European Space Agency

space expo

Space Expo is Europe’s first major space exhibition and the technical home of the European Space Agency, ESA.  Space Expo is a permanent exhibition and is open 10am – 5pm, Tuesday – Saturday.

Space Expo is situated on the edge of Katwijk, a small town a few miles south of the Flying Pig Beach Hostel in Noordwijk.  A brisk walk to Space Expo will take around 40 minutes, or alternatively you can make the journey by bus.  Bus number 95 takes 5 minutes to get to Katwijk, running twice an hour from the centre of Noordwijk.

The Space Expo exhibition is contained inside one large hanger.  Half the exhibition focuses on the recent creation of the European space agency, ESA, while other exhibits concentrate on the major global events that shaped the history of space exploration.  All the major achievements and disasters are chronicled - from the first Russian satellite fired into space to the NASA moon landings.  The exhibition also includes the simulated launch of an Ariane rocket, and a life sized mock up of a NASA Lunar Lander, the Columbus shuttle, and part of the International Space Station.

On arrival visitors have the option of paying a little extra for an interactive headset.  The interactive headset is controlled via a box the size of a mobile phone which hangs comfortably around the neck.  You can use the box to trigger recorded commentary that coincides with the specific area of the exhibition that you happen to be in. 

The headset is a must for anyone wishing to interact with the exhibits in greater depth.  I felt that the entrance fee should cover the hire of the headset, and didn’t feel I should  pay the additional charge - but the clerk was determined that I should fork out in full.  After a lot of tough talk I eventually paid up, and made for the entrance of the exhibition with my head hung in shame. 

Unfortunately I happened to visit Space Expo at the same time as a local school group.  There is nothing worse than bumping into large groups of children at exhibitions, but the hanger was just large enough for me to avoid the grubby little urchins for the majority of my visit.  Luckily you can walk around the exhibition as many times as you like, so if one exhibit is busy you can always find your way back to it later.  On the odd occasion that a child did hinder my progress through the exhibition I resorted to clubbing them to the floor with the butt of my interactive headset.  And after a few hours even the most feral child understood that I was a serious writer, and they had better stay out of my way. 

Space Expo is not just an exhibition for brainiacs to enjoy.  No.  Space Expo has something to offer kids and simple minded adults too.  Large parts of the exhibition are interactive, with levers to pull, holes to look into, and buttons to press.  And lets be honest, life is fun when you are pushing buttons, even if you don’t fully understand why you are pushing them.

Set aside at least three hours to visit Space Expo.  And if you remember to engage your brain you may even learn something!  But not everyone wants to be educated; I am sure some of the visitors I saw were only pretending to learn - smiling and nodding at the exhibits, when really their minds were focused on the café and gift shop that everyone leaving the exhibition is forced fed into.

After a few hours inside the exhibition I stumbled out of the emergency exit and headed for the café.  I ordered a strong coffee and a large piece of apple pie, and threw my typewriter on the nearest table.  I would later find out that I was sitting at the ‘Astronauts table’.  The ‘Astronauts table’ is covered with signatures of famous spacemen who use the table as a base for lunch time meet ups.  As the waitress came over with my coffee I panicked – surely if an astronaut walked into the café I would be re-seated – banished to an area of the café more suited to my importance.  But when I questioned the waitress she assured me that I would not have to move to another table; the astronauts would simply find a seat elsewhere.  As I shovelled large chunks of apple pie into my mouth I remember thinking, wow, how wonderfully dignified the space intelligentsia are, and in comparison, how dreadfully primitive the average earth man is.