Aerospace Museum, North Highlands

The Aerospace Museum is a nice museum containing a few cockpits that kids can climb in and some engines on display inside the museum. Outside there are quite a few large military craft, old and new. Most of the year they only have two or three planes open to explore, but three times of the year are “open cockpit” days where they open up virtually all of their aircraft. You can check the days here: http://www.aerospacemuseumofcalifornia.org/calendar_of_events.html

Special Events: From Feb 9th through September 6th adjacent to the museum you can also visit a NASA exhibit on Space. The tickets for this exhibit are pricey ($18 for adults, kids 5 and under free) particularly if you are also buying tix for the Aerospace Museum (adults $8, kids 6 and under are free). This exhibit is a nice addition, as it has displays with buttons to push and things to manipulate. It is definitely geared toward older kids, say around ten years old and up.

Freedom Park: : http://www.nhrpd.org/facilities/freedom.html

If you want to stretch out the time, there is a rockin play structure right next to the museum. Literally “rockin”, the play structure is shaped in part like a rocket ship. A great way to get the kids using their imaginative play straight out of the museum.