If you, your partner or your kids are somehow still obsessed with Angry Birds and you feel you need to take a break from it to confirm that there are indeed others things to life besides the bird-flinging pig-bashing game, don’t go to the Kennedy Space Center.
You see, NASA’s Florida-based facility has just opened the Angry Birds Space Encounter attraction, described as “the first comprehensive, interactive Angry Birds attraction in the United States.” We’re not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
Bill Moore, COO of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, evidently thinks it’s a good thing.
“Angry Birds Space Encounter is both a fun and educational experience,” Moore said in a release announcing the new attraction. “Concepts of human space exploration are incorporated into Angry Birds Space Encounter, reflecting Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex’s ongoing mission to encourage young people in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields of study.”
So what can you expect to find should you feel inclined to put your Angry Birds game on pause and check out the Space Center’s new 4,485-square-foot bird-based attraction?
Well, there are six interactive “stations” to choose from, each designed to “engage and immerse guests in a new dimension of Angry Birds Space.”
Possibly the most popular of these will be the Eggsteroids Slingshot, a real-life version of the mobile game, though you’ll be happy to learn that no living birds, or pigs for that matter, will be harmed in the playing of your game.
There’s also an opportunity to create your own Angry Bird which can be printed and taken home, and an ominous-sounding Danger Zone where visitors are invited into a mirrored labyrinth to search for hidden Angry Birds.
There’s also the Angry Birds Game Zone, Lazer Challenge and Tile Puzzle – in other words, plenty to distract you from the Space Center’s myriad of other offerings, which include the Shuttle Launch Experience and Astronaut Training Experience.
The appearance of the Angry Birds attraction at the world famous Kennedy Space Center shows just how far the game (and maker Rovio) has come since it first launched back in 2009.
Besides having had over a billion downloads, the various versions of Angry Birds have spawned a merchandise industry that includes soft toys, books, clothes and much more besides. It’s also set to be a movie and animated TV series. And now, less than four years on, it has a place at the Kennedy Space Center.
