My husband works in aviation, and can’t get enough of all things aviation. I however couldn’t care less, and thought I’d be bored to death at the air museum. It took me a while to get ‘into’ it, but we ended up spending over 2 hours checking out their displays and aircrafts.

Basically there are five hangars, all filled with different displays, plus outside exhibits. And,, besides having a bunch o military planes (what I expected)they also have a cool exhibits on the mars rover, a replica of the Apollo, and a few world record holding planes.

The best part (as far as my husband was concerned) were the historical displays of wars and conflicts, and the aircraft that were used back then. These displays had information on aviation technology, as well as displays of old uniforms, badges and pictures. The best display was the one for the Vietnam conflict, we spent quite a while just reading, looking at and discussing everything in it. Three WWII bombers are on display, and there’s one you can walk into.

My favorite part was the space exhibit. It had a replica of the Mars rover, andof Apollo. It got me thinking how far our space technology has come since then. Also, check out the early computers that are on display... It’s hard to believe what advances have been made!! Also interesting was the information on astronauts, to include special info in female and black astronauts.

Oh, and a one of the world record planes on display? The smallest aircraft, as seen on Octopussy (James Bond!) I would be scared to death to ride in that thing!!!

Outside there are more aircraft exhibits, but I was so tired that we had to leave before we saw them all. (We had been there over 2 hours and it was all walking, our 3rd stop of the day!)

It gets pretty warm out during May, so I’d plan to be there as soon as the museum opens, otherwise it’s too hot. Also, most people seem to start on the inside of the museum and work their way out, but I’d start on the outside when we come here again. I think it’d be refreshing to walk in cooler air after being out in the desert sun.

While you’re here, don’t miss JFK’s presidential plane. It’s the plane he flew in just before assassination. Compare it to what our current presidential airplanes look like. WOW.

Anyhow, plan on at least 2 hours, even if you don’t think you’ll be interested... I thought we’d be in and out in half an hour! We easily could have spent longer, so if you’re a history or aviation buff, defiantly plan longer. Don’t forget you water and sun screen, and enjoy your trip!