Space Center Houston, Houston

I grew up going to the "old" NASA visitor's museum and getting a chance to walk around the rockets. I do realize that was quite a few years ago, but that experience left a great impression on me. I was very sad when I walked into Space Center Houston and discovered it was mostly about play centers and selling gifts. There was a definite focus on getting kids interested in space, which I think is great, but I don't think it was done in the most respecful of ways. As an adult visiting solo, the experience held no interest for me and it was expensive to get in the door (plus I had to pay for parking). It's very disappointing.

we went here on our family vacation and we enjoyed it. the inside is more for the kids but the tram was something my husband and i enjoyed greatly! not a good place for toddlers though, more for preschool and up.

Please consider visiting this place before you go! We just went yesterday. Myself, 3 boys, ages 9, 5, and 1, and my Mother. Something for everyone, right? That's what the ad says. So, we embark on our journey to astronaut life and space treasures. First of all, there are no space treasures, for real. Everything was a copy! Nothing was actually used before and they didn't even care that it looked fake! NASA, come on here. From the paper mache replica shuttles to the robotic arms that don't do anything. This was a JOKE!!!! We took the tram tour after I asked an official "space center employee" what is the best thing here. It took us to the "astronaut training facility". NASA should be ashamed for misleading people into believing that ACTUAL astronauts would be there. We fell for it, and after 30 mins waiting in line we were on the tour. We saw, copies of astronaut training equipment in a huge hallway, behind thick glass, with no A/C in July, in TX!!!!!!!!! We then followed our less than eager tour guide on the tram to "Rocket Park"...Sounds cool, right? Nope, 2, I am serious, 2 rockets, that you can see from the street on your own in a field. I thought surely this wasn't it.....as we returned to the building I realized it was. We went to "Blast off theater" trying to redeem myself to my son's, one of which would like to be an astronaut. The brochure states, experience the spectacular sensation of a blast off. They take you to a room with NO SEATING. You are instructed to remain here while you watch a video. This was it. The video was something circa 1985 showing a rocket launch and a puff of smoke came out at the end. Then, we got a 30 minute lecture, a lecture in a room with seats. We could have seen this at home, on tv. Everything in this place is outdated, except the price. It was totally disorganized! The people employeed here are less than enthusiastic and some actually looked sketchy. Most of the "attractions" do not allow a stroller, so be prepared to lug the little guys around all day. It WAS HOT everywhere. The lines for the "attractions" were too long, and we didn't actually get to experience anything else in a 6 hour trip!!!!! The highlight of the trip was that my sons got to meet someone in a storm trooper suit. But, that was for a special clone wars movie thing, so don't hold your breath. There was other stuff to do there, but you had to pay more, $4 here and $3 there, per person! SAVE your money and go to the houston museum's downtown, even the children's museum has more to do than this, and that is saying a lot. Costs: Entry: 64.25 Food: 47.00 (hotdogs, fries, chicken nuggets, nothing special) Parking: 5.00 Astronaut Ice Cream souviner: 9.00 (they gave this away when I was a kid) Totaling: $125.25 You have been warned. This place takes itself really seriously and it was actually comical on the way home. That we spent that much time/money/and effort into A BIG FAT JOKE!!! To top the day off in true comedic form, my mother backed over my stroller, fortunately the baby was safely in the van. LOL!

I was very disappointed in the space center. The price is way too high for the experience. There is not much to it. The kids play area takes up most of the space. The actual items from space are few and far between. The whole visit took about 30 minutes. I was bored stiff.

My 6 year old twin boys had a blast. Kid activities including climbing play center which was worth admission alone. Only complaint was the 44" hight limit on 2 other kid's activities. Space artifacts and descriptions of the various Nasa missions is enough to keep adults interested as well. Tram ride was interesting but a bit of a whip with the wait plus slow pace of loading and unloading. Lots of cool souveniers but pricey as one might expect.

This would have been great for a day long trip with kids. I would compare this to a very fancy children's museum or playplace. Very little of the the space center is geared to adults. I had been to Kennedy Space Center in Florida so Houston had a lot to live up to. The tram tour is a ride around buildings that are not labeled and you cannot hear the audio playing in the speakers explaining landmarks. The movies and the theater experiences were fun and the mission control stop on the tram tour was interesting for adults. If you have kids from kindergarten age to 13 or so they will love it.

i like the short or no long lines. there are activities for all ages. The weather was pleasantly warm. i didn't like the expensive for certain suvenirs items for a family in a budget. In the KIds Center Jungle Gym was very fun for 48" tall or under only. i would give it a 4 star rate for time/money worthyness.

There was a lot to do here. I think the highlight of the trip was the tour of the buildings on campus. I would go back if given the chance.

I moved from Killeen,Tx to Houston just to get away. Then I came back to Killeen. When I was living in Houston I had an opportunity to go to many places such as the Space Center,Kemah and Galveston. My favorite is Kemah.I Really enjoy the board walk.I will be moving back to Houston. Killeen is very boring.

It was very neat, the kids loved it!It wasn't too expensive, it was totally worth it! We hope to go back again. We give it an A+