she couldn't sleep that night and made me sleep in her bed. So, if you ever want to see something crazy, look up the contortionist winner from Africa's Got Talent.

Henry found the t-shirt he was wearing on a sign.

This week we finally made it out to NASA Houston. As in, "Houston, we have a problem." The day we went was in the lower 50s and windy. Usually that's not a big deal when going to a museum, but one of the major things to do at this museum is tram rides around Johnson Space Center. Our first tram ride was to Apollo Mission Control Center. We froze our tails off on the way, but it was worth it. Mission Control has been restored back to it's glory days from the 1970's, complete with ashtrays full of cigarettes at each desk along with an extra pack of smokes and matches. It made Todd and I laugh to see so many cigarettes. I cannot imagine what the air in that room smelled like during missions! They had a great presentation in there complete with all the video footage from when we touched down on the moon. We sat in the actual seats of the observation room. They were the shade of orange-brown that was only popular during that time period.

Our second tram ride later that day was to the Mission Control of today. The scientists in there work on simulations for the International Space Station. Each day they are presented with a number of (fake) problems that they have to solve in anticipation of real problems on the ISS. (The real problems on ISS are worked out in a different room without a giant observation booth.) Our tour guide told us that this Mission Control would be closing down to the public in the next few months in anticipation of their mission to Mars. They are not planning on going to Mars for 20 more years, so it was cool that we got to see it, since it sounds like it'll be closed for a very long time.

They are using Orion for their preliminary Mars trips and we were able to see that, too.

On the way back to the museum on the second tram ride, we stopped to see the Saturn V rocket. It was the actual, full size rocket. They said they built the building around the rocket so they could restore it. It was massive in size. The kids really enjoyed seeing it, but at this point in the day the younger two were running out of steam and were more interested in fighting over who could sit on the outside edge during the tram ride. I asked Henry, "Are you more interested in where you sit on a tram than in seeing all the amazing things they're bringing us to?" He looked back at me and definitively said, "Yes." And that was a good indicator that our day was done!

Saturn V, the bottom

Saturn V, the top (Caroline in blue)

Somewhere towards the top of Saturn V.

On the tram, freezing our tushies off, but she's happy because she got the end seat.

In between our tram tours, we explored inside the museum. The kids had fun docking into the ISS using a laser. They had to get the laser from one target to the other in 30 seconds. It made a loud beep when you made it in, so it gave them a big sense of satisfaction.

They also had a shuttle we could explore. In the picture below, they had that same shuttle and airplane on the grounds outside the museum, so we were able to explore both. They hollowed out the Boeing airplane and then reinforced it to carry the shuttle back.

My favorite part was the scales they had that showed your weight on different planets. If I was the weight that I was on Mars I wouldn't have any reason to lie about it on medical forms. Yay for that.

Now we feel like real Houstonians. We've been to NASA. ✔

Caroline was in cup-tower mode all week. Many evenings when Todd came home from work, he was met with a new tower. She is amazing at them and does most of them all by herself. Every now and then she asks for help for the super tall cups. The very last one she did was a princess castle in which each princess has their own section. That has stayed up for the whole weekend. The only person who is not on board with the cup towers is Henry. Because they take up so much of the walkway, he isn't able to run around tossing his football in the air. The wind from his constant running would knock some of her towers over. Every day he asks for them to be disassembled.