A whole section of the museum was devoted to the experiments performed by Robert Goddard as he developed the first liquid fueled rocket. Goddard is considered the father of modern rocketry. One room in the museum was set up as if it were Goddard's workshop.
The museum had lots of outdoor exhibits relating to rocketry and space travel.
The space race began with the launch of the Russian satellite, Sputnik, on October 4, 1957. The replica shown at the museum was full sized.
One of the more interesting exhibits showed how man has adapted to living in the conditions in outer space. Different types of clothing, food, and items of personal hygiene were put on display.
We had lots of fun trying to land the space shuttle in the museum's flight simulator.
Check out these cool satellites.
Ham the space chimp was a space pioneer.
Signs like these were posted all over public buildings, restaurants, and shopping centers. Gun laws are very different in New Mexico.
White Sands National Monument is the world's largest gypsum dune field. There are 275 square miles of desert filled with sand dunes made from white gypsum sand.
The gypsum that makes up the sand in these dunes is really clear, not white. As the sand grains bounce around in the wind and bump into other sand grains, they become scratched. The scratches reflect light differently and make the sand gains appear white.
