JPL: Jet Propulsion Labratory
A full-size mock up of the Voyager spacecraft.
A copy of the time capsule that is on Voyagers 1 and 2. They are records, and there is a record player needle so that if any aliens find the spacecraft, they will know where Earth is, and what it's like here.
Mars Global Surveyor: Yet another attempt to explore Mars (I don't remember all the details about most of the mock-ups that we saw...sorry)
I don't remember what this one was called, but it is made up of a lot of real spares, not stuff that they just threw together to make it look pretty. Parts of it, including some of the cameras (I think) and the black cloth are actually space-worthy.
Professor Brownlee from UW is the Principle Investigator for Stardust, so when it sucessfully landed a few months ago, it was all over the UW website. Ever since then, I've really wanted to see and hold some of this Aerogel. It's made of mostly air. There are cool pictures of a crayon sitting on top, and a fire underneath, and the crayon not melting. It really just looks like solid smoke. So now I've seen some at least.
Sorry this one is so fuzzy. This is a replica of the twin rovers that are currently exploring Mars, Spirit and Opportunity.
This is one of the rooms that they use to test Spirit and Opportunity, particularly when one of them gets stuck, and the scientists and engineers need to figure out what to do before they start sending instructions to Mars.
This is what Spirit and Opportunity looked like while on their way to Mars. This replica is closed up for storage reasons, but when it (just like the real ones) is ready to move around, it unfolds like a brand new flower and is ready for action!
We couldn't take pictures inside this building, but this is the plaque on the outside that names this building an historical monument, because it is from the control room inside this building that almost all of the original unmanned space missions were controlled.
I liked that JPL has a security force with their own cars: the JPL Patrol.