Palm Springs Air Museum
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Family group rate: 2 adults, 3 youth for $20.
2 Reviews for Palm Springs Air Museum
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'10, '11
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"A must see for airplane loving kids and history buffs"
Located adjacent to the Palm Springs Airport, the Palm Springs Air Museum is home to large collection of WWII aircraft that are still in flying condition. The museum houses most of the aircraft in 70,000 squre feet of air conditioned buildings, making it a nice place to visit year round.
The museum has hangars dedicated to Army planes, Navy planes, and B-17s. Visitors are able to get so close to the planes that they can actually touch them (but that is frowned upon). Besides dozens of very cool airplanes, the hangars also feature plenty of WWII history including miniature replicas of ships, cars from the time period, walls filled with written history, military uniforms, and even a USO stage.
I will be honest, I don't know much about airplanes and I probably am not the museums target demographic, but I definitely loved the style of these airplanes. Most of them had something cool painted on them such as a curvy lady or sharks teeth. Most of the planes I have been on have been big commercial jets, so to be able to stand eye to eye to a cockpot of a plane that flew in the war is really something special.
One of the highlights for my family was the opportunity to climb into an actual WWII airplane and see just how tight the quarters actually were. My fear of heights sent my heart thumping when I saw the tiny capsule that a gunner sat in under the plane, with nothing but a few thousand feet of sky below them. Eek! Just the design of these planes helped put in perspective how brave these men really were.
The museum has a special area dedicated to kids, featuring airplane and helicopter cockpits for kids to sit in as well as an old fashioned fire engine to play on. There is even an actual plane that kids can paint! We had so much fun writing our names (and Trekaroo) on the side of the plane. There is also a station where kids could color pictures of planes, make paper helicopters, and create paper parachutes.
Older children will get a kick out the flight simulators upstairs. Museum staff can help you take a virtual plane up into the sky, allowing them to experience the "feeL" of flying a plane. While we were there, I saw a boy who looked about 8, flying his plane like a pro with a small crowd around him. It looked like alot of fun.
Bottom line: My young children lasted about an hour in the museum before they became antsy but families with older children could easily stay for two hours. There is so much to see and I wish we had children with longer attention spans so that I could have spent more time at each of the exhibits. The museum is a unique experience and a great educational addition to a family's Palm Springs itinerary.
Disclosure: I visited Palm Springs as a guest of the CVB and my family's museum admission was complimentary. The CVB did not ask that I express any particular opinions about the museum and my review is entirely my unbiased opinion.
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"Fun with the Family"
While you’re on the Gene Autry Trail, visit the Air Museum for a close-up look at propeller-driven aircraft from an era your kids will know only from old movies, documentaries, and (perhaps) their history books. Vintage planes, many colorful and pefectly restored, recall the World War II era. The planes are on display to educate thepublic about aviation’s role in winning the big war. Many guides are wartime vets whose knowledge will amaze you and the kids. The second floor has flight simulators (arrange to use them in advance) and a library. The gift shop carries a treasure trove of aviation gifts, books, and jewelry. Lucky you if you’re in the desert in July, because the Air Museum celebrates CoolKids Month! with flying model airplane contests and other hands-on activities.
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