A new day, a new adventure! We've had breakfast and we are out the door! Saturday was a full day of exploring outer space! McKinley was beyond excited to spend the day at Cosmosphere. And when I say a day, I mean it! We spent four hours learning all about past and future space exploration and we could have spent another day inside this massive museum. The amount of information, the incredible artifacts, the kids learning center, and other exhibits throughout the space were so insightful. Take the journey with us!
In 1962, the Cosmosphere was founded by Patty Carey when she opened the first public planetarium in the Central US. She used a Planetarium Projector, rented folding chairs, and set everything up inside the Poultry Building located on the Kansas State Fair Grounds. A new home for the planetarium was set up on the Hutchinson Community College grounds four years later. And a new science center was created as well. With the planetarium's popularity, Ms. Carey, along with the board of directors, began planning an expansion project to create a space and science center. The 35,000 square foot space opened in 1980 and included the planetarium, a three level exhibit gallery, classrooms, and the first ever IMAX Dome Theater. Which, can I just say, was so cool! We watched Secrets of the Sea before touring the space center and it was amazing! You truly felt like you were in the depths of the ocean among sea creatures.
In 1997, the Cosmosphere took on another major build to expand the museum to 105,000 square feet. And with this expansion, it allowed room to house the SR-71 Blackbird in the lobby. And of course McKinley already knew all about that! He informed us that they built this section of the building around the Blackbird and he was right! They took the Blackbird apart in sections to relocate it to its new home. Once back in place, the construction began. It's truly an amazing sight when you walk through the front door! And another amazing feat for this space and science center was being recognized by the Smithsonian Institute as one of the prestigious institute's first affiliates in 1998.
Heading to the lower level of the museum McKinley was already in awe. He was so excited to see a real Germany V-1 and V-2 on display. Germany was the first to introduce pieces for space travel with the help of scientist Wernher von Braun. He paved the way for these rockets to be used during World War II. The V-1 was known as the "buzz bomb", was used to bomb London during the war. The V-2, invented by von Braun, was fired on Paris. von Braun would later be a large part of the Space Race between the United States and Russia.
A large replica of the Bell X-1 Rocket Plane is on full display as you walk down the stairs from the lobby. This replica was used during the filming of The Right Stuff with the real one on display at the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. The Bell X-1 was used by Chuck Yeager when he broke the sound barrier in 1947.
After viewing the German rockets, McKinley headed straight for the CosmoKids space which was so fun! When you first walk in, each child receives a bag full of goodies for use throughout this learning environment. You can make your own rocket and then try sending it to the moon. You can create objects for the wind tunnel to see if you are able to keep it within the tunnel or if it will fly right out. No matter how many modifications McKinley and Joel made to their design, it flew out of the tunnel every time! There are large foam building blocks to build your own space ship, a small space shuttle for littles, and a gravity well for launching marbles into the unknown. How will your marble fare when launched into the abyss?
After leaving ComsoKids, we entered the height of the museum. Just look at all the incredible things these smart and talented scientist and engineers were able to make.
Have you ever stood on a launch pad with a rocket standing tall above you? A replica of the Titan II does just that. The Titan II was responsible for several test flights among the astronauts of the Gemini fleet. McKinley was in absolute awe of this incredible sight.
The Liberty Bell 7 capsule is on full display within the museum. This capsule was recovered from the ocean floor 38 years after it sank and was fully restored by the Cosmosphere!
The Apollo Gallery was incredible! Why? Because the Odyssey capsule that flew the three Apollo 13 astronauts home, from their otherwise catastrophic experience in space, is on full display and it's so incredible to see something so rich in space travel history! McKinley about peed his pants when he saw it! He has watched the movie over and over, and viewed it again when we got home, so to see it right in front of him was a forever memory.
Another notable was stepping foot into one of only three remaining White Rooms. This is an Apollo White Room that was removed from the Launch Pad of Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida!
This just scratches the surface of the things we saw and read about during our time at the Cosmosphere. The suit that the chimp wore during his journey through space, pieces of the Berlin Wall, replicas of Spudnik, to scale models of the Lunar Module and Lunar Rover, and so much more!
And while you're there, make sure to take a break from all this learning to feed your body too! The Cosmosphere Cafe is where to go to refuel! From snacks to full on lunch, there is something for everyone at this cute cafe!
