Been There, Done That: Udvar Hazy Museum

One would think that living in the DC Metro Area we are ‘downtown’ on the weekends taking advantage of the free museums, live music, outside dining, and beautiful, historic monuments. Sadly, most people who don’t live IN Washington DC will tell you this is not true. Even before Mike arrived S. and I rarely made the trek downtown. The Metro, though convenient, is really a pain in the butt and, if I am being honest, the city is full of people. In the summers, it is swarming with tourists and the rest of the year it is full of field trips. There is hardly an ideal time to hit up the museums to avoid crowds. Also, S. and I both grew up within a two hour drive of the Smithsonian Institute, so we have seen it a hundred times thanks to those exciting field trips.

However, 10 minutes from our house is the Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum. A taste of the Smithsonian without the Metro! We first visited when Mike was just a month old. We really wanted to get out of the house and practice maneuvering in the land of the living with an infant. We decided to go back again over the July 4th weekend – almost exactly a year later and had a fun time.

Like all the Smithsonian, UHASM is free admission – after you pay the $15 for parking. It’s about what it would cost for the metro ride downtown and the parking lot is huge, so we can overlook it. No food or drink, but they have a McDonald’s onsite, or you can indulge in space ice cream from the gift shop. We were able to bring in one sealed bottle of water and an empty sippy cup for Mike. There is also a lot of shade and picnic tables outside if you want to take a break for lunch.

The museum is a great size – you can walk the whole thing in about two hours. S. is a fan of space travel, I have no interest in anything air OR space related, but it’s a great walk and interesting none the less. They have a few cool features – an IMAX for the older bunch, an observation tower linked to Dulles Airport (no strollers allowed so be prepared to leave it in the ‘stroller parking lot’) and the restoration hanger where you can watch them work on old stuff during the week. According to their site, they also have learning labs and events.

As most people with a little one, we got there right as it opened to beat the crowds. It was July 4th weekend and though we weren’t the first ones there by any stretch, it didn’t feel crowded.

This time Mike was awake and a few times we let him out of the stroller to toddle around. He loved it! Since not many people were there, there was a lot of open space to run around. Most of the exhibits have interactive kiosks so he found that fascinating as well. Just keep an eye on the short kids. The exhibits have a small partition that Mike could have easily crawled under. There were plenty of big, clean bathrooms with a changing table in both men and women’s restrooms.

Udvar Hazy is a great, inexpensive stop for families with kids of all ages. The littlest of kids will sleep while you get some exercise in, the elementary school age will like the exhibits (or space ice cream) and watching the airplanes come in, the middlers and high schoolers will find the exhibits interesting and really like the IMAX.

You can do the whole thing in a couple hours and be home before nap time. When we were leaving the parking lot capacity had tripled, but there was no line at security.

Quick and Dirty:

Cost? Free, but parking is $15. Additional cost for simulators, IMAX and food

Age Group? Depends on the goal. Suitable for ALL ages

Parking? Plenty, $15

Food Options? Meh. McDonalds or space ice cream

Stroller Friendly? Yes, very. Wide walking paths, big bathrooms, elevators and ramps

Changing Tables? Yep, in both bathrooms

Safety: Debatable. Plenty of security and staff milling around, but the exhibits have open railings. So a little one could get curious and duck underneath.

See you there? Yep! It’s worth a once a year trip. Expect to find us when they open.