Armelle, Gatien and Douglas visit the European Space Center

Walking on the moon, driving a rover on Mars or experiencing a rocket launch, this is possible for young and old, and this happens at the European Space Center!

What if we (re)discovered Wallonia? During the months of May and June, RTBF animators, accompanied by their children, test out activities for you to enjoy with your family near your home! Armelle and her children, Douglas 8 and Gatian 10, went to the European Space Center for a day of discovery, their heads up at the stars.

Hi Armel! Today you take your kids to the European Space Center, why?

Kids love the European Space Center! I took them on Christmas holidays and that was a really big find. They repeatedly asked me to come back. The European Space Center is not an amusement park, it is a clone of a space training center. It is a center established by scholars for emerging young scientists. There is an after tutorial. And I find it interesting to see, through what younger people see as attractions, that they gain a foothold in space exploration. The day after their first visit, Jatian began devouring books in space.

What are their favorites during this visit?

Gatien loves strong sensations, he is a little reckless so the succulents really distinguished him. And then I think beyond the centrifuge, he should definitely figure out what it means to lift off the ground and have that engine pressure send you into the atmosphere there. A favorite of Douglas’s was the Moonwalk, this immersive experience that reproduces the feeling of walking on the moon. Whoever has his head in the stars in his own way…

Among the novelties of the European Space Center there is the “Village of Mars” … 2021, is the year of the Red Planet?

We are once again at the center of a major alien invasion with Mars where we have been able to put together a robot to communicate with. We measure the difficulty of communication because we are millions of kilometers away. It takes 20 minutes to receive the signal since March. So this is impressive, it makes you dream and wonder. Recently, for the “Ambassadors”, we came to the European Space Center. I had the opportunity to meet Frank De Win, who confided to me that the Earth looks so beautiful and so fragile from space. And I think it’s a magical message to pass on to the kids. To think that it can be seen from very far, thousands of kilometers away, the Earth is very beautiful, but very fragile. to me meditating…

Why would other families recommend this experience?

Space, I think, makes kids dream. It’s a perfect family visit because we have fun sides and at the same time we make a lot of discoveries. If we could slip on the human side of these men who once boarded a spacecraft to leave Earth and go to the stars, today would be a huge success.

Look up “my holiday in Wallonia” regularly during May and June at 7:25 PM on the front page. All episodes are available whenever you want on RTBF Auvio.

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