Angry Birds Invade NASA's Kennedy Space Center

Miriam Kramer

The Angry Birds have landed at NASA's gateway to space.

Rovio's wildly popular game franchise is hosting an interactive exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Cape Canaveral, Fla. — the public face of NASA's spaceport that launched moon rockets and space shuttles.

"Angry Birds Space Encounter is both a fun and education experience," Bill Moore, chief operating officer of the space center's visitor complex for Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, said in a statement. [Photos of Angry Birds Space … in Space]

The exhibition, which opened at the Kennedy Space Center on March 22, has six different Angry Birds experiences for visitors to choose from, according to an exhibit description from the space center:

  • Create Your Own Angry Bird: Guests design their own Angry Bird by choosing from an array of body styles and accessories. When the bird is complete, guests can print their bird as a keepsake.

  • Eggsteroids Slingshot: Ready, set, squawk! Guests take their best shot — slingshot, that is — at King Pig and Corporal Pig, competing with fellow players using mini Angry Birds launched in a slingshot to zap the Space Pigs.

  • Cold Cuts Tile Puzzle: Guests line up a universe of planets and Angry Birds to solve sliding puzzles, with three levels of difficulty, featuring images of Super Red, Ice Bird, The Incredible Terence and Space King, Pig in a Bubble.

  • Danger Zone: Proceed with caution! The Danger Zone features a mirrored labyrinth challenge to find the hidden Angry Birds. Guests discover surprises along the way.

  • Red Planet Lazer Challenge: The Angry Birds need help finding their prized golden eggs! Guests journey to the surface of the Red Planet to search for the mythical eggs but need to watch out for laser beams that create obstacles along the course, making the mission more difficult.

  • Angry Birds Game Zone: Guests can play the actual Angry Birds Space game in a tournament against fellow guests, mastering selected levels and discovering little-known hints to zap the pigs.

This isn't the first time Angry Birds has partnered with NASA. Rovio, the game's parent company, collaborated with the space agency when they released "Angry Birds Space" for a variety of computer and mobile devices. They teamed up again for "Angry Birds Space: Red Planet," which saw NASA's Mars rover Curiosity join the game franchise.

A message on Twitter from NASA to the game company set the idea for making a space-themed Angry Birds in motion.

"Hey @RovioMobile, our computers are a bit better than they were in '69," NASA officials wrote on the social media website. "We might be able to help you launch birds if you find pigs in space."

At the end of June, the space center will hold a grand opening event in honor of the Space Shuttle Atlantis' new home at Kennedy.

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