Adult astronaut wannabes play other parts in a fake space trip, launch model rockets, and use far-out astronaut training instruments including a one-sixth gravity chair and a multi-axis trainer for three days.
Despite being the biggest state, Alaska ranks 47th in population. That's a lot of vacant room for adventurers. Alaskan cruises are popular and include naturalist lectures, but there's a cooler way to see Alaska. A much cooler.
THE Amazon before Amazon. The Amazon is the world's second-longest river and one of the most fascinating places, covering 4,000 miles (6,437 kilometers) across South America.
Unlike the Amazon, the Galapagos Islands are in the water and provide just as much adventure and knowledge (without some meat-eating fish with a terrible reputation).
Archaeologists say Angkor, now in ruins in Cambodia, was the world's greatest preindustrial metropolis. Angkor was centered on Angkor Wat, one of the world's biggest Hindu temples, covering 390 square miles (1,010 square kilometers).
With its shrimps on barbies and crocodiles, Australia is an experience. Australia has coral reefs and individuals who shout "Crikey!" without sarcasm. The Great Barrier Reef has 400 coral species, 1,500 fish species, and 4,000 mollusks.
A natural site like the Great Barrier Reef is instructive, but few man-made buildings are, unless they feature locks like the Panama Canal. One of the seven wonders of the modern world, the Panama Canal was built between 1880 and 1914.
Many educational travel excursions employ boats, but the Mountain Railways of India are a class apart. The groupings include the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, and Kalka Shimla Railway.
Machu Picchu has about 700 terraces on a ridge 2,000 feet (609.6 meters) above the Urubamba River. Machu Picchu looks to be the heart of a network of pathways and other monuments, but experts don't know its function since the Incas didn't write.
African safaris are classics. You should now return with a brain full of African animal knowledge, not a head. Trackers and guides lead safaris throughout South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia's nature preserves.