Forty years later, Houston, home to Johnson Space Center and Mission Control, celebrates again, with a variety of events, attractions and exhibitions  commemorating the lunar landing and our fascination with space.

Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11

Discovery Green:  Spacefest – The downtown park partners with NASA and Rice University to host activities that celebrate the historic lunar landing.  Exhibits and films are designed for education and for fun.  July 17-20th.  FREE.

Houston Astros – For the July 20th game, the Astros will wear caps that feature the Apollo 11 mission patch, and give away replica caps to the first 10,000 fans.  Pre-game activities will feature residents who played an important role in the Apollo space program.

Space Center Houston – The Official Space Museum, sponsored by NASA, visitors can take a look at Apollo 17 and A Saturn V rocket.  Lots of great exhibits including a chance to touch moon rocks.  Visitors can also sit in the gallery of Mission Control, imagining what it must have been like to experience the moon landing from the nerve center of it all.  Tickets are $19.95 for adults, $18.95 for seniors, and $15.95 for kids.  A variety of discounts and promotional rates may be available.  Additionally, Space Center Houston is a Houston City Pass attraction.

The Health Museum – With its Facing Mars exhibit, visitors will have a chance to explore more than 28 interactive stations.  You can walk on Mars, with an exhibit that simulate Martian gravity, or become a rocket scientist for a day with an opportunity to test and launch rockets.  Lots to look at and think about as you ponder the challenges involved in journeying to Mars.  The exhibit runs through September 20th, 2009.  Admission is $8 for adults, and $6 for seniors and kids.  The Health Museum is also a Houston City Pass attraction.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston – An upcoming exhibit titled, The Moon:  Houston, Tranquility Base Here.  The Eagle has Landed, celebrates the Apollo space missions, and the relationship the missions and astronauts had with the moon.  Approximately 30 works of arts pay tribute to the moon.  Additionally, some 17th-century telescopes and other scientific implements will be on display.  The exhibit runs September 27th, 2009 through January 10th, 2010.  Admission is $7 for adults, and $3.50 for kids and seniors.  FREE admission on Thursdays.  The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is also a Houston City Pass attraction.

Houston Symphony – The symphony joins with NASA to present The Planets – An HD Odyssey.  Merging classical music with a giant screen with images from the Mars Rover, Hubble telescope, and past missions to Mars, this performance is an visual and audio masterpiece.  January 21st, 23rd, and 24th, 2010.

I remember following the Apollo 11 mission on television with my family.  It still gives me chills watching the original footage today.

Photo credit:  wikimedia

Post from: Blisstree

Houston Celebrates: The Eagle Has Landed

Robin, my sister, and her husband, Matt, have been married for 15 years. They dated and lived together for a few years before that, so basically they’ve been together for close to 20 years. In that time their relationship, like any relationship that lasts for a length of time, has had it’s ups and downs. They’ve been able to ride out the rough parts and I admire and respect that.

I believe that real love is when people stick it out and don’t give up when things get ugly. Before I started writing for Dating Dames, I read a number of back entries. One covered whether a person was “Involved” or “Committed.” So many times when things aren’t exactly the way I want them to be with S, I get stressed and question if we have a future. He doesn’t do this. Sometimes he gets overwhelmed and I don’t hear from him for a bit, but when he’s back, he’s back. I applied the two of us to the chart and I realized that I was involved and he was committed. It was a big eye opener.

I asked Matt and Robin if they had any words of advice for me to share with you readers. Matt said that patience was imperative. He said it with a look at Robin and she made a joke about needing space. I got the impression that they were teasing each other, but what they said, both patience and space are important in a healthy relationship. They are both generous with allowing each other to have time apart – Matt and his buddy enjoy the races and going to movies, while Robin and her girlfriends like to take day trips to nearby wineries.

They work together to make their marriage work and they patiently wait out the rough stuff because they trust that each partner is fully committed to their relationship.

Post from: Blisstree

Matt and Robin’s Words of Wisdom

BellaOnline is an online magazine for women that focuses on a variety of topics including dating.  Imagine that!

While reading through the mirage of dating articles, I found one that I felt needed a bit more focus and hopefully discussion.

It’s great to be caught up in a new relationship, to feel the pleasures of falling in love, but when you become so absored in the relationship that you lose your entire being and self identity, it’s time to step back and create your own space in order to maintain your own individuality.

We all need our space, and this is really true once we become involved in a relationship. As an outsider looking in on other’s relationships it is easy to see when space is needed. For example, it’s easy to criticize your friend who disappears for weeks on end only to contact you if her boyfriend is on a business trip, or breaks up with her, etc. But why is it so hard to see ourselves behaving this way. There are some warning signs to look for when you are not giving yourself or your partner enough space.  More …

The article goes on to offer up the following signs that you may just need to create more space within the relationship:

• your friends stop calling
• you can’t remember the last time you spent your free time apart
• you have stopped doing a hobby that you once loved
• friends and family are complaining they never seen you anymore

What are some other signs or warnings that you may be overly consumed in a relationship and need to create a little breathing room to keep true to the person you once were?
 

Post from: Blisstree

Give me my space