Welcome to Space Center Houston, the Official Visitor center of NASA's Johnson Space Center. The Center is owned and operated by the Manned Space Flight Education Foundation, Inc., and is not federally funded.
Applaud the accomplishments of NASA and the American manned space flight program at Space Center Houston. You will relive the past achievements of the space program and witness today's history in the making.

Everything you see in the facility is realistic. Space Center Houston's creators kept in close contact with NASA to ensure the most accurate experience. Each attraction is self-guided so you can spend as much time, or as little time, in each areas as desired. Most guests spend four to six hours in the Center.

Tram tours take guests behind the scenes at JSC and are led by knowledgeable guides. The tours visit various sites at the Johnson Space Center, including the X-38 Assembly Building and the Shuttle Mock-up Facility.

Ninnie Baird was a remarkable woman...

In a day and age when it was rare for a woman to become a successful entrepreneur, she was. But the founding of Mrs Baird's Bread wasn't exactly a smooth road.

In 1901 William and Ninnie Baird brought their family from Tennessee to Fort Worth, Texas. William, a restaurateur by trade, set up a business in downtown Fort Worth selling popcorn from a bright red cart with brass fittings and a loud steam whistle. Within months his success led him to buy another popcorn cart which was run by his oldest son, Dewey, only eight-years-old. But it wasn't long before William Baird decided to get back into the restaurant business.

By 1905, William Baird had started, built up and sold one restaurant and was working on his second, when he received devastating news. He was diagnosed as having diabetes, in those days an incurable and untreatable disease.

Although very ill, William Baird and his young son Dewey worked in the family restaurant. Ninnie Baird tended to the home and her three other sons, and like everyone else of that time, she baked for her family.

Every day she would cut wood to fire the wood-burning stove. It was hot, sometimes dirty work, but in spite of the lack of modern conveniences, Mrs. Baird became a wonderful baker. The loaves of bread, cakes and pies she baked, the family enjoyed. Any extra was shared with the neighbors. Her bread was so delicious that it wasn't long before her reputation was known far and wide.

Ninnie did all her baking in a wood-fired stove...

In 1908, with William's health failing, it became impossible for him to continue working. It was clear that Ninnie Baird needed to find a way to help support her family, so she established Mrs Baird's Bread.

In 1911, William died and Ninnie Baird decided to continue the business she had begun. Every day, in her home, in a wood-burning stove that could bake only four loaves at a time, Ninnie baked her wonderful bread, cakes and pies. Her boys helped bake and deliver the bread on foot. Her daughters took care of the smaller children and did other chores around the house. Mrs Baird's Bread was truly a family business.

As business grew, the boys went from delivering bread on foot, to riding bicycles.

In 1915, demand for Mrs Baird's bread had outgrown Ninnie's wood-burning stove. A larger oven was needed so she bought a commercial oven from the Metropolitan Hotel in Fort Worth. Unable to pay cash for the $75 oven, Ninnie put down $25 and paid out the rest in bread and rolls. The new oven, which could bake 40 loaves at a time, was installed in a small wooden building in the family's backyard.

Sales continued to grow to the point where the boys could not make deliveries on their bicycles. So, the Baird's buggy was converted into a wagon and pulled by the family horse, Ned. The first company employee, Mr. Lipps, who was not a Baird family member, was hired to drive the wagon.

Ned, it turns out, was quite a delivery horse. He came to know the route so well that he would stop at every customer's house without the urging of his driver. Over time, delivering to the sales route became son Hoyt's job. In 1917 the family bought a Ford passenger car, took out the seats and painted "Eat More Mrs Baird's Bread" on the sides.

Old Ned retires and expansion begins...

About this time Mrs Baird's Bread began selling to commercial accounts. Two Telephone Exchanges bought pies daily and Sandegard's Grocery became the company's first bread reseller. Sandegard's, a large store with a delicatessen, proved to be a very good customer as it soon grew to 15 stores, all displaying Mrs Baird's Bread prominently in a glass case.

In 1918, Hoyt Baird left Fort Worth to join the Army, leaving the company without a delivery driver. It was decided to discontinue selling direct and concentrate instead on selling only wholesale. Demand steadily increased, and so did the bakery. Now located at 6th Avenue and Terrell Street, the little 30 foot by 72 foot facility housed an oven that could bake 400 loaves at a time. Wholesale deliveries now stretched into every corner of Fort Worth, where fresh-baked bread, rolls, cakes and pies were delivered every day. Over the next ten years the bakery was enlarged nine times, until it was one of the largest baking facilities in Texas.

In 1928, the Bairds opened a new bakery across the Trinity River in Dallas, Texas. The stock market crash of 1929 signaled the start of the Great Depression, and, like everyone else, Mrs Baird's Bread had to cut back to survive those lean times. By 1938, business was returning to normal and the bakery needed to expand again. They built a new bakery in Houston, Texas and added another plant in Fort Worth. Once a one-horse delivery system, now a fleet of trucks was needed at each of the four bakeries. The two new bakeries also featured plate glass windows so that visitors could watch the baking process. Not only could you smell the delicious bread, but you could watch it being made as well.

