Kennedy Space Center: The Space Shop
AT A
GLANCE: Kennedy Space Center, The
Space Shop
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Date of Visit:
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Monday, February 20, 2017
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Parking
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$10
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Amount of time needed
to peruse exhibits:
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6 – 8 hours
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Amount of time needed
for gift shop
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60 – 90 Minutes
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Online shopping
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Some. However, if you see something you like, buy
it.
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Kid friendly shopping
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Yes
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Kid friendly
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Yes
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Dress code
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Come
as you are
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Be sure to…..
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Listen to an astronaut
talk about his space journey
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Nearby/other
establishments to visit
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·
Warbird Museum
Review: http://www.meetmeinthegiftshop.com/p/valiant-air-command-wardbird-museum.html
·
Police Hall of Fame
Review: http://www.meetmeinthegiftshop.com/p/blog-page_30.html |
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Walkability, general
downtown area / amount of traffic
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Wear comfortable
shoes.
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Safety, in terms of
type and number of crimes committed in general area
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Generally safe, but
stow your valuables out of sight and lock your car to keep the honest people
honest.
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The Kennedy Space
Center (KSC) is an amazing place to visit, usually taking an entire day to see
everything. There are three gift shops located on premise, and will they’re
similar they are also unique in terms of the merchandise offered for sale. The first review is in regards to the main
gift shop, which is named “The Space Shop.”
The other two are situated in the Space Shuttle Atlantis
exhibit/building and the Apollo/Saturn V exhibit/building, accessible only by tour
bus. These two gift shops will be individually
reviewed in the next two weeks by this blog.
*******
A “can-do” attitude is
a part of the United States’ brand, and nowhere is this more evident than at
the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), located on Merritt Island off the coast of
Central Florida. Perhaps it’s in our
nature to eagerly look toward the future while overlooking the past. Here’s a somewhat strange analogy, but think
about visiting a fortune teller, who magically had the power to see the past,
the present and the future. I believe we
are a curious and intelligent species, so the majority would select a peek into
the future to foresee potential dangers and take steps now to avoid them. That’s also how engineers, scientists and
astronauts feel about space exploration:
eager, curious, and optimistic.
Since millions have seen views of the Earth from space, we yearn to
answer the question of “what’s next?” and the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) have turned their eyes and minds on the planet Mars. I’ve been aware of some folks griping about
this, because advancing the use satellites has proven beneficial in
understanding weather patterns and to gain a larger perspective of crop
variations and diseases. However,
there’s a finite budget for the United States space program, and there’s no
“deep pockets” around to pump money into the space programs, so the question
becomes one that weighs the curiosity of going to Mars against that of food
science and weather understanding, or the future versus the present, just like
the fortune teller.
To further complicate
matters, decisions on budget and allocation need to be made every time a new
president takes office, since the executive branch of government funds NASA is.
Here on America’s Space Coast, we anxiously await to hear how our new president
will want to proceed. This causes a lack
of continuity of NASA research, which moves along with fits and starts. The last government launch was in 2011, when
the last space shuttle was launched from KSC.
Enter SpaceX (pronounced as two words:
Space X), a private company in
the business of launching satellites used for things such as communications, satellite
TV, and weather data collecting.
Suddenly, the launch pads are back in use with SpaceX paying to use them
to launch their rockets/satellites from KSC.
This has led to a heated debate over whether private business should be
allowed to use property of the federal government for personal profit. Some feel that it’s not a good thing, and
that no private companies or individuals be permitted to take advantage of
something paid for by taxpayers.
Alternately, others want to get the launch pads up and running,
regardless of who is doing the launches.
The latter group have are leaning toward the economic growth that
launches bring to the area in terms of construction, engineering and
research. And tourism. Space tourism is no longer just an idea in
someone’s mind, as it is already well emerged in the planning and development
phases at NASA.
Would space travel have
gift shops and would they be modeled after the layout of retail stores at an
airport? From our perspective, what is
the Mars brand, and would they have shot glasses, refrigerator magnets and
branded wearables? Welcome to the Space
Shop, the main gift shop at KSC, which is already selling many items imprinted
with the slogan “Mission to Mars.” This
made me think of a marketing venture for individuals. Visit the Space Shop and buy scores of the
Mars’ branded pillows, magnets, wearables among other things. Wait a few years until after a successful
Mars landing, and then sell the merchandise as “vintage” Mars. It would be a great niche with almost no
competition. I take no responsibility if
this idea doesn’t work, but would like a 10% cut on each item if this is
fruitful.
Back on Earth, spend
some time planning a trip there to avoid frustrations later on. October through April are great months to
visit, often with cooperative weather and beautiful blue and cloudless
skies. Still, arrive early. Ten to fifteen minutes before the gates open
will guarantee a close parking space.
