Planes and Rockets at Udvar-Hazy

We've tried to get the boys interested in airplanes and rockets, but their obsession has been trains... until our visit to the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum - Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles International Airport.

The location is a modern open and airy hanger, with plenty of running room for the most active youngster. The highlight of the immense collection is definitely the space shuttle Enterprise. It is huge, a giant mega airplane that dwarfs even the Concord (which is also part of the exhibits). 

The rest of the collection which includes rockets, satellites, airplanes and their parts is also pretty awesome.  The boys enjoyed the entire trip and never got bored or disinterested ... even with smaller exhibits like the R2D2 mailbox (at least for my 4-year old Star Wars obsessed son).

Not to be missed we took the boys to the observation deck. The boys liked the watching the airplanes land in Dulles ... but this gets old pretty quickly and getting back down is quite an ordeal. You wait in line for the elevator which takes you to another floor, and then you wait in line for the elevator to get back to the main part of the museum. Now that we've done the observation deck once, on subsequent visits will skip this part.

Since this is part of the Smithsonian, entrance is free, however parking was $15. Compare the cost of this outing to the cost of most aquariums for a family of four -- $50 -- and Udvar-Hazy is quite the deal for a fun filled afternoon.