The Space Museum and Grissom Center — Attraction in Bonne Terre

The Space Museum in Bonne Terre is an absolute gem. We really didn't know what to expect, but we went on the strength of news coverage of the grand opening in March. It was attended by many people involved in the space program, both past and present, including several astronauts and a flight director. Such an impressive crowd suggested something definitely worthwhile. And that it is, to say the least.

The Space Museum tells the story of the space program from its beginnings right up to the present. The building is filled with actual artifacts, many donated by NASA. Upon entry to the museum through the Grissom Center, dedicated ro the memory of the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo astronaut Gus Grissom, one is greeted by a film about his career. In addition, there is much about the team of McDonnell engineers who designed and built the Mercury and Gemini spacecraft. And that is just the beginning. You will find yourself transported back to the marvelous adventure of the space program of the 60s.

But the museum is much more than that. It is a learning center, as well, where visitors discover a large body of fascinating information. In addition, the volunteers who work there possess a wealth of knowledge themselves, and they are eager to share it. The Space Museum was and is an ongoing labor of love for the many people involved in its creation and continuance, something that any visitor there can feel.

If you live in the St. Louis area and haven't been there, go. It's only 45 minutes from the I-270/I-55 junction. If you're visiting the St. Louis area and you don't go, you're missing out. The Space Museum...

I took my family who was visiting from Germany here after a trip into the mines, since the buildings are back to back. Based on the size of the museum, I was anticipating it to be a nice place to cap off the day and spend 30 minutes or so, but honestly I think we stayed there past the point it would have closed? Personally, my wife and I could have spent the entire day there, and only didn't because of a minor medical issue with a family member.

Our tour guide Randy was fun and engaging and had so many explanations and anecdotes for us that each item had several minutes of value added beyond the usual self-guided museum touring.

While the museum itself has a small footprint, it displays things well. Everything is spaced widely apart enough that things are full and busy but don't feel cramped. You can interact directly with quite a few of the items, and they let us put on or touch things that have once been to space. I'm sure this sounds like a curator's nightmare, but I've always been of the opinion that the value of a special or historical item is in its ability to spark wonder in future generations, and I'm sure this does just that.

I was on a tour at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory out in California when they were working on Spirit and Opportunity, and this definitely instilled similar feelings in me.

I heard the collection is rotated every so often, so I plan to...

An absolute gem...a delightful find on our way to doing something else (that we let slide so that we could spend 2.5 hours in the museum). EARL MULLINS gave us a personal tour, and we still didn't see half of the artifacts. A wonderfully cozy and well curated museum filled with flown, and un-flown, astronautical artifacts. The artifacts are up close, but the real treasures are the stories, the histories, all stashed in Earl's head. Somebody needs to upload this man's memories and consciousness! For 15 minutes, my wife and I FaceTime'd my brother, an aerospace engineer, and gave him a virtual tour as Earl walked and talked. Earl is absolutely correct... Missouri has a rich history in aerospace. A history that should be remember and shared as humans race back to the moon and beyond. Julie and I are still laughing and pinching ourselves at our serendipitous luck. What a treasure for us now, and for posterity.

Charles and Julie Tadros

P.S. Part of the way through our tour, a wonderful family with 4 very young children joined us. The focused and insightful questions from the 5 year-old girl and 4 year-old boy added immeasurably to our...