Cosmosphere: Space Race and Beyond - Carltonaut's Travel Tips

In my quest to see all the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space capsules, we made a stop in central Kansas. Cosmosphere is an AMAZING museum in Hutchinson, Kansas – 30 minutes northwest of Wichita. It houses three capsules flown in space, along with other artifacts and information on the Space Race between America and Russia. In fact, Cosmosphere houses the world’s largest combined space artifact collection of both Russian and American programs.

Regardless of whether you’re a self-proclaimed “Space Nerd” or someone who’s simply interested in history, this museum is a definite must visit. There’s something for people of all ages – including kids who want to learn or play with science.

Here’s a rundown on what you can experience at Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas.

man standing next to Odyssey, the Apollo 13 Command Module on display at the Cosmosphere in Kansas — Apollo 13 Command Module “Odyssey”

Directions and Tickets to Cosmosphere

Why is there a state-of-the-art space museum in the middle of Kansas? Well, in the 1960s, Patty Carey opened a planetarium in Hutchinson, Kansas. From that time, little by little, the planetarium grew as it collected and displayed space artifacts. In 1976, the Hutchinson Planetarium received its first major artifact, on loan from the Smithsonian – the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project command module trainer. And the rest is history on display within its walls.

Cosmosphere is located on the corner of 11th Avenue and Plum Street in Hutchinson, Kansas. That’s roughly 30 minutes northwest of Wichita, Kansas. There’s a small section of parking in the lot near the building entrance, but a larger lot is just across the street to the south.

Tickets can be purchased online in advance of your visit. You can purchase them day-of at the Box-Office as well. There are a few ticket options to consider – All-Access Mission Passes or single venue tickets.

All-Access Mission Pass

This gives you a single day, full access to the Hall of Space Museum and CosmoKids. You’ll also be able to watch one Carey Digital Dome Theater documentary, one show in the Justice Planetarium and one show in Dr. Goddard’s Lab. Also included: one ride on the naviGATOR Simulator. Prices are $26.50 for adults, $23.50 for seniors (60+) and military, and $17.50 for children (ages 4-12). Children under age 3 are free.

You’ll want to plan on spending 4-6 hours if you want to take advantage of everything you have access to. We spent about 4.5 hours and I could’ve easily spent another two hours reading about all the space artifacts they have on display and checking out the Justice Planetarium.

Single Venue Tickets

If you want to check out just one of the activities at Cosmosphere, you can purchase a single ticket. The prices range from $5 to $14 for adult tickets. Seniors, military and children’s tickets are a little less.

man standing next to Liberty Bell 7 Mercury space capsule at the Cosmosphere in Kansas — Liberty Bell 7 – Flown by Gus Grissom on July 21, 1961

Which Spacecraft are on Display?

As you may be able to tell from the two photos above, there are some spacecraft on display at the museum. But from the photos alone, you may not be able to tell which missions they belong to. So I’m going to tell you about some of the spacecraft that are on display at the museum. I’ve listed the ones I saw during my visit. However, there are times when these capsules or artifacts are shared with other museums across the country.

Liberty Bell 7

Gus Grissom was the second American to fly in space, following Alan Shephard. After the capsule splashed down and was being recovered, the hatch door blew off prematurely. The capsule filled with water and ended up sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. After sitting there for thirty-eight years, it was successfully recovered in 1999 from 16,000 feet below sea level. It was a partnership with Cosmosphere and deep-sea salvage expert Curt Newport. After recovery, the six-month restoration took place at Cosmosphere in full view of the public. It would’ve been cool to have watched that process.

Gemini 10 Capsule

Michael Collins is credited with orbiting the moon while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on its surface. But before flying that historic Apollo mission, he flew in space with John Young aboard Gemini 10. That capsule is on display at Cosmosphere and visitors can see it in person and learn all about the Gemini program. I enjoyed reading about the failures and eventual success of the astronauts using the Gemini missions to learn how to work in space. It’s not as easy as it sounds to work in weightlessness.

Apollo 13 Command Module “Odyssey”

You’ve probably seen the movie, Apollo 13. It’s a wonderful depiction of the ill-fated, successful failure of Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert mission to the moon. Before reaching the moon, an explosion on the service module crippled the Odyssey. Through much ingenuity, skill and some divine intervention, the three astronauts splashed down in the South Pacific Ocean aboard Odyssey. That command module is now on display at Cosmosphere, along with other artifacts from that mission. For example, Jim Lovell’s space suit stands proudly next to the capsule. Spend the time to read about that mission – what caused the explosion, Triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13) and so much more.

Other Interesting Spacecraft and Artifacts

During the first few years of the space program, several rockets blew up during or shortly after launch. Those were all unmanned, but if I was a Mercury 7 astronaut, my anxiety would’ve been high watching those “failures”. One powerful capsule on display is what’s left of a Mercury 7 capsule (unmanned) that was mostly destroyed during a failed launch. A replica of Russia’s Sputnik, along with America’s Stayputnik. Several other Russian and American craft and artifacts are on display – because like I mentioned earlier, this is the largest “combined” collection of both countries’ race to space.

