Visiting The Udvar-Hazy Center, Air and Space Museum

Considering a visit to the Udvar-Hazy Center Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC? Here’s everything you need to know before you visit.

While my parents were visiting this weekend, we made a trip out to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, near Dulles International Airport. It’s part of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and it’s been on our list to check out. If you’re planning a visit to Udvar-Hazy, or have just been curious, today’s post is for you.

Visiting The Udvar-Hazy Center, Air and Space Museum

Udvar-Hazy is open daily from 10AM-5:30PM (except Christmas Day) and is free to the public, but costs $15 to park. It does not require an advance ticket purchase.

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia

We went on a Saturday around 2PM and were a little bit nervous we might not have enough time to see it all, but I’m happy to report that it was plenty of time. They were also blasting the air conditioning so it was a nice reprieve from the 90-degree day.

The museum is made from two huge hangars, and it’s filled with hundreds (thousands?) of space and aviation artifacts. I’m telling you, typing that out doesn’t do this museum justice. Everything from military aircraft, fighter jets, simulators you can ride in, artifacts from aviators like Amelia Earhart and so much more. 

Space Shuttle Discovery

Highlights for me definitely included the Concorde and Space Shuttle Discovery. Seeing the ceramic tiles on the side of Discovery up close was incredible. I also could not get over the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, a two-seat strategic recon aircraft. 

We spent about 2.5 hours walking through the museum. Could we have spent longer? Probably. There is so much to read and see, but it was the perfect amount of time for our group. We saw kids of all ages enjoying the exhibits and it’s definitely a must-see if you’re in the area.

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