Rocketboy in his element

F-1 engine for the Saturn V rocket, Johnson Space Center, Texas

If you wondered why the wind seemed to carry the sound of overjoyed snorts the past couple of days, it was because Rocketboy's eighth birthday coincided with Space Center Houston's homeschool overnight program. I think it was a good gift.

Rocketboy and Hurricanehead saw friends, took a tram tour of the Johnson Space Center, played games, operated simulators, watched movies, built rockets both real and virtual, and romped in a three-story-tall playscape with an elevator and remote-control Mars rovers. Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan happened by the first evening, and R'boy got to ask Cernan a question during his presentation.

But the highlight of the trip? I don't call him Rocketboy for nothing. This kid has worshiped rockets since toddlerhood and has a special place in his heart for the Saturn V. He has a tiny Saturn V model in his room. He's done a series of increasingly large crayon drawings of the Saturn V for a talent show next month. I've been hearing about the stages of the Saturn V for years now as he learned them from a book about the Apollo program.

Well, guess what's in a great big hangar at Rocket Park?

Saturn V.

Happy birthday, son.