A Day in Flight at Udvar Hazy Center

If you ever happen to be out by Dulles Airport, plan a little extra time to stop by Udvar-Hazy Center, a satellite extension of the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.  The center is located in Chantilly, about a 10 minute drive from the airport.  There’s no entrance fee (we parents love that) but there is a parking fee of $15, not too much to ask for admission and since it’s out in the middle of nowhere, you do have to park in the lot. 

I’m not a space expert by any means, but who isn’t intrigued by the wonders of flight?  The two hangars house all kinds of aviation machines: helicopters, airplanes, even the space shuttle Discovery, along with other flight history artifacts.   We were there about 1 ½ hours and only made it through half the museum, so you definitely could spend a good amount of time there.

My father was in the Army and often talks about flying in helicopters.  At the museum there were old military helicopters, from the Vietnam War era, which had the kids wondering if those were the kind their grandfather talks about (who knew they were even paying attention to his stories.)  There were also countless other military machines, illustrating the discovery and history of flight.

When we got to the space shuttle, Discovery, the kids’ questions surprised me. What is it? Where was it going? And they were amazed by the video of one of the launches. It occurred to me that perhaps they’ve never really seen this thing take off.  I’m sure folks of a certain age, like me, remember the big deal it was, enough for school teachers to scramble to get the TV in their room, to watch a launch.  The Discovery flew its first mission in 1984 and was retired in 2011.  In a little less than 30 years, had space travel become such the norm that we weren’t all gathered by the TV to watch it take off (or was I just not paying attention)?  Either way, it was an awe-inspiring thing to see the space shuttle up close.

Along with all the planes and helicopters, there are also two flight simulators.  Tickets are $7-$8 per person for about a 5 minute experience. (Yes, a bit price-y if you’ve got a big family, but since we didn’t pay admission and I was in a good mood that day, we went with it.)  We chose the fighter jets option, paired off two per “airplane.”  One person is the pilot and the other, the gunner.  The kids and I screamed and laughed the entire time as our jets escalated, dropped, and rolled – these things actually do turn 360 degrees.  It was a hilariously good time and proved that, for the security of our country, none of us should be in military flight.

Fun artifacts? The answers to questions such as: What do astronauts eat? What do astronauts do all day in space? And questions you probably never thought about, like: How do astronauts go to the bathroom? Do the women astronauts even bother to put on lipstick?

Of course, we had to buy the requisite astronaut freeze-dried ice cream.

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Join the Zoo or Museum or Aquarium: The Benefits of Membership

We joined the Mystic Aquarium on our roadtrip stop in Mystic, Connecticut.  Not that I plan on visiting again anytime soon, I can pretty much guarantee that we won't return in the next year since we live about 6 hours away. But the Membership rate ($189) was actually a slight savings over admission for 6.  This is also the math that has lead me to join the Baltimore Aquarium and the Baltimore Science Center.  It does not really explain why I'm a member of the National Zoo, which is free to the public (although there is a parking fee, which is discounted - used to be free- for members.)

 

Membership versus admission ticket? Here's a few thing to think about when standing in the line of your favorite family attraction or even a place you may never get back to in the near future.

 

Compare the Membership rate to the total of the per person admission. Don't forget the extras your family may want to do - the IMAX movie, the 4d theatre, the dolphin show. Are they included in Membership versus an additional fee with admission?

 

Is membership less than the cost of two visits? If it's a place you'd come back to in the next year, or could, membership may be a better option, even if it's a bit more than a 1-visit cost.  I also found with a membership at the local aquarium for instance, I feel less stressed  to make sure we saw every last fish, because we could always come back.

 

What reciprocal  agreements does the facility have?  The National Zoo, for example, has agreements with other zoos and aquariums so that members can get into those places free or for a discount. So while the Zoo is free, we save money visiting other zoos.  The list of reciprical locations are usually available on a site's website or at the membership information booth.

 

What other benefits do members get that you would enjoy? Early admission, special events, magazines or newsletters, free snacks? Again, compare those that you can enjoy that day, if it's somewhere you're visiting out of town, and the long-term benefits.  

 

Do you generally support the work or mission of the facility? Aside from the financial benefit, you may just really like the purpose, the research, the services of the site. The conservation work of the zoo, the rescue work of the aquarium, the historical preservation done by the museum, etc. This non-monetary reason is just as good as any other.

 

Any places that have great membership programs? Feel free to share in the comments. 

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What Have You Done All Summer?!

As if turning the page on the calendar (yes, I use a calendar with real pages that turn) is not enough to tell me it's almost August 1, the back-to-school newsletters from the schools are piling up in the mailbox.  Excitement? Panic? Yes. School is not too far away and what have we done with our summer?!  My mind is racing back over the past 6 weeks and trying to catalogue whether we had the best summer ever because this will be the one and only summer of 2013 and its got to be spectacular and memorable and oh so special.  Doesn't it?

That's the mom-panic/guilt I feel as each phase of life comes close to an end. Will the kids remember this summer/Christmas/vacation/birthday forever and ever? Did I use all my mommy powers to make it a momentous occasion?  Up until last week, we were at the pool on a daily basis for swim team and at the basketball court several times a week for the summer league and at basketball, tennis, and academic camp.  Then last week, it was a true slacker mom week as I barely got in my car and we hung out at home.  But somewhere in all that we did mix in a few other activities.

Movies - The kids have been to the movies a few times. I've taken them, their dad took them, they went with friends.  I'd go a lot more if the movies weren't so dang expensive! It doesn't sound so bad when you consider 1 ticket - but multiply that by 6 and add a bucket of popcorn (because not having popcorn is not an option) and you're getting close to $100.  Yeah, a bit much for a movie we can catch on Netflix eventually, but there are some movies you've got to see on the big screen with big booming speakers.

Farm markets - There's something about pick-your-own and farm fresh fruits. We went out early in the summer for strawberries, have stopped at markets for blueberries and tomatoes.  It's a summer treat that we enjoy, partly because once you've hauled in pounds of berries, what else is there to do but make strawberry shortcake and blueberry buckle?

Newseum - With 4 kids, I'm always looking out for the reduced-price option and for the summer, Newseum is FREE for kids! (It's about $22 for adults.) It's  an interesting and educational museum, a history museum really, although, when you think about it, most of the news that's reported is sad, so its not exactly a happy place.  There are some really good exhibits about Sept. 11, Kennedy, and the FBI and an awesome display of Pulitzer Prize winning photos which may be more suitable for teens and adults, but the younger ones had a good time in the mini-news studio, outfitted with a teleprompter, backdrop, and camera.

The kids loved "checking in" at the Newseum.

Newseum: As American citizens, we enjoy many freedoms.

Bowling - Several bowling alleys have some kind of free games promotion. Bowl America offers free games for every A or B on the final report card.  With 4 kids, we ended up with about 100 free games of bowling.

So, now what for the rest of the summer? Other than the rush of back-to-school shopping and finishing up the last few pages of summer packets? We still need to find the perfect scoop of ice cream, hang out by the pool a little bit more, and enjoy sleeping late.  Ahh, summer.

What have you been doing all summer?

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