Mid-winter visit to the Udvar Hazy Air & Space Museum...

Sometimes the weather outside is truly frightful and you must find indoor activities to pass the time. While admission is free to the Udvar Hazy Air & Space Museum you do have to pay $20 to park so we try to be picky about how many times a year we visit. A cold February day though is the perfect time to spend a morning indoors with space to roam and plenty to see.

Harper had been a year earlier but aside from viewing the planes from the comfort of his car seat and in between naps he didn't really get the full experience. He has since turned into quite the lover of airplanes - what little boy isn't I suppose - and he was loving life seeing all the aircraft that was on display.

Adam has been several times but I see a different level of curiosity in him each time. For instance this year he was really intrigued by the engines that were on display and checking out the inside/out vantage point they were displaying. Of course in true Adam form, as in previous years, he was all about reading every little sign and soaking up as much information as possible - love that about him.

Adam also took a turn on one of the flight simulators - thank goodness he is now old enough to ride that on his own - motion sickness beware!

It was a wonderful morning spent watching airplanes land at Dulles, checking out all the cool exhibits, and sneaking in some exercise (sometimes) jogging from one exhibit to another - or who am I kidding - jogging after Harper! :)

Air & Space Museum

A few weekends ago with absolutely zero plans on our schedule we took advantage of the whole "world is our oyster" situation and headed off to the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum. We've been there a few times before but this was the first time visiting where Adam could actually read the signs and information - and the best part was he wanted to read the signs and information. Sure, he didn't really read everything but it was fun to see him get excited about a certain aircraft and then go read about it. 

Harper seemed intrigued as well and was actually awake for the bulk of our visit just staring up at all the planes hanging from the ceiling. No doubt he enjoyed seeing all the different shapes and colors. 

For me the highlights are always seeing the Concord up close and of course seeing the space shuttle. It's just so amazing to stand next to it and to look at all the intricate details that you know took so much thought, engineering, testing, and meticulous installation in order to maintain a safe and reliable vehicle for our astronauts. Amazing! 

Speaking of space shuttles, Adam was excited to find a new hidden treasure at the museum - a flight simulator where you get to actually land the space shuttle! He loved it and had there not been a line of other eager kids (and adults) wanting to take part in the fun I'm sure he'd have landed it 20 times. 

We are so lucky to have such a great museum just 15 minutes from our house. We'll look forward to future visits and to one day watching Harper land the space shuttle! :) 

Air & Scare at Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum

Back in September we attended a birthday party for one of Adam's friends and while the children were doing gymnastics the parents were all chi-chatting and we got to discussing how great our area is for finding fun (and usually free) activities for the weekend. Living outside of DC really does have it's perks. So one of the activities mentioned as the annual "Air & Scare" at the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum. I remember going home and immediately adding it to our calendar. 

Adam was so excited to have an extra opportunity to dress up in his costume and was even happier that Olivia was able to dress up with him. Harry Potter & Queen Elsa were ready to do some trick-or-treating amidst the airplanes and so were about a gazillion other people it turns out. Ha! Despite the crowds, we did manage to have some fun. Adam loved having his picture with Darth Vader - who pronounced that "Harry should join the dark side as he does have some of Voldemort inside him." Nice try Darth! Olivia wasn't as comfortable with Darth, but with her mom by her side we managed to snap a pic. 

Adam didn't care much for the trick-or-treating part (mostly because standing in line was involved) instead he was all about seeing the space shuttle and all the planes on display. He's been there a few times now, but this visit I could really sense a desire to learn and explore so another visit is needed on a much less crowded day of course! 

Last but not least was a photo with a storm trooper, who wished Harry Potter a "Happy Halloween" in his computer generated voice - very nice touch! 

Christmas Concert at Air & Space Museum

If you take the time to look it's amazing how many fun (and often free) things there are to do during the holidays. This year Grandma let us on to the fact that the Air Force Band would be performing a Christmas concert at the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum, ummm, SOLD! Since they do charge a fee for parking at the museum, rather than a per-person entry fee into the museum we decided to load up our truck with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Kathleen, Uncle Mark, Adam & me (Andy stayed home to cook up dinner for us, what a guy, wink wink!) :) 

The concert was great and the best part was getting to walk around the museum with Adam checking out all the planes, helicopters and of course the space shuttle, all while listening to Christmas carols in the background. Amazing. 

We did take a break from browsing the museum to just listen (and dance of course!) 

Bonus - catching a 747 from Germany on its final decent as we left...