San Diego Air & Space Museum is without doubt one of the hottest locations in Balboa Park and attracts 1000’s of holiday makers yearly.
It’s residence to dozens of plane and spacecraft recreations and restorations and the proper place to spend just a few hours in San Diego with children and even with out.
While the Museum’s important location is at Balboa Park, it has further storage and a restoration workshop at Gillespie Field, a neighborhood airport in El Cajon. You can go to this small annex to see some navy jets, personal sport plane, and small racing planes on show.
In the Balboa Park location, guests can go to the six everlasting exhibitions, pay an additional value for the particular rotating exhibit, or take a tour of the restoration space (if a restoration is being labored on). The everlasting exhibitions embrace:
- The Theodore Gildred Rotunda
- The World War I Gallery
- The World War II Gallery
- The Golden Age of Flight Gallery
- The Edwin D. McKeller Pavilion of Flight
- The Modern Jet & Space Age Gallery
There is one other space devoted to particular displays and visiting shows as properly (further ticketing could apply).
Highlights & Things to Do
These San Diego Air & Space Museum highlights are ones that guests significantly take pleasure in:
- Original Apollo 9 command module: In 1969, a crew examined the Apollo spacecraft in Earth orbit. It was the primary time the Apollo flew in full, and it proved that it will work in outer area.
- Spirit of Saint Louis duplicate (Charles Lindbergh’s aircraft): The Spirit of Saint Louis accomplished the primary single-passenger nonstop from New York to Paris flown by Charles Lindbergh in 1927.
- Space exploration 3D/4D motion pictures: The museum has its personal 3D/4D theater, which reveals completely different motion pictures in both format. Check the schedule for what’s enjoying throughout your go to.
- Wright Brothers 1902 glider (replica): Designed in 1902 and the third of a sequence from the Wright Brothers, this glider was the primary absolutely controllable plane.
- Ryan Firebee II: The Ryan BQM-34F Firebee II is a part of a sequence of goal drones constructed within the Fifties and utilized by the U.S. Navy between the 70s and the 90s.
- Blue Angel 1: The F/A-18 A Hornet “Blue Angel 1” was a part of the Blue Angels, U.S. Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron.
- Flight simulators: The museum has 4 flight simulators the place you’ll be able to expertise aerial fight, flight coaching, and the Bermuda Triangle. Additional charges apply to the simulators.
This is only a small sampling of the various plane and replicas housed by the San Diego Air & Space Museum. It’s one of many solely aerospace museums to be an affiliate of the Smithsonian.
Top 5 Things to Know About the San Diego Air & Space
Before visiting the San Diego Air & Space Museum, some sensible data is useful to know. This contains any particular occasions occurring, what the costs are, and whether or not the museum is operating any specials that day.
Tickets and Hours
The important campus of the San Diego Air & Space Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m day by day, aside from Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Ticket costs are as follows:
- Adult (12+): $23
- Child: (3-12): $13
- Senior (65+): $19
- Student (with ID): $19
- Retired navy (with ID): $19
- Active navy (with ID) $0
- Infant (0-3): $0
The Gillespie Field Annex is way smaller however much less interactive. It is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday by means of Saturday. Tickets value $5 for adults over the age of 12, whereas kids are free. An excellent rule of thumb for any San Diego museum is to examine the hours of operation earlier than you go, as they are often topic to vary.
Two Sightseeing Pass Choices
Bundle admission to SDMRM with different points of interest throughout San Diego or simply in Balboa Park.
Go San Diego Pass
Both the All-Inclusive and Explorer sightseeing passes embrace SDASM in Balboa Park and over 50 different San Diego points of interest.
Use promo code lajollamom for 10% off by means of December 31, 2022.
Balboa Park Explorer Pass
This cross contains 16 collaborating Balboa Park Museums.
Choose considered one of three cross choices that embrace a Parkwide Pass good for seven consecutive days, an Annual Pass (greatest for residents), or a Limited Pass that features any 4 collaborating venues good for someday.
Interactive Activities
If you’re bringing kids to the museum, comprehend it’s okay to the touch a number of the replicas, and the originals are often roped off.
The spotlight for adventurous children (44″ tall and above) and adults is often the state-of-the-art flight simulators. In pairs of two, passengers can expertise taking off and piloting a fighter aircraft. It’s not for individuals who expertise movement illness.
Once they’ve worn themselves out on their flight missions, head to the 3D/4D theater to be taught extra concerning the wonders of area. With interactive seats and bodily particular results, the films proven will come alive for you and your children. Educational movies concerning the sky and past are proven on a rotating foundation.
Special Events
The Museum places on common occasions all year long that may embrace enjoyable issues like Pumpkin Chucking in October, occasions on well-known aerospace anniversaries, and internet hosting NASA engineers and different flying legends for talks and interviews.
There are additionally faculty area journeys, contests, and workshops for attendees who reside near San Diego.
Visitors can make the most of rotating displays and month-to-month specials. Past rotating displays embrace an interactive Galileo exhibit, the Aerospace Hall of Fame, and Legends of Engineering.
And, don’t overlook that October is Kids Free San Diego all month lengthy on the Museum (along with many different points of interest throughout the county) the place two children 12 and below can enter free with a paying grownup.
Check the calendar earlier than you go to to see in case your time in San Diego overlaps with any of the above.
The Flight Path Grill
You can have lunch on the Museum’s Flight Path Grill. It’s open Friday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to three p.m., however you may get their ready meals on the museum’s retailer, too. The Grill provides sizzling canine, salads, snacks, and different treats.
Gift Shop
From souvenirs to costumes and clothes, the San Diego Air & Space Museum’s store has one thing for everybody. They even have area meals and autographed plaques, and extra! Dehydrated ice cream, anybody?
Make positive you save a while to discover the store and discover your favourite present.
Why We Love the San Diego Air & Space Museum
The San Diego Air & Space Museum is without doubt one of the coolest museums in Balboa Park.
It’s modest in dimension, however full of interactive displays that educate minds younger and outdated about what they’re taking a look at. So, you do take a look at neat planes and area objects, but it surely’s powerful to overlook the historical past classes woven in alongside the way in which.
We discover that households with toddlers on as much as teenagers like to go to the museum. It’s additionally in the identical space because the San Diego Automotive Museum, and the brand new Comic-Con museum. However, it’s fairly straightforward to succeed in the remainder of Balboa Park on foot from right here, so park your automobile and head out for the day.
Final Thoughts
The San Diego Air & Space Museum is residence to dozens of airplanes, a whole lot of replicas, and several other interactive displays, multi functional historic constructing. If you go to Balboa Park, this museum is a must-stop for households with kids.