A Day at the Intrepid Air, Sea and Space Museum

This past weekend we paid a visit to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City as part of my involvement the Kids Club 13. We had never been to the Intrepid, but it was definitely on our list of things to do, so we were thrilled it was on Kid’s Club 13′s agenda. Not only does my son love anything that flies, but he wants to be an airplane pilot (as well as a helicopter pilot). As soon as we wandered into the Intrepid, he was in his element.

The museum has a new section called the Exploreum to teach kids about the inner workings of a ship. It contains 18 different hands-on exhibits that teach kids about the various properties of the sea, air, space and living at sea as each relates to the ship Intrepid. Kids can experience a flight simulator, climb a cargo net, transmit messages using Morse code, crawl through living quarters of crew members, learn how the Intrepid turned salt water into fresh water and perform various tasks while wearing space gloves.

We also set foot on the famous Concorde jet that flew from New York to London in under three hours, plus four newly acquired aircraft: a pair of Soviet helicopters, a rescue helicopter and a whirlybird that served during the Korean War. My son was in heaven. We saw dozens of aircraft on the flight deck and climbed up the steps to see the captain’s deck and quarters.

A highlight of our visit was to the Growler Submarine. What an amazing experience to crawl through an actual submarine’ control room and attack center, torpedo room and bunkers. What was once “top secret” is now open to the public and is something to see.

The pro’s of the museum outweigh its con’s. On the positive side, it has a lot to offer people of all ages. There are tour guides all over the museum who are very informative, many being actual war vets, who really bring the museum to life through descriptions and stories. The con’s would have to be the admission price, which may seem astronomical at first – $22 per adult, $17 per child ages 3-17,$18 for students. But it is important to remember you’re buying a ticket to witness a part of our history and the museum is really worth the price of admission.

Also, parking near the museum is ridiculous – one parking lot wanted $30 for two hours. Being the savvy New Yorkers that we are not, albeit transplanted ones, we knew to carry on looking and parked for $10 a few blocks down.

As for Kids Club 13, I can’t begin to tell you how much my involvement with this group has meant to me. We have enjoyed every single one of their events. It’s truly been our passport to the city of NYC and I highly recommend getting your family a membership. For only $75 a year, you get invited to 13 events at landmarks all over the city. We have been to so many places including the Prospect Park Zoo, the Hudson River Museum, the Noguchi Museum and the South Street Sea Port. In the upcoming months, our field trips will include the the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, the Rubin Museum of Art and the Long Island Children’s Museum. Join the program today here.