Blasting off at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama
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James & Dorothy Richardson
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MotorHome, November 2007
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Without a doubt the most impressive, and the most notable, attraction in Huntsville, Ala., is the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. But with closer investigation, the traveler will discover that there is much more to see and do in this north-central Alabama city, including world-class museums and a botanical garden with the nation's largest open-air butterfly house.
Many of the city's attractions are located in the downtown area, which is easily accessible from Interstate 565, the connector between Huntsville and neighboring Decatur. Within the downtown area there is the Huntsville Museum of Art and the EarlyWorks Museum Complex -- consisting of the Historic Huntsville Depot, EarlyWorks Children's History Museum and Alabama Constitution Village.
Also along I-565, the Huntsville Botanical Garden is a 110-acre natural paradise. With new gardens and displays opening, it is a destination unto itself. To go along with the space and rocket theme, there is also Sci-Quest, a hands-on science center for children. At Sci-Quest, kids can explore the mysteries of many things usually taken for granted.
When it comes to nature and the outdoors, there are plenty of opportunities for recreation. The city has foothills of the Appalachian Mountains on three sides. Just a short drive away is Monte Sano State Park, which offers an incredible view of the city below. Hiking trails, camping, picnicking and bird-watching are popular activities.
Back indoors, the nationally accredited Huntsville Museum of Art has its own 2,522-piece permanent collection and fills its other seven galleries with works from nationally and regionally acclaimed artists in traveling exhibits throughout the year. In addition to its exhibitions, the museum offers art classes for children and adults, and has special programs. The Huntsville Museum of Art is located downtown in a relatively new development called the Big Spring International Park. As well as being impressive on the inside, the grounds of the museum are beautifully landscaped with a reflective lake and fountain with plenty of area for picnics and just being outside.
The EarlyWorks Museum Complex, near the Huntsville Museum of Art, offers three venues to discover history. The Children's History Museum has displays and opportunities to interactively learn about the history of Alabama. The Historic Huntsville Depot was built in the mid-1800s and again has that same look and feel. Visitors can tour the depot and see old locomotives. There is a Civil War section with a wall of graffiti left by soldiers. The Alabama Constitution Village is a living-history museum. As the site for the 1819 Alabama Constitutional Convention, villagers dressed in period outfits enlighten travelers of the way life was in the early 1800s. There are eight federal-style buildings on one square block in Huntsville's downtown area containing the Village.
If there were not enough history at the EarlyWorks Complex, Huntsville has five historic districts on the National Register. The Twickenham Historic District contains a lot of early 19th century homes, many of which were used during the Civil War by the Union army. The Old Town District contains Victorian homes built between 1870 and 1930.
Something new to this section of the state is the North Alabama Birding Trail. There was much success with the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail, which was introduced in 2000, so this trail should attract as much attention for birding as the more southern one. Fifty bird-watching sites are scattered throughout 11 North Alabama counties with several in the Huntsville-Madison County area.
However, the most visited attraction in Huntsville is the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. There are many reasons to visit the center again and again. With the amount of things to do and see, it would be very difficult to take it all in with one tour. The museum tour explains the history of the U.S. space program and the part Huntsville and Dr. Wernher von Braun played in shaping that history. Museum pieces include a space shuttle, Saturn rockets, a lunar rover, several of the actual spacecrafts that made the first missions in orbit and to the moon, and many rockets that propelled those crafts and our astronauts into space.
If seeing and hearing about the details of America's space program is not information enough, there are IMAX movies and rides that simulate weightless space travel and blastoff. Another important feature and popular part of the center is the Space Camp program, where youngsters, teachers and other adults enroll and get intensive astronaut training.
The U.S. Space and Rocket Center has a campground with full hookups and is within walking distance of the most exciting attraction in Huntsville.
The city has a lot more to offer its visitors than the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, but that is still the most popular attraction and the reason many people come to Huntsville. But after they visit the center and venture off other exits, they will soon understand the amount of things to do in Huntsville.
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Photos: James Richardson
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The U.S. Space and Rocket Center, the most visited attraction in Huntsville, displays the Space Shuttle Pathfinder.
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(click on images to enlarge)
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The U.S. Space and Rocket Center Museum, which includes several of the actual Apollo crafts that made the first missions in orbit and to the moon.
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The Early Works Children?s Museum, part of the Early Works Museum Complex, has displays and opportunities to interactively learn about the history of Alabama.
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The 110-acre Huntsville Botanical Gardens is a destination unto itself.
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As a living-history museum, the Alabama Constitution Village enlightens travelers to early 1800s life.
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