I asked a friend for recommendations on what to do near downtown Los Angeles, and seeing the Endeavour was one of them. I don't know much about space, or spaceships, or space travel, but everytime I go to a sciencey place, I always feel in awe, and the universe seems so big and special.
On a random note, I like that they spelled it -vour, vs the traditional American -vor.
I visited the California Science Center on a weekday, which made the visit free (woot!), though I had to pay $10 (I think) for parking. The Endeavour was in a hangar built specially to house it, which was pretty cool. I think this is the first real space shuttle that I have seen. It was massive. (Shocker, I know.) There was a lady who could explain things to you. She showed me the little pads - I think there were 2 or maybe even more different kinds - that were on the outside of the shuttle, built to withstand heat, cold, debris, etc., and we got to touch them. They felt so flimsy, yet were so strong, and that was amazing. Science is amazing. I learned so much from the videos and pictures, got to feel a lesser version of the emotions people felt then when space exploration was a lot more novel, and I felt like a little kid, discovering something super cool.
Sometimes when I see really cool clever people Science-y things, I always feel like I wish I did Science, but sadly I don't think I had the aptitude for it. Anyhow, maybe it is better to be ignorant, and then one can be in blind awe. Afterall, if we have nothing to go wow over, what is the point of living?
I remember I was running one day on the Embarcadero, and I saw the Endeavour's last journey - it being strapped to the back of a plane or some other shuttle. It was a gorgeous day,the sun was out, the skies were blue, and there were a ton of people hanging around, and the balconies and windows of buildings were strewn with people. I had no idea what was happening then, but I saw it and was pretty damn happy I did. I never thought I would get to see the shuttle in real life.
Well, one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
On a random note, I like that they spelled it -vour, vs the traditional American -vor.
I visited the California Science Center on a weekday, which made the visit free (woot!), though I had to pay $10 (I think) for parking. The Endeavour was in a hangar built specially to house it, which was pretty cool. I think this is the first real space shuttle that I have seen. It was massive. (Shocker, I know.) There was a lady who could explain things to you. She showed me the little pads - I think there were 2 or maybe even more different kinds - that were on the outside of the shuttle, built to withstand heat, cold, debris, etc., and we got to touch them. They felt so flimsy, yet were so strong, and that was amazing. Science is amazing. I learned so much from the videos and pictures, got to feel a lesser version of the emotions people felt then when space exploration was a lot more novel, and I felt like a little kid, discovering something super cool.
Sometimes when I see really cool clever people Science-y things, I always feel like I wish I did Science, but sadly I don't think I had the aptitude for it. Anyhow, maybe it is better to be ignorant, and then one can be in blind awe. Afterall, if we have nothing to go wow over, what is the point of living?
I remember I was running one day on the Embarcadero, and I saw the Endeavour's last journey - it being strapped to the back of a plane or some other shuttle. It was a gorgeous day,the sun was out, the skies were blue, and there were a ton of people hanging around, and the balconies and windows of buildings were strewn with people. I had no idea what was happening then, but I saw it and was pretty damn happy I did. I never thought I would get to see the shuttle in real life.
Well, one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
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