From the first rocket launch from Cape Canaveral in 1950 to space shuttle missions in the 1980s and ‘90s to today’s SpaceX blastoffs, this area has been synonymous with U.S. space exploration. Learn about the history of manned spaceflight, watch an actual launch or explore other interesting areas around the city of Cape Canaveral.
Enjoy thousands of interesting educational opportunities at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Try to identify historic missiles at the outdoor Rocket Garden. Learn about space heroes at the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. Take a bus tour of restricted areas of NASA’s facilities at the center. Enjoy exhibits related to the space race, travel to and on the moon, the space shuttle, the Mars Rover and many more aspects of space travel.
Check the center’s schedule to learn when astronaut encounters, rocket launches and other events and experiences will take place. Your visitor center admission ticket provides access for launch viewing just several miles from the rocket platforms. Nearby, tour the Space Force Museum, formerly the Air Force Space and Missile History Center, for more stories and artifacts related to U.S. space and missile programs.
Get a completely different perspective of space travel involving Dorothy’s fictional trip in a flying house when you visit the Wizard of Oz Museum. Bring the kids back down to earth at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, a barrier island where they can see hundreds of species of birds and freshwater and saltwater fish. The Canaveral National Seashore is a long stretch of undeveloped shoreline, including some launch viewing spots at Playalinda Beach.
Drive to Cape Canaveral from Orlando or Daytona Beach in about 1 hour. Find accommodations nearby or do RV camping at Jetty Park, with a beach and fishing pier. The black and white stripes of the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse, built in 1868, are reminders of the days of sea voyages and exploration here on Earth, before trips to space became reality.
