Rocket Club - Wallops Island

Small presentation of what NASA does at wallops island. Short video plays. The day we went they launched model rockets. We were there a few days prior to a scheduled launch. Hoping the weather holds out before we leave Chincoteague so we can see it. Big plus to the visitor center is that it is free. Would be perfect for a rainy day that your not going to the beach as most of it is inside.

Small museum, it was busy because of the rocket launch, the parking was actually closed and we went over to Chincoteague to watch the launch and came back afterwards. They have rockets and historical info on Wallops A few interactive displays. The kids enjoyed it. If a rocket launch is on your to do list make sure you get there super early to get a spot at the Viewing area otherwise you'll have to go elsewhere and they do not let you park along the road.

I was definitely expecting a lot more than what is actually here, but I did enjoy my time regardless. It's a far drive from NASA Langley where I was coming from. Not sure I would do that drive again for how small Wallops is. I feel like you could look at everything they have here in less than an hour. Everyone was really friendly though and the gift shop had a lot of good stuff at a good price!

Alright, let's separate the sheep from the goats when it comes to the Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center. Personally I'm always a bit skeptical when the equation starts with government free. Usually you're talking about something National Park related and with how their funding has been neutered over the past ?? years far too often you need to curb your enthusiasm before visiting a site. To a degree that same equation is in place here. Now let me preface anything else by saying that if you're here for one of the few launches that are held here every year (the bulk of all launches are in Florida at Cape Canaveral and most of what is launched here are things like the Antares Rocket en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antares_(rocket) not Mars Rover or Space X types of launches) that's a whole different story in terms of crowds and uniqueness. Our visit was on a Saturday in November and the center was fairly deserted. The parking lot is on the small side but for our purposes there were plenty of spaces. The first 1/4 of the displays are about the history of Wallops Island and the NASA's long presence in the area. That part is neat to see how the rockets got larger and more advanced from the humble beginnings in the 1940's of launching small ones right off the beach. Eventually things get slightly into the more modern space program, modern in the sense of the now eight years retired Shuttle program, with some dabblings about the weather and the military. One neat sidebar was the small display about the late President George H.W. Bush who spent time in the area while stationed at Chincoteague Naval Auxiliary Air Station. Neat display of correspondences between him and his parents (he loved to fly low and buzz the fishermen and he hated the area food). Very cool that this place is here and especially that it's free but curb your enthusiasm because you're talking maybe a 30-40 minute sidebar and aside from the rocket displays outside the gift shop might be the nicest thing here. The visitor center is open year round from Tuesday-Saturday 10am-4pm.

What a cool surprise. On our way to Chincoteague we turned the corner and saw this huge NASA facility. A little further down the road across the street we noticed their visitor center advertising free admission. We had already been in the car for a while so figured why not stop. They had lots of exhibits, a small gift shop and even free events. If your staying in Chincoteague make sure to check their event board or online calendar. Definitely worth a visit...you can't beat the price ;