Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center

Who would have thought that one of the best if the not the best space museums in the country would be located in the center of Kansas in the city of Hutchinson. The Kansas Cosmosphere as it is loving referred to by locals boasts one of the largest collections of United States space memorabilia in the country and has the largest collection of Russian space artifacts outside of the former Soviet Union. The Kansas Cosmosphere began with humble beginnings as the Hutchinson Planetarium in the early 1960's on the Kansas State Fairgrounds . As the popularity of the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Museum grew over the years it was moved to it's present location in 1980. It has since expanded several times in order to add additional high quality exhibits that bring visitors from across the country and around the world.

Some of the exhibits you will see when visiting the Kansas Cosmosphere include the Apollo 13 capsule which was to used to carry astronauts Lovell, Swigert, and Haise into space for the third attempted landing on the moon, Due to a malfunction the crew was forced to abort their mission and returned to earth after a harrowing ordeal. The movie Apollo 13 staring Tom Hanks and Kevin Bacon was based on this incident. Visitors are also greeted by a BlackBird Sr-71 spy plane, a Sputnik capsule and other items including space suits and tools that have been used in past space missions. Other items of interest to visitors include a Redsone nuclear warhead, Germany V1 and V2 rockets used during World War II and a moon rock collected during the first Apollo mission to reach the moon. Perhaps the most famous exhibit at the Kansas Cosmosphere is the Liberty Bell 7 Mercury capsule. It was recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean where it lay under 17,000 feet of water. Up to that point in time it was the only NASA spacecraft which had never recovered.

There are many other things to do at the Kansas Cosmosphere. The museum is well know for the camps it puts on for the young and old alike. One of the best know camps is a Future Astronauts Training camp where the students go through training such as an astronaut would and prepare for a mission. During the camp the students are bused to the Space Center in Houston for an up close and personal view of the workings of the center. A planetarium is also include at the museum. The Kansas Cosmosphere is also famous for it's Imax theatre where educational movies on a variety of subjects can be seen.

The Kansas Cosmosphere located in Hutchinson Kansas is a first class space and exploration museum. It has received many honors including the National Society of Professional Engineers which recognized the museum as on of the 10 best engineering achievements in America. There is plenty to see and do at the Kansas Cosmosphere and you will come away from the experience with a new found appreciation of the effort that has been put into the exploration of space and the world beyond.