Adler Planetarium: excellent artifacts about James Lovell

This venue in Chicago houses Lovell and Aldrin’s Gemini XII spacecraft, along with many of Jim Lovell’s personal effects, including his rejection letter from the Mercury program, and his flown flight plan from Gemini XII. The permanent exhibit, A Journey with Jim Lovell, opened November 11, 2006 and features a multimedia presentation about the Gemini XII flight narrated by Lovell.

Location of Adler Planetarium:

Air Force Space & Missile Museum in Florida

Perhaps the most impressive space-related artifact here is the original Gemini “white room”, where astronauts suited up and made final preparations for their flights. Also, on the grounds of the museum, is launch complex 5/6, from which Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom made the first two manned Mercury flights.

To visit the museum, you go to the Kennedy Space Center and take the bus tour, “Cape Canaveral: Then and Now.”

Their website suggests — “For Air Force Space and Missile Museum Information: please call the Museum Director at 321-853-9171″. So, if I’ve left you confused here (for example, how is this museum separate from the Kennedy Space Center?), you might want to call.

Armstong Air & Space in Ohio

Located in Armstrong’s home town of Wapakoneta, OH, this museum has the original flown Gemini 8 spacecraft—in which Armstrong and Dave Scott performed the first American docking in space—and nearly died when they went into a wicked spin. Also on display: the plane in which Armstrong learned to fly; Armstrong’s backup spacesuit for Apollo 11; a Gemini spacesuit fitted for Armstrong; an Apollo 11 moon rock; and a space shuttle landing simulator.

Location:  500 Apollo Drive, Wapakoneta, OH 45895-9780
Phone: (419) 738-8811

Tommy Bartlett's Exploratory

It’s amazing that this venue in Wisconsin displays a 43 foot long core module of the Mir space station—the actual backup for the Russian space station that hosted Russian and American crews in the 1990s.

Address: 560 Wisconsin Dells Parkway, Wisconsin Dells, WI 53965

Phone 608-254-2525

The Comsosphere: possibly the best space collection outside of NASA or the Smithsonian

In the unlikely location of Hutchinson, KS, this is an amazing place with the greatest collection outside of The National Air & Space Museum. On display: the Apollo 13 command module (Odyssey); a flown (unmanned) Vostok spacecraft; several flown spacesuits; and, of course, Gus Grissom’s Liberty Bell 7 Mercury spacecraft.

California Science Center in Los Angeles, California

There’s some great artifacts to be seen here! The ASTP command module; Gemini 11; the monkey-flown Mercury-Redstone 2; and Tom Mattingly’s Apollo 16 spacesuit.

700 State Drive, Los Angeles, CA; phone: (323) 724-3623

Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York

Among the exhibits: the lunar module from the (unflown) Apollo 18 mission, on display here! Bet that Dick Gordon is still wishing he could take this baby out for a ride!  (The Apollo 18 mission, which Gordon was slated to command was cancelled. Apollo 17 was the last moonlanding.)

This LM is on long-term loan from the National Air & Space Museum.

The museum is at Charles Lindbergh Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530

Deke Slayton Space and Bike Museum in Sparta, Wisconsin

Yep. You read that right. Space & Bike Museum. Located in Sparta, Wisconsin (Deke’s home town). They seem to have a high-pressure suit of some kind (maybe a Mercury space suit?) on display and some other artifacts. I’m trying to find out more.

In the meantime, you can call ahead: 1-888-200-5302 or 1-608-269-0033

The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A science museum, largely focused on exhibits of interest to grade school children, its main space feature is an exhibit called “Space Command”. However, I am more impressed with the (often neglected) early full-sized lunar module mockup out back. Last I checked, if you noticed it at all, you could go right up to it and climb the steps!

Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas

You’ll find this museum in Dallas, TX right by Love Field. While largely focused on aviation, this museum exhibits a number of “shoudn’t miss” items, including the Apollo 7 command module.

Walk up to the Apollo 7 hatch at Frontiers of Fllight

6911 Lemmon Avenue, Dallas, TX; (214) 350-3600