More than 90 million visitors pour into Florida each year.
"We're all touched by aviation,” says Jeff Stanford with the Orlando Science Center.
Under the blue wings of a giant airplane at the Orlando Science Center, folks grab a sheet of paper, follow the directions, hit a button and then get ready to soar.
"You're trying to get it to fly all the way through there, which is very hard,” explains 9-year-old Isabella Carl.
The Orlando Science Center’s “Paper Glider Challenge” illustrates the science behind flying, using a paper airplane launcher.
Did you plane fail to fly through the target, crawl under the exhibit and pick up all of those that did not work, and try to perfect them and try again.
"It's lots of fun,” Isabella admits with a wide grin.
Downstairs, you’ll find another aviation exhibit.
"I am going to start with the gas,” says longtime Orlando Science Center volunteer Tom Picard. He’s proud of the simulator based on Glenn Martin's 1909 Pusher aircraft, a design now more than 100 years old.
"It was the first aircraft that had the propeller in the rear,” Tom says.
Visitors can climb into the simulator for a spin.
"I'm trying to get out of the way of these houses, but I'll go through them!” Tom says while behind the controls. It's a lot harder than it looks.
If Dutch company, "Mars One," is successful in flying to the red planet in 2023, visitors will see what is already in the works at the Orlando Science Center.
"Welcome to your Space Pod."
The “Space Base” sphere surrounds visitors wearing a virtual reality headset for a walk along Mars.
"From paper airplanes to earliest airplanes, to experiences on Mars, we kinda roll all that up into an experience, to help you better understand the impact science has that gets you into the air,” Jeff says about the fun ways to learn as summer returns.
"There's a lot of things you can learn about,” Isabella agrees.
More Information
Where:
Orlando, Orange County
Hours:
Sunday – Tuesday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Thursday – Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
NOTE: Closed Wednesday, Except on Orange and Seminole
County School Holidays.
Tickets:
Adult: $19
Children 3-11: $13
Senior 55+: $17
Student with ID: $17
2 & under: Free
Address:
777 E. Princeton Street
Orlando, Florida 3280
Phone:
407-514-2000
TTY: 407-514-2005
Toll Free: 888-OSC-4FUN
Email:
gservices@osc.org
Website:
http://www.osc.org/
Parking:
Parking Garage charges a nominal fee
Accessibility:
The Orlando Science Center features an elevator to all attractions
GPS Longitude & Latitude:
Latitude: 28.572249
Longitude: -81.368172
Latitude: 28° 34' 20.0958"
Longitude: -81° 22' 5.4192"
Drive Times:
From Downtown Orlando: 5 minutes
From Tampa: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Tankful on Television
You can catch new Florida on a Tankful stories each Thursday and Saturday on News 13 and Bay News 9. New editions play at the end of each hour starting at 6 a.m. Classic Florida on a Tankful stories can be found each Friday and Sunday on Bay News 9 and News 13 at the end of each hour starting at 6 a.m.
Tankful on Demand
Watch Florida on a Tankful now on Bright House Local On Demand, Channel 999.
Use your remote to scroll to the right to the TRAVEL category. Then SCROLL DOWN to TANKFUL.