Japanese students explore space history at museum

Japan Florida Group Inc. tour guide and translator Kimihiko Goto points out displays from the Apollo program at U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum in Titusville, Florida, to high school students from Takasaki, Japan, on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014.

A museum filled with artifacts from a space race that put man on the moon helped feed the imaginations of the next generation of engineers and scientists this week. 

Eight high school students from Takasaki, Japan, on a 10-day trip to the United States spent an afternoon at the U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum in Titusville, Florida, examining relics of past space programs.

"It makes them dream and gives them something to focus on," said Minori Kojima, president of Japan Florida Group Inc.

The museum founded and operated by the people who worked in the space programs is a favorite stop for Kojima.

She said it's important that students see the items on display and hear the stories about the early days of space exploration from the people who made it happen. 

"Not many people know about this place," Kojima said. "But when they get here, it's a 'wow' experience."