The Hunstville US Space and Rocket Center

If you're into space and the history of rocketry, then the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville is a place you should consider visiting. It's got rockets galore, a full-sized space shuttle and two separate full-sized models of the Saturn V rocket which launched the Apollo missions. There are also numerous cut-away models and replicas of various entry-vehicle capsules. There is even a capsule that you can sit in while you proudly pose for photos as though you just survived the 300 mile descent through Earth's atmosphere. They have a space shuttle landing simulator and several interactive exhibits. There are also various artifacts from space. There is an actual moon rock in the Davidson building which has been cut in half to allow you to see inside its structure. There are pressure suits used in various space missions. There is a 60's style retrofitted camper that the astronauts were carried in to and from their space vehicle. All in all, any space buff or astro-geek could spend the better part of a day just walking around viewing the exhibits. There's even a compass and pen set used by Von Braun. It's twenty dollars to get in and you have to pay extra for the Imax theater, but it's worth it. They also host a space camp for children and young adults. Of course, no public attraction worth its acreage in silver could be complete without a ride of some kind. Enter the Space Shot, a ride designed to let you experience the micro-gravity of astronauts in free-fall. You strap in, a voice over the speakers announces the launch, and you're hurled up 60 feet in the air. When you come back down, if you're not too occupied screaming your lungs out, you can actually feel yourself nearly weightless. For those who desire something with a little less excitement, there's always the Olympus Mons mining colony rock wall. It's a great place for kids to test their athleticism when it comes to scaling random objects. The area offers sit-down room for adults and is complete with mock-ups of Martian Mining colony signs, warning you of falling rocks and blasting zones. But unless you've been to the US Space and Rocket Center in the past six months or so, you've missed out on the most extraordinary exhibit of all-a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton named Sue.

She's the most complete T-Rex skeleton in existence and the admission fee to the T-Rex exhibit is covered in your twenty dollars. So you might as well take advantage of it. You can pay a 15.00 dollar admission fee just to see Sue, but you'll miss out on the rockets. You'll also miss out on the rides. Sue is gigantic. She's poised with her massive jaws open. Through the simulated mist and fog of the exhibit she looms like a predator about to attack. Sue is, in fact, female. And she's larger than you might imagine. Pictures cannot do dinosaur fossils justice. I came up to her thigh. I can't imagine a living creature like that roaming the earth. What sort of evolutionary freak occurrence could create such a being? It's astounding to see Sue. Placed about the exhibit are several machines in a rough, radial pattern. They're magical, in one sense and time machines in another. They allow you to be a Triceratops. It's designed like an arcade game, only you're a dinosaur. You have to eat, greet other dinosaurs, drink, fight for survival and yes--you even have to poop. How challenging is it to be a triceratops? Well, let's just say my fiance' is a better dinosaur than I am. It was't two minutes into the simulation before I was gored to death by another dinosaur. There are also casts made of Sue's fossilized bones than you can touch and examine. It's pretty interesting to be touching a piece of history, even if it is a just a cast.

The rock wall isn't far from here, and it appeared as though there was a military helicopter simulation set up with screens all around it, but it looked inoperative. After seeing Sue, I'd advise going through the building one more time. You'll walk through with a renewed sense of awe. It puts things into perspective. In one place we have the distant past, and in another we have humankind's hope for the future. It's more educational than a theme park and more exciting than a public park. I only wish they had more science demonstrations. But just walking around and being able to see the machines that have put man in space and kept him there is fascinating in and of itself. And for having introduced me to my first real dinosaur, I will be eternally grateful to the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. Aeronautical enthusiasts of Alabama, I commend you.