Exhibits about the Space Race between the United States and Russia at the Cosmosphere in Kansas

The History of the Space Race between America and Russia

I always find it awkward that America won the space race. If you liken it unto a relay race around a track, the Russians beat America in almost every leg of the race. But in the end, America landed the first human on the moon – so America won. Some of those major milestones include:

First earth-orbiting satellite – Sputnik (Russia)
First spacecraft to reach the surface of the moon – Luna 2 (Russia)
First photos of the backside of the moon – Luna 3 (Russia)
First animals to fly in space and return to the earth – Sputnik 5 (Russia)
First human in space – Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1 (Russia)
First woman in space – Valentina Tereshkova aboard Vostok 6 (Russia)
First “spacewalk” – Alexei Leonov aboard Voskhod 2 (Russia)
First humans to orbit the moon – Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders aboard Apollo 8 (America)
First human to walk on the moon – Neil Armstrong on Apollo 11 (America)

I appreciated the uniqueness of how Cosmosphere presented the space race. Of the several other space museums I’ve visited, none of them truly embed the visitor into the Space Race like this place.

On one side of the room are artifacts and information on the Russian steps. On the other side, America. If you take the time to read through each of them, you’ll see how complicated it was to make it to the moon and the steps taken to accomplish the task. There’s a setup on the ceiling showing how Russia accomplished the first spacewalk. It was interesting to see how that compared to America’s Gemini 4 spacewalk with Ed White.

Woman teaches about science at the Cosmosphere science museum in Kansas

Shows, Demos and Flight Simulator

When you first purchase your tickets, either in-person or online, you’ll need to select which documentary film you want to watch in the Dome Theater. The showtimes and options vary, but some of the shows we had to choose from in the Carey Digital Dome Theater were Ireland, Serengeti and Into America’s Wild. On select days and times, there are also feature films shown in the theater. Those aren’t included in the All-Access Mission Pass, but are available separately. I would’ve loved to have watched Maverick again, but our time was limited.

Regardless of whether you have kids joining you at the Cosmosphere or not, you should DEFINITELY sit in on a science demo in Dr. Goddard’s Space Lab. The instructor shares a little history about Robert Goddard, the father of modern-day rocketry. After a little history lesson, the science projects begin, learning about what makes fire and how Goddard sought to control it to launch rockets into space. The science and eminent “controlled explosions” are awesome! Our instructor was fantastic, and it was obvious that she loves her job.

We didn’t get a chance to check out any of the shows in the planetarium, but I do recommend looking at the showtimes when you arrive to take advantage of the opportunity.

Before we left, we took a ride on the naviGATOR Simulator in the main lobby. We read the sign by the entrance about motion sickness and weren’t sure we wanted to give it a try. We’re getting old and our equilibriums aren’t as young as they used to be. But we took a chance and went for a five-minute flight with the Blue Angels. It wasn’t nearly as bad as we thought it could’ve been, so if you snagged an All-Access Mission Pass, don’t miss out on the chance to give this a try.

Launchpad setup for kids to launch paper rockets to the moon

Hands-on Learning at the CosmoKids Area + Lunch in the Café

At the bottom of the stairs into the space museum, there’s an area marked CosmoKids. I was impressed with the hands-on activities they have in the room. One of the highlights – based on how busy the work station was – was the paper rocket building and launching area. Grab a kit from the main desk just inside the door. It’s a little bag with all the part you’ll need to make your paper rocket. At the work station, you’ll have the tools you need to build it. Then head to the launch area. Place the rocket over the tube and press the green button. That little button will launch your rocket to the moon! You can then retrieve it and launch it again.

Other areas inside CosmoKids is a small Apollo capsule to sit in, some foam building blocks to use in building a habitat and more. I would think that kids could spend a good chunk of time here playing and learning.

Since you’ll want to spend several hours at Cosmosphere, I’m glad they have a café onsite. Grab lunch or a little snack during your visit so you – or your kids – don’t end up getting hangry. 😉

German V1 rocket hanging from the ceiling at the Cosmosphere space museum in Kansas

The Details

Address: 1100 N Plum St Hutchinson, KS 67501

How long to spend: 4-6 hours if you want to see everything, including science demos and theater presentations

Cost: The All-Access Mission Pass is $26.50 for adults, $23.50 for seniors (60+) and military, $17.50 for children (ages 4-12) and children under 4 are free with paid adult. Other single-attraction tickets are available and range from $5 to $14.

Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

Website: https://cosmo.org/

Phone: (800) 397-0330

DISCLOSURE: I received two complimentary All Access Mission Passes to Cosmosphere for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own.

Step into the Space Race at Cosmosphere in Kansas