The Space Coast's Things to See and Do
1. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex: Visiting America's gateway to outer space is a blast! Meet an astronaut, tour the Apollo/Saturn V Center, view the space-shuttle launch pads and "walk" on the moon with the 3D help of IMAX. After lunch, shoot over to the Rocket Garden to climb aboard the Redstone, Atlas and Titan rockets that took NASA astronauts to space.
2. Brevard Zoo: Thrill the whole family with a visit to Melbourne's Brevard Zoo. You'll kayak through the wilds of Africa, past grazing giraffes and oryxes. In the free-flight aviary filled with exotic birds, you'll feed nectar to rainbow lorikeets. Other options: a behind the scenes zoo tour or a lagoon tour surrounded by dolphins.
3. The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame: In this museum, you'll learn about America's space heroes, touch a piece of the moon, see the Apollo 14 Command Module that took astronauts to the moon and experience what it feels like to be blasted into space!
4. Klondike Beach: One of three semi-tropical beaches on the 24-mile long Cape Canaveral National Seashore - the longest undeveloped beach on Florida's East Coast - pristine Klondike is accessible only by hiking or on horseback. If you'd rather drive than hike, make it Apollo Beach - though remote, it offers some parking.
5. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge: This unspoiled refuge offers 140,000 acres of wildlife habitat and the chance to spy sea turtles, bald eagles and near Haulover Canal's drawbridge, endangered manatees.
6. Classic Florida Beach Towns: Tour the Space Coast's waterfront towns: In Port St. Lucie, sail through mangrove trees on a pontoon boat; stroll Cocoa Beach, with its antiques shops and outdoor cafes; in Ormond Beach, tour "The Casements," a Gilded-age getaway for the Rockefellers.
7. Visit Port Canaveral: Three parks are located at Port Canaveral; thirty-five-acre Jetty Park, four-acre Port's End Park and Freddie Patrick Park a 10-acre facility located in the center of the Port's south side. You'll also find three marinas, fishing pier, bike paths, camping, swimming and surfing. The Cove at Port Canaveral is a waterfront recreational area that's home to several restaurants, shops, charter boats and attractions. Port Canaveral is the second busiest cruise port in the world with numerous cruise options available.
8. Cocoa Beach Pier: The Cocoa Beach Pier is a A Historical Landmark on the Florida Space Coast and the center of beachfront fun. The Cocoa Beach Pier extends 842 feet out over the Atlantic. The pier is a fun attraction that has restaurants, bars, shops, ice cream palor, arcade, fishing and beach rentals overlooking a wide, six-mile long sandy beach.
What's New? Until now, only astronauts could experience the sensations of 3…2…1…lift-off. Now, everyone can on the Kennedy Space Center’s new Shuttle Launch Experience, a $60 million attraction, which opens May 2007. Designed by NASA and a team of astronauts, visitors will soon take an incredible journey to experience launching into space from Earth aboard a Space Shuttle. Crew members will strap in for launch in a one-of-a-kind motion simulator that replicates the sights, sounds, rattle and roll of lift-off to make the most realistic simulation of a launch ever created, culminating with a breath-taking view of Earth from space. (321) 449-4318.
