aerospace museum of california

If you're in the area you should stop by. We went on a Sunday morning, it wasn't crowded at all. The collection is pretty good. The flight simulator is a good choice for younger kids (10+ will probably not enjoy it as much). There was also a nice video presentation about the Coast Guard. There is a kids play area with some hands-on experiments, also great for younger kids.We chatted with several of the volunteer staff and all were very friendly and informative. There is an outside play area, and I guess you could bring your own lunch and make a nice outing of it.

This place is Ah-ma-zing!!! Our lil munchkinz had so much fun pretending to fly these big boyz aircrafts. And to top it all...they had a lovely time playing at the playground just right outside Aerospace Museum! Definitely a fantastic museum to visit with kids. ‪#‎aeronauticallove

Nice museum on the airfield at the old McClellan Air Base. Good mix of different kinds of aircraft and you can go inside some of them. The volunteers were friendly, knowledgably and helpful. Good space exhibit as well.

If you ever wanted to stand next to a fighter jet or simply be up close to a variety of aircraft this is the place to visit. Outside there are over 20 aircraft a few of which are open to enter. Inside there are many displays of seats, internal mechanisms and aircraft engines. Some of the engines offer cutaway views for observation of the intricate moving parts. The facility is very well staffed by aerospace experts who are eager to discuss any aspect of aerospace technology. On the second floor walkway is an excellent display of the role of women in aerospace.

My son is very interested in air crafts and so I surprised him with this museum during our stay in Sacramento. Their are so many planes on display, mostly military. Staff and volunteers put a lot of effort in this museum and also in restoring the historic planes. One can get a lot of informations about the different air crafts, the engines etc from the staff/volunteers, they are happy to explain. Some of the air crafts you can enter and tour the inside. That was amazing. For younger kids there is an impressive playground in front of the museum, also with covered seating areas (very good for summer, since it tends to get really hot outside).One of our favorite museums, highly recommended.

About 10 miles northeast of downtown Sacramento, is the Aerospace Museum of California. Located on the former grounds of McClellan Air Force Base, the museum houses a number of historic government, commercial and non-commercial aircraft inside and outside the museum (Some of the outside aircraft can be entered on special event days). There are a number of informative exhibits and kid-oriented stations inside the museum. There is a flight simulator (it was not working on the day of our visit). A popular exhibit is a cutout cockpit where you can climb in and sit and play with the levers. There is fascinating video exhibit of the intensive training of US Coast Guard Guardians and their heroic rescue missions. There is a display to take a complimentary souvenir selfie to email to yourself or friends. My favorite (free, only available to visitors 11 years old or older) was the chance to learn how to fly on a computer simulator. My mentor was Bob, a retired air force pilot, who was a fantastic teacher. Allow about 25 minutes for this activity. There is a small gift shop where there are limited snacks sold. Next to the museum property is a park with with a large lawn area, a tall climbing structure and picnic tables.If you are visiting the Sacramento area, you might consider a visit to the Aerospace Museum of California.

In 1982, a group volunteers chartered an aviation museum that was to become known as the McClellan Aviation Museum. In 1986, the museum officially opened as the “Aerospace Museum of California” which is located on the former McClellan Air Force Base. The museum hosted over 600,000 visitors a year until the base closure when another group became the new “owners” of the museum. The facility was converted to a private museum and achieved the honor of being chartered by the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.In 2001, McClellan Air Force Base closed and renamed McClellan Airfield, a civil aviation airport and incorporated as a non-profit organization. In 2004, the museum moved to 3200 Freedom Park Drive, McClellan Park.In 2005, the name was changed to the “Aerospace Museum of California.” In 2007, the museum opened to the public, its new 35,000-square-foot “Hardie Setzer Pavilion,” enabling some of the aircraft to be displayed indoors.The museum carries over 40 aircraft on display as well as numerous authentic military and civilian aircraft and space vehicle replicas. It preserves the history and mission of this former base as well as those of neighboring bases like Beale (active) and Mather (closed) Air Force Bases. On display is a wide-range of aircrafts, both military and civilian, from biplanes to Russian MIGs, to a fully restored, one-of-a-kind 1932 Curtiss Wright B-14B Speedwing a US Navy Blue Angels’ fighter, A-10 Thunderbolt, or the last Grumman F-14D ‘Top Gun’ F-14 Tomcat which was retired from U.S. Navy in 2006.The “Air Park” features fighters, trainers, transport and specialized aircraft flown by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Navy during the 60 year period from 1940 to 2000. Many of the aircraft are on loan from the National Museum of the USAF and National Museum of Naval Aviation.They have a collection of airplanes with names that you have never heard of such as the Voodoo, Warthog, Albatross, Boxcar, Dagger or Grasshopper. Another display is the famed “Norden Bomb Sight,” which was used by American bombardiers for precision day bombing during World War II. These bomb sights were really small computers that were maintained and repaired in the shops at the Sacramento Air Depot (later Sacramento Air Logistics Center at McClellan AFB).The collection also includes many other historic artifacts relating to Sacramento's aerospace heritage and houses an extensive collection of historic aircraft engines. These include a World War I-era Gnome-Rhone rotary piston engine to the Pratt & Whitney nine-stage, axial-flow, bypass J-58 turbojet that propelled the SR-71 Blackbird supersonic spy plane. The Museum’s collection of engines is quite extensive and grows frequently as new engines are restored and put on display.The museum’s art gallery contains more than 60 original works, many on loan from the Air Force Art Collection. The museum's “restoration team” is nearing completion of a Fairchild PT-19B World War II training aircraft. New exhibits are constantly opening on a regular basis here at the Aerospace Museum.US Coast Guard Art Collection (art pieces on loan from the USCG) featuring oil paintings, water color and acrylic art works. These pieces depict Coast Guard personnel, equipment, historic events and other subjects in scenes relevant the service and mission of the US Coast Guard.Educate yourself about space exploration and see the future of manned and unmanned flight. Feel the exhilaration of flying in our squadron of high-tech simulators.Guided tours are available along with classes, programs, and competitions to help educate and inspire visitors of all ages about aviation and aerospace. Their mission is “To enhance the awareness of aerospace science through education.” The museum offers a wide variety of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math on activities designed to inspire and motivate students of all ages.Our visit:We have toured many museums, both from a military as well as civilian stand point and over the years have learned new things during each of those past experiences. I knew about this museum and since my son and I are big into anything military we decided to take a trip to this museum! Driving onto this once robust military base almost seems like a ghost town with little or no traffic on the day of our visit.The entrance fee was well worth the price to be able to view all the aircraft at this museum. My son, who loves anything connected to airplanes, was thrilled to see how big these planes were compared to his size. He was just as inquisitive and wanted to know how something as large as the “A-10 Thunderbolt” could take off from the ground and why it had a funny name like the “Warthog.” Between myself and the “descriptions” on a lot of these exhibits, I think my son’s inquiries were answered to his satisfaction. We had a great time and the museum didn’t disappoint us.

