10 Coolest Airplane Spots for Kids in San Diego
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INTEREST GUIDES LOCATIONS
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🛩 ALL THE PLACES WHERE KIDS CAN SEE AIRPLANES IN SAN DIEGO
From museums to open-cockpit days and even small regional airport restaurants with a view...your airplane-obsessed kiddos will be all smiles here!
Contents:
I'll be adding to these OFTEN, so keep checking back for updates.
And let me know if you have anything else to add.
🛩 MUSEUMS
1. San Diego Air & Space Museum - Balboa Park
2001 Pan American Plaza, San Diego, CA 92101
619-234-8291
The San Diego Air & Space Museum at Balboa Park has a large collection of airplanes: old ones, new ones, fighter planes and biplanes. Only a couple of these allow you to actually get inside, but just being surrounded by their large presence above and all around you is quite inspiring, especially for budding little pilots. Don't miss the space collection with the real life Apollo 9 Command Module and my favorite is the piece of moon-rock on display.
KIDS WILL LOVE the short 4D movies, flight simulator, climbing inside the helicopter and picking out a new favorite book or toy from their gift shop.
OPEN daily 10-4:40
COST $13-$23
GOOD TO KNOW
There's a cafe in the very back with outdoor patio seating, right underneath the SAN flight path.
CLICK HERE for all the details, features, amenities, deals, parking, what's nearby, tips & more!
2. San Diego Aerospace Museum at Gillespie Field Annex - El Cajon
📍 335 Kenney St., El Cajon, CA 92020
📞 619-258-1221
This Aerospace Museum in El Cajon is part of, but different than, the San Diego Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park. This is their "additional exhibit space offsite in El Cajon used for its growing collection, as well as a storage and restoration facility. Located at the northeastern corner of Gillespie Field, visitors can view various aircraft, including many examples of military jets, private sport aircraft and small racing planes."
👧🏻 KIDS WILL LOVE seeing all the aircraft.
🕰 OPEN Tue-Sat 9-4:30
💵 COST $5, Free for ages 11 and under
👉 GOOD TO KNOW
Grab a bite at the nearby Gillespie Field Cafe.
3. USS Midway Museum - Embarcadero
📍 910 N Harbor Dr., San Diego, CA 92101
📞 619-544-9600
This aircraft carrier has been decommissioned and given a new life welcoming guests to walk around and explore what life was like onboard. Tour the galley (kitchen) where cooks used large industrial mixers to make meals for thousands of crew. Lie down on their bunks and see if you could sleep on this ship. Walk through the command centers (kids will love sitting in the captain's chairs and pushing all the inactive! buttons), the hospital ward and even go onto the hangar deck & flight deck outside to tour the airplanes.
👧🏻 KIDS WILL LOVE doing the Junior Pilot Activities and earning their wings at the end! The gift shop is a great place to pick up any aircraft related books, toys & apparel too.
🕰 OPEN daily 10-5