The U.S. Space and Rocket Center is the city's undisputed centerpiece and one of the great science museums in America. Built around the Marshall Space Flight Center's hardware collection, it traces the entire arc of the U.S. space program from the early days of Wernher von Braun's German-American rocket team through the Apollo missions, the Space Shuttle era, and current deep-space ambitions. The hardware is genuinely extraordinary — complete rocket engines, spacecraft, space suits, and vehicles you can walk around and touch.
The outdoor Rocket Park holds full-scale examples of the Saturn V and other historic rockets; the Davidson Center for Space Exploration, opened in 2008, houses the fully restored Saturn V horizontally in a purpose-built hall. Inside, simulators let you attempt a shuttle landing, experience a multi-axis trainer, and go through a toned-down version of astronaut training. The museum also runs the Space Camp program for young visitors, a famous institution in its own right. Plan at least three to four hours, more with children. The museum is roughly five miles west of downtown via Interstate 565.