After a few days at the beach, we headed back to DC. It was #2’s 12th birthday, so we had a big day of celebrations (his birthday trip to Hershey happened a few days later). One of the places we went on his birthday was the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center National Air and Space Museum. Quite the mouthful, huh? You can’t take the metro here, but it is near Dulles airport, so it isn’t too difficult to find. Parking is $15, but the museum itself is free.
We really enjoy this museum. It is a giant plane hanger with big planes that won’t fit in the Air and Space Museum on the National Mall. There is also an observation tower that takes you up for an awesome 360 view of the area (see above picture). You can watch planes land at Dulles airport from up in the observation tower. We all enjoy watching that!
The Space Shuttle Discovery is probably my favorite thing to see at this museum. It is awesome to see the space shuttle in person! Seeing the damage that happens to the Shuttle from space travel is amazing to see. The Blackbird and Concorde are other favorites of mine as well.
This museum is out of the way, but if you have the time (and a car), it is well worth a visit! We went for the first time on our last trip, and obviously enjoyed it so much, we had to return again!
