February 15, 2015, Updated February 12, 2015
International Space Center in Ashdod - artist's drawing. (Ashdod Municipality)
International Space Center in Ashdod – artist’s drawing. (Ashdod Municipality)

Israeli children (and adults) will get a chance to shoot for the moon, feel what it’s like to be an astronaut, fly a space shuttle simulator, and learn about space-related technologies at the newly announced International Space Center amusement park planned for Ashdod.

The Israel Space Agency has announced a few times that it is interested in teaching a new generation of would-be astronauts. The new 12-acre fun center will surely help that cause.

“This project is of national importance for the State of Israel, an enterprise which will promote education for the younger generation in Israel, and the city of Ashdod in particular, and encouraging the expansion of international cooperation in the fields of aerospace and science,” Ashdod Mayor, Dr. Yehiel Lasry, told the Times of Israel.

According to the Ashdod Municipality, the International Space Center will be the first-of-its-kind activities center that combines fun stuff (interactive exhibits, movies, simulators, rides, games) with academic projects including an incubator for early-stage startups and the Israel Space Cadet Training Center.

The center will draw on the assistance of universities from Israel and around the world, and accept the best science students who want to prepare for space-oriented careers, according to the Times of Israel.

The Israel Space Park Association, behind the project, says the amusement park center will be ready within three years.

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