NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is home to the nation's largest organization of scientists, engineers and technologists who build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study Earth, the sun, our solar system and the universe.
Just outside Washington, Goddard is home to Hubble operations and the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope. Goddard manages communications between mission control and orbiting astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Goddard scientists stare into the sun, grind up meteorites for signs of life's building blocks, look into the farthest reaches of space, and untangle the mysteries of our own changing world. Goddard engineers construct sensitive instruments, build telescopes that peer into the cosmos, and operate the test chambers that ensure those satellites' survival.
Named for American rocketry pioneer Dr. Robert H. Goddard, the center was established May 1, 1959, as NASA's first space flight complex. Goddard and its several installations are critical in carrying out NASA's missions of space exploration and scientific discovery.
GSFC Visitor Center
The visitor center includes museum-type and educational exhibits inside. There is an attached gift shop. The rocket park is behind the main building. Plenty of parking is available. The visitor center main building, gift shop, and rocket park are wheelchair accessible.
Visitor Center Hours
September through June: Tuesday - Friday: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday: noon - 4 p.m.
July through August: Tuesday - Friday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday: noon - 4 p.m.
The visitor center is closed Mondays except for some federal holidays. It is open on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day and Veterans Day from noon to 4 p.m. It is closed on New Year’s Day, Easter Sunday, July Fourth, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Please note that visitor center hours are subject to change. If you have a question about holiday hours, please call 301-286-8981.
Gift Shop
The Gift Shop located next to the Visitor Center has a wide array of NASA-themed items, including clothing, space-related toys and games, model rockets, a large selection of NASA pins and mission patches, and astronaut ice cream. Call for store hours at 301-286-6476.
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.