Family Field Trip - Udvar Hazy Center

I love living in the DC area mainly because of the historical and cultural activities that are right in my backyard. Since Ryan works weekends, we don't get to partake in these activities quite as often as I would like. Ryan had Father's Day off so we decided to do something fun as a family that he and Aidan could really bond over so we settled on the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles Airport. The Udvar-Hazy Center is an extension to the National Air and Space Museum which houses exhibits that are too large for the downtown DC main location.

The centerpiece of the museum is the McDonnell space hangar which houses Discovery, the most traveled of the former space shuttle fleet. Prior to this spring, the space hangar housed Enterprise which was the test vehicle for the space shuttle program. Ryan and I visited the museum a few years ago when Enterprise was featured and noticed the tremendous size difference between that vehicle and Discovery, which is so much larger. When you walk into the center, no matter which way you approach the main hall, your eye is automatically drawn to Discovery. This is especially amazing considering that in front of the entrance to the McDonnell space hangar sits the SR-71 Blackbird. This plane was featured in the second film in the "Transformers" series and parts of the film were filmed at Udvar Hazy. Other featured exhibits include the Enola Gay and a Concorde Jet. 

Aidan loves airplanes and Ryan is a space travel aficionado. I had a great time watching my two men enjoy everything from a collection of space themed toys to a production model from the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". From experimental helicopters to missiles of all shapes and sizes. We spent two hours walking the center and could have spent more if Aidan didn't need a nap before our family Father's Day dinner. In addition to the exhibits there is an Imax theatre, flight simulators and an air traffic control simulator for kids.

After the museum we took Aidan to Sweet Frog for some frozen yogurt. He looks so adorable in the picture that I just had to mention it.