The Air and Space Museum, Washington DC (by Robert)

[caption id="attachment_2021" align="alignnone" width="940"] After an enjoyable ride on the interactive simulator![/caption]

I love outer space, I think that it’s fascinating learning about the planets and galaxies beyond earth, so I greatly enjoy visiting places about that topic. You might recall me going to Space Camp in Florida or exploring the National Space Centre in Leicester, both of which I really enjoyed. So I was thrilled when I heard we were going to the Air and Space museum when we went to Washington D.C. Although we didn’t spend a whole day there we were there for quite a few hours and I saw and did so much. Here are some of the reasons why I liked it so much.

As you go in you are surrounded by hundreds of different aircrafts, some dangling from the ceiling, while others are displayed on the ground. We all had no idea what to look at so we just picked the nearest plane and read the explanation. Some of the vehicles had the most amazing stories and I especially loved looking at the various machines used for space missions. There were loads of exhibitions on so many different things and I barely sunk my teeth into the majority of them, but I loved the ones I did see.

[caption id="attachment_2022" align="alignnone" width="940"] It was fascinating finding out about the oldest planes and the Wright Brothers[/caption]

One of my favourites was a room about the Wright Brothers it explained all the ideas behind their revolutionary machine, explained the preparation leading up to the first proper flight and displayed the real plane that was created by Orville and Wilbur all those years ago. I also loved the exhibition on planets and enjoyed a room full of scientific interactive activities. I was amazed by seeing the Spirit of St Louis which was the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic, and loved going inside a replica of one of NASA’S rockets.

[caption id="attachment_2023" align="alignnone" width="940"] Jess standing next to the Spirit of St Louis, the first plane flown across the Atlantic, by Charles Lindbergh[/caption]

The IMAX cinema is great, there’s a large variety of films on different topics but be careful as they might not be showing the film you want to see again on the day you go. I saw a brilliant movie about how NASA are planning on sending astronauts to other planets in the Milky Way like Mars and how the rocket will work. Also in the giant IMAX theatre Jess watched a film all about dark matter that she really enjoyed.

[kad_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW13vZlCLtM" width=200 height=100 ]

There are two simulators to try out, they do cost money but they are great. There are two to choose from - one where you watch a film and are moved about or another (which I went on) where you controlled the aircraft. It was the best simulator I had ever been on as you could literally spin upside down at any moment just dangling from the ceiling or be tilting down on your side. It is a bit complicated to shoot the other planes so I just enjoyed steering my plane. It is a bit scary at first but BRILLIANT. You can more about what I thought about it in the soundcloud audio I made and the video above too.



Overall it was fantastic there was so much to do. I had so much fun and came away with a pair of astronaut socks and a NASA teddy bear not mentioning some space food that Jess gave me. It was a  fantastic museum and a great day out. I'd love to go back.

The Air and Space Museum is part of the Smithsonian Museums in Washington, and all are free to enter. It is located on the National Mall and is huge, so leave yourself lots of time to look around! We also bought tickets for the IMAX theatre which cost $9 per adult and $7.50 per child. You should check the timings of these and look into booking in advance if there's one you really don't want to miss. There are a number of different simulators - the interactive one costs $8 or $7 with an IMAX ticket.

Read what Robert did at Space Camp at Kennedy Space Center

And nearer to home: read about the space museum in Leicester

Plus: find out what else we did on our trip to DC.

The National Space Centre, Leicester (by Robert)

Robert, who's 10, writes: You may or may not know that I love space and that is why going to the National Space Centre in Leicester was one of the highlights of my holiday. There were so many things to do, from watching films to launching rockets and I loved every bit.

The ground floor with the shop and cafe was the main and biggest part of the museum with four sections; Exploring the Universe, The Planets, Orbiting Earth and Space now. Each part had a great mix of interactive and non-interactive displays including thing to touch, see and do. Fact boards were scattered around the ground floor, most of which had a variety of objects in a glass cases which were to do with the piece of text. Touch screen computers (or whatever the technology was called) let you play games or watch videos, all of which were relevant to artefacts around it. Some of my favourites were creating my own planet, doing quizzes and seeing the world from up close then zooming out billions of metres.

[caption id="attachment_1764" align="alignnone" width="768"] We learnt a lot![/caption]

Personally I liked learning more by doing the activities provided. There was a reaction test with two levels where you had to hit buttons when they lit up; I wasn’t very good at it! I also enjoyed building a sponge rocket. You had seven different parts to assemble into a rocket and you had to do it inside one minute. Jess and I completed the task in 31 seconds; mum and dad didn’t do so well. There were stars to count, things to make, big bangs to create and even two full sized model shuttles to go into and explore. The centre was great for everyone; mum and dad enjoyed it as much as us.

The Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium was brilliant. Our ticket enabled us to go and see a show called "We are stars". This film was all about how the world was created and as it was a planetarium the story was all around you. It was so well done as an extremely complex science was put into an animation which younger children could understand. It was funny, interesting and some of the pictures of space were just amazing. As the story was in front, behind, above and beside you at some points you felt a bit dizzy but it was perfectly fine. The story was fascinating and I could’ve watched it again. If you go, do not miss it as it only plays at certain times.

One of my favourite bits of the whole museum was the tranquillity star base. After seven stages you found out what position you would be in space, I was a mechanic. At each section your barcode on your ticket was scanned and then you started the next test. There were reaction tests, medical tests, logic tests and more. My favourite was a bumpy simulator where you felt as though you were travelling in space. This ride is six minutes long with a six minute briefing. It is 3D and you get jerked around a lot so you don’t have to go on it. You still get given a role at the end even if you skip a few sections.

[caption id="attachment_1762" align="alignnone" width="940"] Robert gives a weather report[/caption]

Another thing I liked was the weather dome where you presented the weather on the news. You read out lines from a screen in front of you and gestured to the different pictures of countries behind you. After you completed all your lines you went out of the dome and you could watch your video. Remember that this will be the only time to see yourself unless you do it again and also do not speak too fast, as that could mean you are talking about hot weather in Africa while pointing at the rainy UK.

[caption id="attachment_1763" align="alignnone" width="940"] Taking part in a space mission[/caption]

The last three floors were much smaller but had the same amount of facts and information. The journey from the first floor to the top is 42m so you get a great view. On floor one (New Frontiers) you could launch rockets and on floor three (Leaving Earth) you heard all about the space race and Russia’s triumphant first man above earth. Also on that floor was a section which simulated launching a small shuttle. 1-2 people were in the control room and instructed the single person in the shuttle what to do. After a few minutes the rocket “took off”, watch out for the smoke. The fourth floor consisted of Neil Armstrong’s story, a version of guess who and lots of time lines.

Over all It was a fantastic day out and I would really recommend it. You don't even need good weather to enjoy it!

Read about my trip to Space Camp at Kennedy Space Center, Florida!

Disclosure: We visited the Space Centre as guests on a "Family Fun short break" called Stay Play Explore, which is run by Leicester Shire Promotions. There are a range of these breaks, which cost £129 for two adults and two children, and which include an overnight stay in a hotel (we stayed in the Hilton Leicester) and the opportunity to visit three attractions in the area. You can find out more from their website.