fly me to the moon

It's noon on Sunday, and my fiancé and I are having lunch at Kennedy Space Center. We are sitting at a cafe located in a large, warehouse-type building which houses a Saturn V rocket. The place is eerily quite. Even as bus groups arrive, the volume never lifts above a low conversation. After the constant roar of Universal and Disney, it's a little unsettling.

The noise level isn't the only thing that's different. Throughout the day I've noticed that the average KSC visitor is easily over 50. There are a few younger people, mostly foreigners, and families with small children. But I can't help but notice that gray hair and Hawaiian shirts dominate the facility.

As a kid, my family vacations always included something educational. We never visited Disney World, but I did see the St. Louis Arch, Laura Ingalls Wilder's Mansfield home, local state parks, and many state capitals. Museums and art galleries are still some of our favorite places to visit, thanks to my mom's insistence on taking us from a young age.

Part of this was out of necessity-- theme parks are expensive; historical sites are cheap, often free. But even if my parents had had a bigger budget to work with, I know they still would have favored history over pure amusement. Historical sites, campgrounds, museums, etc. are often more fun. They're certainly less crowded, the food is usually better (and reasonably priced), and the quality time spent together is more meaningful when it doesn't take place in the hour long line for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

And aren't historical sites and museums the places children should be visiting anyway? It's one thing to learn about American history in the classroom, but it's much more meaningful seeing it in person. You can be told that the Saturn V rocket (the one that got us to the moon) is longer than a football field, but to actually see it... well, it's really amazing.

But maybe kids don't find that amazing anymore. Landing on the moon is old news. Going into space is just another thing we do. Or rather, another thing we did. With the grounding of the space shuttle fleet, NASA's space program is slipping further into the past. Further from our grasp. Further from our imaginations.