If I was a plane buff and was interested in aircraft engines on display I probably would love this place. Unfortunately we are not, so we found it to be really boring and overpriced. Maybe if there were some displays that catered more to the regular folks it would have been more interesting. If you're an airplane geek, you'll be in heaven here. Most of the planes outside were locked up and you couldn't peek inside. Would I visit again? Not.

While not the biggest aeorspace museum in the world, it is definitely very educational and enjoyable, They periodically change exhibits making it fun to revisit. This is also a great venue for parties and large charitable events.

Not a real large museum but it has some quality exhibits. It has a few items that are very interesting. It is well organized and great opportunity for photos. The docents are very helpful.

We didn't know what we would find, but we took our 3yo grandson who loves the Railroad Museum and the "Tractor" Museum in Woodland. It was a weekday and there were more docents than visitors, so we had lots of people who shared information with us. On Feb 1, 2014, Museum Day, there will be no admission cost and all the planes/helicopters are open to climb in. They always have at least 2 available to explore. There is an inside play area for little ones - hands on activities for older children and adults. There are tables outside for picnics. Right next door is a great playground with a huge play structure with a space theme. There are two other play structures for younger children. I wish this were listed in things to do in Sacramento, because very few people are going to look up things to do in North Highlands and this is such a great place to go with the family. Most of the aircraft are not wheelchair accessible and some are difficult for people who don't "climb" anymore - but there is so much to see and the docents are so interesting, it is worth a visit even if you can't get inside the open aircraft.

A good place for kids, esp. those obsessed with airplanes and military airplanes. The chance to walk right up to/around fighter planes and go aboard jets and helicopters will really appeal to some kids. But, not every plane is open regularly and the indoor exhibit area and gift shop are both very limited.

We've been to many many airplane museums, the whole family are aviation enthusiasts. We went here during an open cockpit day. The docents are all very knowledgeable and alsolutely love their time at the museum. It is a pleasure to talk to them. Do not miss the simulator training upstairs. My son loved it and the docents there are ex pilots and very patient with the training even with the younger kids. There is a great display of quite a few random things and a lot of kid friendly areas for the kids to try things out such as rebuilding engines and such. There are a lot of random planes outside as well. Not a huge place but definitely worth the money and time. Too bad they didn't have some sort of cafe there so that we could have stayed longer.

Beautiful newer museum. I was worried I would get bored just looking at planes, but I actually enjoyed myself. They have a wide range of aircraft, from early flights to more current ones. Lots of jet/rocket engines, clothing, simulators, jeeps etc to keep all ages engaged. Docents know so much about each area, plus big outdoor area to explore with the "bigger" aircraft outside, and some you go inside to look at them. Had lots of picnic tables tables scattered about outside to sit down & rest before you got to the next aircraft. Was very imprssed with their setup, and knowledge of the docent volunteer staff. Kiddie area upstairs, good for the family or just grown-ups. Nice afternoon for a Father's Day treat.

I've been to much better historical places. This is a place for he extremely bored to get even more bored!!