Space Mueseum in Alamogordo

The Space Museum in Alamogordo

The space museum, was very inspiring to me. Not only did I learn a lot, but it made me realize that I can do so much more with my life. Imagine these people that design the rocket ships, that fly the rockets, and the people that go into space with them. How often is it that you find someone who does something like that. You ask someone what they do for a living and they reply, "I'm a rocket scientist." And you'd be amazed.

While visiting the museum, it made me realize that, that is what I want to do when I grown up: I want to became either an Aero Space Engineer, a Rocket Scientist, or something space related. Like a bio-chemist that see's whether life on a certain planet can contain life. I know I still have time to change my mind because I am only fourteen, but I really have my heart set on this, and I can't see myself doing anything else. I'v always wanted to have a career in space. I remember when I was taking a vet/ vet technician class. My instructor asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up, of coarse everyone answered something a long the lines of a vet. But when she got to me I said, I want to be a rocket scientist, she then asked me why I was taking her class, and I replied that I want to on a ranch at the same time, and I may as well know how to take care of the animals.

My experience at the space museum as I said was inspiring, but I also said that I learned things. What I left out is how much fun I had, and how much I didn't want to leave. As we arrived, the first thing we did was take pictures in front of all the rockets and spaceships. The little kids and my dad stood in front of the big engines and pretend they were being blasted, (they thought it was hysterical, but my mom and I just thought they were big dorks). We went inside, and started from the top floor down. The top floor was my favorite floor, because that's where all the interactive things were. A man who worked there came and told us about the testing site. He then gave us some things to do, for example he gave us a gyroscope. He showed us how well they balanced and then proceeded to do a few tricks, like balance it on the tip of a pen. He used this example to tell us about how they worked, and the use of gyroscopes in the real world.

He said that they use them in space craft to keep them balanced, or the space craft will not be able to fly on track and it will loose its balance and crash. A gyroscope exhibits a number of behaviors including precession. Gyroscopes can be used to construct gyrocompasses, which work along side with or replace magnetic compasses (in ships, aircraft and spacecraft, vehicles in general), to help in maintaining stability (Hubble Space Telescope, bicycles, motorcycles, and ships) or be used as part of an inertial guidance system. Gyroscopic effects are used in tops, boomerangs, yo-yos, and Power-balls.

We continued through the museum, and on the next level down there was a simulator, you had to try and fly a space shuttle back to earth. We got to see different astronaut food and utensils such as pepsi that came in an aerosol can, and dehydrated chicken. We got to hear how loud a space craft was when it took off, and we got to engineer our own rockets and devices from building pieces that were similar to k'nex, only they were specially made for building spacecraft. I made myself a rover with a telescope attached and the boys made themselves rather imaginative rockets. We had to leave soon, so we hit the gift shop. The boys got gyroscopes, and I got a soda rocket. My mom wants me to set it off, and then experiment with it. Seeing if I can change the results. Ensuing that, we went outside and took dozens more pictures before leaving. My favorite picture is the one of the boys standing next to a rocket, with their arms above their heads, as if they were a rocket themselves.