On our way out, McKinley wanted to step out onto the wing of the Space Shuttle Endeavor replica. The original is on display at the California Space Center. During lunch, he gave us a mini lesson on the shuttle program and outlined his favorite shuttles in order. There are three. His knowledge on this topic is pretty spectacular and I told him he needed to write a Cliff's Notes version for kids and adults! High over head are the Blackbird and a test plane that NASA used to prepare astronauts for their missions among the Shuttle program.
This experience was incredible! The amount of history housed inside this 105,000 square foot museum is truly mind blowing. To have access to it within our home state is just remarkable and I urge everyone to take a weekend trip to Hutch to experience it for yourself. You won't be sorry.
But our day isn't over yet! After leaving the Cosmosphere, we headed downtown to Hutchinson's Antique District to check out the much anticipated Toy Depot. McKinley is a collector of metal trucks and other automobiles, so on the recommendation of our travel guide LeAnn Cox, who just happens to be the Vice President of Operations and Tourism, we took a step back into toy history! McKinley fell in love with Toy Depot! It's expansive walls of antique toys had us pointing out our old toys to McKinley. A vintage Lite Brite, Little People mail box, and so many Barbies. There was an entire wall dedicated to trains! Metal trucks with haulers. A wall of vintage Hot Wheels. A bin of Hot Wheels for a $1. And on and on and on! He ended up with a vintage General Lee car, a cool Hot Wheels trash truck (always a fan favorite), and a really nice dairy tractor trailer. He was happy with his haul!
From there, we began the mural tour, which I'm saving for its own post. We walked the streets of Hutchinson taking in the beautiful paintings by local artists and it was so peaceful. We stopped into a local sweet shop called Aunt P's Sugartime Confections where we chatted with owner Malynda Pearl. My husband commented on her collection of novelty shaped cake pans hanging on the wall, and it turns out that Malynda has been to Kansas City, namely Downtown Overland Park, for cookie classes! Small world, right? We bought two of her sugar cookies and two chocolate chip, and we can say that they were amazing!! She also has the cutest VW bus inside the shop where you can order ice cream!
It was back to the hotel for a catnap for me and putting together the model Blackbird that McKinley bought from the Cosmosphere gift shop for the boys. Once rested, we went back out for more mural sightings and then dinner at Ken's Pizza. What an incredible slice of pizza! We opted to order a full pizza, but they have a buffet option that provides a pizza for every palette! A dessert pizza too. And, if you're feeling really hungry, you can add a salad bar to your order, which I did. What is it about a salad from a salad bar? They are far more superior than those made at home! This throw back pizza place reminds me of going out to dinner as a kid. Another local joint that was packed the entire time we were there! AND, they have a drive-thru. That's right, a drive-thru! And that line of cars never stopped. I asked the girl working the register how that ordering process worked and she told me that most people call in their orders and then drive through to pick up their order. However, there are some who order from the window and just wait in the parking lot. They bring your order right to your car.
The pizza was everything I think of when I think of old school pizza. A super crispy crust, a tangy sauce, and toppings that have just the right amount of grease. You know the one! And just like I mentioned above, that salad from the salad bar was everything a salad bar salad should be. Heavy on the greens and loaded with all the toppings. Cucumbers, carrots, red onion slices, cherry tomatoes, sliced black olives, and Ranch dressing! I'm salivating just thinking about this dinner! Again, another round of incredibly helpful staff. I can say that every one we met was just so friendly! We didn't have much leftover, but what we had came home with us, and McKinley ate it for lunch on the road later that weekend.
Once back at the hotel, McKinley immediately changed into his swim trunks and we were off to the pool. While he cannonballed his way into the water, Joel and I took up residency as far away from the pool's edge as possible, and talked about our weekend in Hutchinson. We both love experiencing new things that we don't have here in Kansas City. We enjoyed learning about the history of how this salt mining town came to be and seeing how it's becoming a rapidly growing city. I loved the mix of old and new, the friendly service everywhere we went, walking the streets and taking in the old architecture, and sharing all of this with McKinley and Joel.
We were up early, ate breakfast from the lobby in our room while finishing up the packing process. McKinley again was sad to see the trip end. However, it wasn't over yet. We were on the road again for another fun adventure, but we aren't done with Hutchinson yet! Come back later this week to take in all the murals we found! It was fun to roam the streets and find beautifully painted artwork on buildings throughout town.
See you soon!
XO,
Andrea
*This is a sponsored post. However, all thoughts and photographs are my own.