In the 1940's, America entered World War II and the country saw a shortage of many items, like sugar. Because they went off to fight the war, workers were also in short supply. These shortages forced Mrs Baird's to reduce the number and kinds of bread product it baked, but it never compromised on quality. If an ingredient was in short supply, then the bakery just didn't bake that item for a while.

Post War Growth establishes Mrs Baird's as Texas' Bread

Following the war, in 1949, Mrs Baird's expanded again building a bakery in Abilene, Texas. In 1959 and 1960 the company acquired bakeries in the Texas cities of Victoria, Lubbock, Waco and Austin.

Throughout the 1950's and 1960's, the company prospered. Ninnie Baird, the namesake of the thriving company, however, experienced declining health. Now 80, she stayed at home most of the time. The boys handled most of the day-to-day operations, but Ninnie Baird, still the Chairman of the Board, was always consulted on the major decisions. The family's commitment to quality, freshness and service never waivered. It was a work ethic that was passed on from generation to generation as well as, the importance of family, a Christian upbringing, and community. From the beginning until her death, she shared with her neighbors and her community.

Tour one of Mrs Baird's Bakeries and see firsthand how Mrs Baird's Bread is baked. Tour reservations are granted on a first come, first serve basis, so we recommend you contact the bakery you wish to tour at least two to three weeks in advance. Scheduling a time in the morning is a good idea during hot weather months.

Ninnie Baird was a remarkable woman...

In a day and age when it was rare for a woman to become a successful entrepreneur, she was. But the founding of Mrs Baird's Bread wasn't exactly a smooth road.

In 1901 William and Ninnie Baird brought their family from Tennessee to Fort Worth, Texas. William, a restaurateur by trade, set up a business in downtown Fort Worth selling popcorn from a bright red cart with brass fittings and a loud steam whistle. Within months his success led him to buy another popcorn cart which was run by his oldest son, Dewey, only eight-years-old. But it wasn't long before William Baird decided to get back into the restaurant business.

By 1905, William Baird had started, built up and sold one restaurant and was working on his second, when he received devastating news. He was diagnosed as having diabetes, in those days an incurable and untreatable disease.

Although very ill, William Baird and his young son Dewey worked in the family restaurant. Ninnie Baird tended to the home and her three other sons, and like everyone else of that time, she baked for her family.

Every day she would cut wood to fire the wood-burning stove. It was hot, sometimes dirty work, but in spite of the lack of modern conveniences, Mrs. Baird became a wonderful baker. The loaves of bread, cakes and pies she baked, the family enjoyed. Any extra was shared with the neighbors. Her bread was so delicious that it wasn't long before her reputation was known far and wide.

Ninnie did all her baking in a wood-fired stove...

In 1908, with William's health failing, it became impossible for him to continue working. It was clear that Ninnie Baird needed to find a way to help support her family, so she established Mrs Baird's Bread.

In 1911, William died and Ninnie Baird decided to continue the business she had begun. Every day, in her home, in a wood-burning stove that could bake only four loaves at a time, Ninnie baked her wonderful bread, cakes and pies. Her boys helped bake and deliver the bread on foot. Her daughters took care of the smaller children and did other chores around the house. Mrs Baird's Bread was truly a family business.

As business grew, the boys went from delivering bread on foot, to riding bicycles.

In 1915, demand for Mrs Baird's bread had outgrown Ninnie's wood-burning stove. A larger oven was needed so she bought a commercial oven from the Metropolitan Hotel in Fort Worth. Unable to pay cash for the $75 oven, Ninnie put down $25 and paid out the rest in bread and rolls. The new oven, which could bake 40 loaves at a time, was installed in a small wooden building in the family's backyard.

Sales continued to grow to the point where the boys could not make deliveries on their bicycles. So, the Baird's buggy was converted into a wagon and pulled by the family horse, Ned. The first company employee, Mr. Lipps, who was not a Baird family member, was hired to drive the wagon.

Ned, it turns out, was quite a delivery horse. He came to know the route so well that he would stop at every customer's house without the urging of his driver. Over time, delivering to the sales route became son Hoyt's job. In 1917 the family bought a Ford passenger car, took out the seats and painted "Eat More Mrs Baird's Bread" on the sides.

Old Ned retires and expansion begins...

About this time Mrs Baird's Bread began selling to commercial accounts. Two Telephone Exchanges bought pies daily and Sandegard's Grocery became the company's first bread reseller. Sandegard's, a large store with a delicatessen, proved to be a very good customer as it soon grew to 15 stores, all displaying Mrs Baird's Bread prominently in a glass case.

In 1918, Hoyt Baird left Fort Worth to join the Army, leaving the company without a delivery driver. It was decided to discontinue selling direct and concentrate instead on selling only wholesale. Demand steadily increased, and so did the bakery. Now located at 6th Avenue and Terrell Street, the little 30 foot by 72 foot facility housed an oven that could bake 400 loaves at a time. Wholesale deliveries now stretched into every corner of Fort Worth, where fresh-baked bread, rolls, cakes and pies were delivered every day. Over the next ten years the bakery was enlarged nine times, until it was one of the largest baking facilities in Texas.

