Aviation Pavilion Grand Opening at the Museum of Flight in Seattle

Last updated on March 14th, 2018 at 09:45 pm

This weekend, the new Aviation Pavilion opened at the Museum of Flight. The first 500 people on Saturday and Sunday received goodie bags with treats, aviator sunglasses, beach balls and more! We went Sunday morning and were thoroughly impressed!

They have a new play space in the Pavilion called Kid Port. It’s basically a miniature airport for kids to use their imagination. They have a security gate, check-in desk with pretend computers, a working luggage scale, a baggage carousel and actual rolling luggage! This was a hit with my toddler and his friend and they spent a lot of time loading up the baggage carousel and then returning the luggage back to the designated area. They did this over and over and over. Thankfully, there are benches set up all around the Kid Port so parents can take a breather while watching the kiddos.

There is also a mock airplane, very similar to the one inside the Museum’s Kid Fly Zone. The velcro seat belts were a hit!

There is also a fuel truck with a moveable steering wheel. The seat inside is a bit narrow for adults (my son insisted that my husband and I sit down with him.) But you could easily squeeze 3 toddlers on the seat. My husband really appreciated the license plate!

Outside of the Kid Port, there are still many things attractive to little kids. On the FedEx airplane, there is a section that shows some potential packages that could be on board a FedEx airplane. This is interactive and our toddler loved opening up the doors and pulling out the drawers that revealed cargo from around the world, such as chocolate and shampoos. It was very cool to see how the boxes might be stacked.

One of the biggest hits for our son were the two metal pedal airplanes available for cruising around. His legs were a bit too short to use the pedals, but he was able to propel himself backward and then asked Daddy to help him go forward. They have joy sticks to change the direction, which was also a big hit in itself. Apparently, these pedal planes will be available in the Aviation Pavilion 3 days a week all summer long.

Finally, there is yet another area dedicated to children set up in the middle of the Pavilion. This features a magnetic PVC pipe tubes where you can create your own path and send balls down. There is also a large-scale Jenga game and large foam blocks that build an archway. These will be set up all summer for kids to play with.

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We spent 90 minutes just exploring the Aviation Pavilion. Currently, it is covered but not enclosed. According to a staff member, it will eventually have walls as part of the 5 year plan. Right now, it’s easily accessible to birds, so watch where you step. There is also a cafe inside the Pavilion with lots of seating. We had an absolute blast here and I envision many playdates here in the future!

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