Our family is fascinated with anything to do with flight.  I think this might be influenced by the fact that both my family and my husband’s are interested in aviation.  In our families you will find pilots, airline mechanics, civil air patrol members, air force load masters, aircraft carrier flight directors and a genuine interest in anything that flies.  Growing up, we went to airshows, and our basements were stocked with paint bottles, glue tubes and engines for rockets and remote controlled airplanes.  Turns out our kids share this passion for the skies and we’re having fun continuing to learn about it with them.

Since November is Aviation History Month, we thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite kid-friendly aviation museums we’ve visited around the country.  Since some of these museums are quite large, we’ve included our kids’ favorite parts of the museums.  Now remember, our kiddos aren’t that old yet so we haven’t had a chance to visit enough for a top ten list!  If your family has a favorite museum, please share it with us!

The Museum of Flight

Seattle, Washington

Your family will find it amazing to walk underneath an M-21 Blackbird while planes of every description sail overhead.  You can’t help but be drawn into the Great Gallery, a six-story glass-and-steel exhibit hall currently containing 39 full-size historic aircraft, 23 of which including the nine-ton Douglas DC-3 hang from the space-frame ceiling in flight attitude. These aircraft trace the history of the first century of flight.

You will feel like you’ve stepped back in time when you see the attention to detail that is given to the sets for each aircraft featured in the Personal Courage Wing.  The three-story, 88,000-square-foot addition highlights the stories of courage, dedication, heroism and human spirit of those involved in fighter aviation in World War I and World War II. It presents the history, aircraft and memorabilia behind those human stories.  And for history buffs, the memorabilia featured in the Red Barn, the Boeing Company’s original manufacturing plant, is a real treat.  Plus with an airpark, theater and amazing variety of temporary exhibits, plan on spending a full day (if not more) at the Museum of Flight.  Admission is free the first Thursday of each month from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Kid Favorites: Blue Angels Simulator, Blackbird and Hornet Cockpits, Kids Flight Zone, Museum of Flight Tower at Boeing Field

EAA AirVenture Museum

Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Located at the site of the world’s largest aviation event (EAA AirVenture) the Museum is one of the most extensive aviation attractions in the world.  Explore world-class displays and galleries (click here for a virtual tour), and marvel at aviation innovations in a collection of more than 250 historic airplanes.  (I’ve heard that all of the planes on display are in flying condition, I would love to know if this is true).  Spend time in one of five movie theaters.  Take a ride in a vintage airplane at Pioneer Airport—a real working aerodrome right out of the “golden age” of aviation.  Witness a piece of history in the Eagle Hangar, a tribute to World War II aviation.  And get “hands on” in KidVenture Gallery, an exciting interactive gallery for kids of all ages!   Even if you’re not from the area you can still enjoy the fun of The Big Airshow, where EAA AirVenture is featured in a kids video in one of my favorite educational series by Little Mammoth Media.

Kid Favorites:  Hangar X – great interactive exhibits plus an F-22 Raptor cockpit to explore, KidVenture Gallery, SpaceShipOne working replica

Strategic Air & Space Museum

Ashland, Nebraska

The Little Red Hen and her flock spent a day exploring a great collection of aircraft and wide variety of exhibits at this museum. If your kids like space exploration, check out the special tribute to Ashland native Clayton Anderson, an astronaut who traveled to the International Space Station on mission STS-117 and is also scheduled to participate in STS-131 in February 2010.  Don’t miss an exciting array of traveling exhibits, especially Leonardo da Vinci’s Machines in Motion (we saw this at the Museum of Flight and it was great) and Anakin Skywalker’s Podracer for all of you Star Wars fans.

Kid Favorites:  B-52 Flight Trainer, several hands-on displays to do things like land a space shuttle and learn about vacuums, Kids Space (new and looks like a great place to take a break!)

Enjoy What’s In Your Backyard

And don’t forget what a great time kids have just watching planes at a local airport.  We spent many weekend afternoons with our boys at a small Airport Diner in Washington.  Not only was the inside decorated with planes and memorabilia, but the diner was right alongside the runway, and we would spend hours watching the planes take off and land.  We were also lucky enough to have ultralights and float planes pass our house as they enjoyed the views of the Olympic Mountains.  It’s amazing how kids never tire of pointing out the planes they spot in the sky.  When we lived in Houston, we also found a fun spot to watch the commercial airliners land at Bush Intercontinental Airport.  I can’t tell you how many times we ate our dinner in the car just so we could watch the planes skim overhead at night and then listen for the rippling air currents when they reversed their thrust as they stopped just past us on the runway.

We hope you find a way to share the wonder of flight with your family this month, remember it can be as simple as just looking up!