National Air & Space Museum – Udvar-Hazy Center

The most popular Smithsonian museum is the National Air & Space Museum, which makes sense because who doesn’t want to look at planes, space rockets, and touch the moon. In 2003 the Smithsonian opened up another Air & Space Museum by Dulles International Airport (which is about a 45 minute drive from DC). In a large hanger you’ll find the space shuttle Discovery, a stealth bomber, the Concorde, and many other flying crafts. My kids absolutely love and were in awe of this museum, but we usually come out here once a year because it isn’t really that convenient for us.

Our favorite must sees are the stealth bomber, Discovery, and the Observation Tower. It is pretty hard to miss both the stealth bomber and Discovery. As you walk in you’ll see them front and center as you make your way down to the ground floor. It’s all pretty amazing to see these things up close, especially the older planes.

The Observation Tower is a bit hidden. If you are facing the stealth bomber, turn around and walk towards the stairs and take a left–the elevators are there to take you up. You can’t take your stroller up to the tower, so be prepared to have your children walk or baby wear. The line can be long depending on the weather and time you visit, so keep that in mind. But it is worth it if you have airplane loving children. Because the museum is literally next to Dulles International Airport you can see planes take off and land from the tower. They also have radar machines setup so you can see what air traffic controllers see in their towers when trying to direct planes. It’s all really cool and very interesting for both adults and children.

A satellite high above us.

Things to keep in mind when you visit:

  • If you drive, parking is $15! It’s free after 4pm, but the museum closes at 5:30pm.
  • You can take Metro and then catch a bus to the museum from DC, but it will probably take you about 1.5 hours one way from the DC museum out to the Virginia one.
  • Security checks all bags, so try to pack lightly if you can.
  • No outside food and drinks are allowed except for bottled water. We get away with a lunch box of snacks though. There is a McDonald’s in the museum if you want to grab lunch inside. But if you want to pack your own lunch they ask that you eat outside, and there are no picnic tables.
  • They have two free tours of the museum, one at 10:30am and another at 1pm and are 90 minutes long. These are actually really great because they are usually led by retired NASA engineers or pilots. Young kids may get bored, but your older kids and parents will find them very interesting. Every time we’ve tagged along I’m amazed by their knowledge–no joke, these guys know their stuff and I have yet to hear them not answer a question.
  • Leave your selfie stick at home.
  • There are simulators on sight for adults and big kids costing $8 or $10 depending on which one. For your little kids you can have them climb into a Cessna and take pictures of them being a pilot. There’s usually a line for this as this is the only place at the museum for them to sit in an airplane.

Overall this is an amazing museum to take any plane loving child. Though the location is far and not that convenient, it is probably the better of the two just because it is so open and has so many different planes and things for kids to learn and look at. I still have a special place in my heart for the original one in DC though, but this one isn’t too shabby either. If you can squeeze in half a day to come out here or you have a late flight out of Dulles, you should consider stopping by and checking out this place.

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