What a better way to celebrate Veterans Day than the grand opening of Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex’s newest experience – Heroes and Legends?
And what an opening it was with more than 25 U.S. astronauts, including: Buzz Aldrin, Jim Lovell and the children of Neil Armstrong and other world renown legends. Seeing these pioneers and visionaries in real life was very exciting indeed, and the crowd cheered as these respected heroes came together on stage. Some personal stories were told and this created a wonderful introduction the experience itself.
The experience consists of 3 parts:
Heroes and Legends – 4D presentation
After a brief video introduction you arrive at a special theater presenting a 4D featurette, What I liked about the featurette is that it tries to put you in the mind of the astronaut. This unique point of view made me feel like I’m experiencing these amazing experiences first hand and if you get close to the screen (first two rows) – it surrounds you and gives you the feeling of actually being at the field and traveling without even moving. The presentation is grounded in reality as do most of the experiences here at Kennedy Space Center, which makes this even more inspiring.
Heroes and Legends – the exhibition
This was a very unique concept as this exhibition answers the question – what it takes to become a hero. The exhibition is made out of pods, with each pod dedicated to one element. For example: one is about being courages, one is about passion and so on. Inside you will find videos and items connected to these space pioneers. An additional interesting element was a recreation of a Mercury Mission control room complete with the stations, screens and other elements.
U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame® presented by Boeing
The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame for me was the highlight of the experience. A very futuristic looking set with panels dedicated to astronauts and interactive elements. This was very impressive as you wouldn’t expect a hall of fame to look that live and astounding! I took the time and really looked at each panel and detail. Really interesting concept that looks like you’re standing in some kind a bridge of a spaceship. Nicely done and helps tell the stories of these courages people.
A very special day
Heroes and Legends is a great way to start your visit to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. It’s conveniently located at the entrance to the complex and gives some context and inspiring, good feel to kick off the rest of your visit. The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame is the highlight of the whole experience with interactive elements and hugely impressive setting. Really nice!
This was the perfect way of celebrating Veterans Day with these amazing people and their achievements as depicted in this new experience.
