Kennedy Space Center —
our visit to America's gateway to space
Kennedy Space Center was one of the major Florida stops on our road trip south. From rockets and the Apollo story to the Space Shuttle era, this is one of those places where the scale of America's space programme really hits you.
We aren't space buffs — and we absolutely loved it
This was probably one of the biggest surprises of our Florida road trip. Neither of us is particularly into space, so Kennedy Space Center wasn't somewhere we expected to spend hours completely engrossed. We ended up staying for around five hours.
What really worked for us was how well organised the whole visitor complex felt. It wasn't just a collection of things behind glass. We wandered through the exhibits looking at astronaut suits, spacecraft and the Space Shuttle displays, but there were also interactive and simulation activities that made the visit much more engaging.
Even without knowing a huge amount about NASA or space exploration beforehand, the scale of everything is fascinating when you're standing beside the real thing.
Seeing the scale of the shuttles and space hardware in person was far more impressive than we'd expected.
We spent plenty of time simply wandering around the displays and looking at suits, equipment and pieces of space history.
The hands-on and simulation experiences broke up the exhibits and made the visit fun even for two non-space buffs.
We spent roughly five hours here without struggling to fill the time — probably the best indication of how much we enjoyed it.
Our Kennedy Space Center photos
Our own photos from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Much more than a museum
One reason Kennedy Space Center held our attention for so long was the variety. You can move from enormous spacecraft to personal astronaut stories and then into interactive experiences rather than spending the whole day reading display boards.
Walk among rockets representing different eras of America's space programme.
The real Atlantis orbiter is one of the showstoppers — the scale is something else when you're beside it.
Another enormous piece of space history and a chance to explore the Apollo era in much more detail.
Simulations and hands-on activities were a big part of why the visit worked so well for us.
For us: absolutely yes
If you're looking at Kennedy Space Center and thinking, “But I'm not really interested in space…”, that was basically us too.
What surprised us was that you don't need to arrive knowing the difference between every mission or rocket. The exhibits are visual, the spacecraft are enormous, the human stories are interesting and the interactive elements keep things moving. It felt accessible rather than overly technical.
In fact, the fact that neither of us is a space enthusiast and we still happily spent around five hours there is probably the strongest recommendation we can give it.
Explore Orlando from home
Kennedy Space Center is on Florida's Space Coast rather than in Orlando, but Orlando is the nearby Drive From Home city experience for this part of our Florida journey.
From the Deep South into Florida
Kennedy Space Center formed part of the Florida stage of our wider New York-to-Miami road trip, giving us a very different experience before the journey continued farther south.
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Official Kennedy Space Center information
Opening hours, admission, launch schedules and available experiences can change, so check Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex directly when planning your visit.