Although that may seem unimportant at the time, it will be appreciated
when it’s time to leave after all of the walking involved in visiting the
KSC. Rested feet are happy feet. Lines are shorter first thing in the morning,
usually taking 15 minutes to buy an admission ticket, walk through the metal
detector, have purses or backpacks searched, and enter the park. This can take up to an hour during the busier
afternoon times. Wearing sunscreen,
regardless of the month, is a necessity and is for sale at the Welcome
Center. Brimmed hats and sunglasses will
be appreciated, too. Non-alcoholic
beverages in plastic bottles and snacks are allowed to be brought in by
visitors, which is a recommendation worth heeding.
In my eyes, admission
to KSC is steep at around $50 for adults and $40 for children under 12 years of
age, but well worth the price. To save a
few dollars, visit the Welcome Center before getting in line to buy
tickets. No ticket is needed for the
Welcome Center because it is locate outside KSC’s main gates. Most folks don’t understand the purpose of a
Welcome Center and bypass this useful building, so it’s seldom very busy. Sunglasses and umbrellas are for sales here,
which are two important items that, per the weather. The lack of either increases the odds for a
miserable visit. Once there, look for
either one of the two brochures pictured below:
Enter KSC with
discounted ticket in hand, and the Space Shop is clearly visible once inside
the main gates. One of the things that
make this a great gift shop is that it doesn’t overwhelm its visitors with busy
displays. The displays aren’t crammed
together, as some stores do to take advantage of every square inch of floor
space. Rather, the racks and tables have
some elbow room to encourage shopping at a leisurely pace. In my opinion, this is a great marketing support
idea to keep visitors in the gift shop longer.
The longer they stay, the more likely they are to purchase something.
Items are clearly visible and easily accessed, making it easier to shop amidst
crowds.
The second redeeming
factor is the incredible selection available, which leads to a word of advice:
saunter around and glance at everything while at the Space Shop, while getting
a general idea of what type of souvenir to buy. Selections, whether shot
glasses or wearable items, have several designs to choose from. The Space Shop
has two amazing floors of space-related wearables, toys, holiday ornaments, and
what-not. An entire corner section of
the store is dedicated to glassware and other kitchen items, offering coffee
cups, shot glasses, plastic cups for children, and refrigerator magnets each
imprinted with the NASA, KSC or SpaceX brand.
Make sure to visit the second
level; the sale stuff is up there.
Books, patches, posters, model rockets, and books are on the second
floor, too. In my opinion, it’s next to
impossible to not find an adorable
refrigerator magnet, given the abundant styles.
Speaking of
refrigerator magnets, my favorite is the astronaut space-walking sporting a
white space suit. We had one of these on
our refrigerators, and I’m afraid this is a story that doesn’t end well. The magnet astronaut has been knocked off the
refrigerator more than once, and it will break when in contact with a hard
tiled floor. They break. At first, one of the arms of our little
astronaut broke off, and I glued it back on.
The other arm broke off. I didn’t
immediately repair it, so I kept the little astronaut arm in a safe place,
preferably a; place that I would be able to recall. Our little space-walking guy fell again and
the drop separated the legs from the body.
I set that aside along with the broken arm. It was then that I realized that I had quite
the set of body parts for the poor astronaut.
Eventually, I reattached the arm and legs, but it kept getting bumped
into, falling, and breaking. Accepting
defeat, I threw my astronaut friend into the trash while vowing to get a
replace the next time we visited KSC. I
remembered this after we left, so we are astronaut-less.
The Space Shop ranks
high on my list of quality gift shops, because of the casual shopping pace, roomy
displays and the multitude of items for sale. The KSC is child-friendly, with
interactive exhibits and lots of open spaces to run and scream like a
banshee. Children can run, shop, play,
interact, slide, learn and have fun all for the price of one admission ticket. Take advantage of the splash pool if it’s one
of Florida’s hot and muggy summer days. The
Space Shop is child-friendly, with a few displays of “under $10” posted on the
rack. For some reason, boys seem to like
collecting patches and pins, and this will experience true bliss. Let them spend time and stare at them. Make a point to browse the book section, also
on the second floor as the pins and patches.
I applaud the person responsible for book selection, because it appeals
to a great range of ages. Start on the
right side of the book section and discover several books authored by
astronauts, and biographies on many astronauts.
The “Hidden Figures” book has a prominent table display here. The titles geared toward adults leads to the
middle section of the book area, which is geared toward young adults. Books for the under 5-years old crowd are on
the end, on the right side of the young adults.
This is a great selection of books because they are not only age-specific,
they are knowledge-specific. Know a
little or know a lot? No problem,
there’ll be something appropriate.
Touring KSC involves
more walking than some are used to, so lunchtime can’t come soon enough. It’s not worth the time to walk back to the
parking lot, drive to Titusville (the nearest town), have lunch, drive back,
and find a decent parking lot. KSC has
two places for lunch, and we tried the one closest to the Space Shop. We tried the Cuban sandwich and the macaroni
and cheese, and decided that they must mass produce their entrees. Both were bland and entirely
forgettable. Having lunch onsite is
something that makes sense in terms of time, so we just chalked up one for
experience.
Visit the Kennedy Space
Center not because it’s an easy trip. It
isn’t, but this is why this attraction is different. It builds new knowledge and inspires us to
appreciate the technology involved.
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