Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor

For Father's Day last month my husband wanted to go to the Pacific Aviation Museum so we packed up the kids and some of their friends and headed off for an adventure.  I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to take four energetic children to a museum but we hoped for the best.

We got there, paid for our admission and began to explore.  The first building contains aircraft flown in Hawaii and around the Pacific during World War II.  The first section is all about the attack on Pearl Harbor.  I was impressed with how big the torpedos were and the kids were impressed with the manikins in the planes.

Trying to keep up a pace that the kids enjoyed meant we didn't stop to read all the signs and learn all we could have, but we got the main ideas and watched some of the documentary videos featured throughout the exhibit hall.

After we saw everything in the first section of the museum we walked over to Hangar 79 to see more.  Both parts of the museum are in original airplane hangars that survived the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Hangar 79 houses a number of helicopters, jets and planes.  The back has a mechanic shop and a few World War II era vehicles.

In Hangar 79 there were more hands-on exhibits and the kids enjoyed checking out a mock-up of a space shuttle cockpit, getting in a helicopter and climbing up to look in the cockpits of various airplanes.

If you are interested in aviation and/or history, I would recommend a visit to this museum.  And although it's not a children's museum specifically, the Pacific Aviation Museum is a fun place to take children.  The variety of the exhibits, lots of space for walking around and some opportunities for hands-on discovery helped us keep four kids happy as they learned a bit about planes and history.

The museum has plans for expansion so the experience should just keep getting better and better.

Do it yourself on Oahu
Location:  Ford Island 319 Lexington Blvd, Hawaii, 96818 (Military or DOD ID required to get on Ford Island - see 'parking' for more info.)
Directions:  The museum's webpage has great directions, so click here for directions to the museum.
Hours:  9am to 5pm daily.  Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.
Parking:  The museum is on an active military base and if you do not have base access park at the Pearl Harbor Visitor's Center.  Parking there tends to fill up and you may end up in an overflow lot with a little bit of a walk, but it's not bad.  Shuttle buses leave from the visitor's center to the aviation museum every 15 minutes from 9am to 4pm.  If you have a military or DOD ID card, you can drive directly to the museum and there is a large lot with free parking adjacent to the museum.
Facilities:  Restrooms in the main building.  Laniakea Cafe located in the main building offers sandwiches, burgers, fries, salads and daily specials.  Museum store also located in the main building.
Cost:
Tickets can be purchased online, at a partner travel desk in Waikiki, at the Pearl Harbor Visitor's Center or at the Pacific Aviation Museum itself.
• General Admission is $20 for adults, $10 for children 4-12 years old; For Kama'aina and military $12 for adults, $7 for children 4-12 years old.
• Flight simulator rides are $10 for 30 min.
• Guided visits (Aviator's Tour) are $30 for adults ($22 Kama'aina and military) and $20 for children 4-12 years old ($17 for Kama'aina and military) with a special deal of one free child per adult on the weekends.  You can also purchase your tickets online 7 days in advance and get 50% off the Aviator's Tour.
Check the website for coupons for free flight simulator rides and museum store discounts.  As of July 2011 they can be found on the museum's homepage.
Other:  No bags are allowed on the shuttle bus to Ford Island.  You can store your bags at the Bowfin Submarine Park shuttle bus stop (right next to the Pearl Harbor Visitor's Center) for $3/bag.
More info:  Visit the Pacific Aviation Museum's Homepage or call 808-441-1000