In 1928, the Bairds opened a new bakery across the Trinity River in Dallas, Texas. The stock market crash of 1929 signaled the start of the Great Depression, and, like everyone else, Mrs Baird's Bread had to cut back to survive those lean times. By 1938, business was returning to normal and the bakery needed to expand again. They built a new bakery in Houston, Texas and added another plant in Fort Worth. Once a one-horse delivery system, now a fleet of trucks was needed at each of the four bakeries. The two new bakeries also featured plate glass windows so that visitors could watch the baking process. Not only could you smell the delicious bread, but you could watch it being made as well.

In the 1940's, America entered World War II and the country saw a shortage of many items, like sugar. Because they went off to fight the war, workers were also in short supply. These shortages forced Mrs Baird's to reduce the number and kinds of bread product it baked, but it never compromised on quality. If an ingredient was in short supply, then the bakery just didn't bake that item for a while.

Post War Growth establishes Mrs Baird's as Texas' Bread

Following the war, in 1949, Mrs Baird's expanded again building a bakery in Abilene, Texas. In 1959 and 1960 the company acquired bakeries in the Texas cities of Victoria, Lubbock, Waco and Austin.

Throughout the 1950's and 1960's, the company prospered. Ninnie Baird, the namesake of the thriving company, however, experienced declining health. Now 80, she stayed at home most of the time. The boys handled most of the day-to-day operations, but Ninnie Baird, still the Chairman of the Board, was always consulted on the major decisions. The family's commitment to quality, freshness and service never waivered. It was a work ethic that was passed on from generation to generation as well as, the importance of family, a Christian upbringing, and community. From the beginning until her death, she shared with her neighbors and her community.

Tour one of Mrs Baird's Bakeries and see firsthand how Mrs Baird's Bread is baked. Tour reservations are granted on a first come, first serve basis, so we recommend you contact the bakery you wish to tour at least two to three weeks in advance. Scheduling a time in the morning is a good idea during hot weather months.

In 1885 Waco, Texas was a wild frontier town, nicknamed ?six-shooter junction.? Wade Morrison?s Old Corner Drug Store was a prominent business and popular meeting place in downtown Waco. People came in for everything from flea powder to stationery, from cigars to fountain drinks.

One of Morrison?s employees, pharmacist Charles Alderton, noticed how customers loved the smell of the soda fountain with its many fruit, spice and berry aromas. He wanted to invent a drink that tasted the wonderful way the soda fountain smelled. After much experimentation he finally felt he had hit on ?something different.? Patrons at the drug store agreed.

Soon other soda fountains were buying the syrup from Morrison and serving it. People loved the new unnamed drink and would order it by simply calling out ?shoot me a Waco!? But Morrison named it Dr Pepper, after the father of a girl he had loved back in his home state of Virginia.

In 1891 Morrison and new partner Robert Lazenby organized the Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company in order to bottle and sell Dr Pepper as well as other soft drinks. That same year, while visiting Waco, a Texas businessman by the name of Sam Houston Prim tasted the new fountain drink and knew he wanted to sell it in his bottling plant in Dublin, Texas, 80 miles to the west.

Under the direction of Mr. Lazenby Dr Pepper enjoyed steady growth in sales and began to spread in popularity across the country. But it wasn?t until 1904 that Dr Pepper gained real national exposure. Along with other soon to be favorites like ice cream cones and hamburgers, Dr Pepper was introduced to the rest of the U. S. and the entire world at the 1904 World?s Fair in St. Louis.

Since then Dr Pepper?s popularity has grown consistently over the years to become one of the top 3 soft drinks in the United States and the No. 1 non-cola. And over that time Dr Pepper Corporate Headquarters have remained here in Texas. That?s why Dr Pepper can truly claim the title of ?Texas Original.?

Saint Arnold Brewing Company, located in Houston, is Texas' oldest microbrewery. Our goal is to brew world class beers and deliver them to our customers as fresh as possible making them the best beers in Texas. Our customers are beer lovers - people that appreciate great, full-flavored beers.

Our small crew of eight does everything at the brewery: brew the beer, filter the beer, keg the beer, bottle the beer, sell the beer and drink the beer. For us, this is a passion, not a job. We believe that this comes through in the beers we make. Our beers have soul.

We brew nine different beers. Four are made year round and five are seasonal. They are available in bars, restaurants, grocery stores, liquor stores and warehouse stores in Houston, Austin, Dallas, Ft. Worth and San Antonio.

Our first keg of beer was shipped on June 9, 1994 making us now open for 8 years, 10 months, and 27 days. Founded by Brock Wagner and Kevin Bartol, we chose Houston because, other than living here, this was the largest city in the country that did not have a microbrewery. Brock was a longtime homebrewer and had considered opening a brewery as far back as college, although that was quickly dismissed as a silly idea. Seven years after graduating, Brock revisited the idea, enlisted Kevin's help and the brewery was off and running. Kevin has since left the business after a bitter battle. (Just kidding - but don't you wish people wrote that when it was the truth?).