National Air and Space Museum Family Day / Get Together

We went to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C to attend Family Day: Kites of Asia. There were beautifully decorated kites throughout the lobby area, kite experts telling about kite-making traditions, indoor kite-flying, and an area for kids to make kites.


There were also several Chinese activities to celebrate Chinese New Year like lion dances and Chinese calligraphy. It was interesting looking at the Apollo Lunar Module, along with watching and listening to a lion dance with its loud drum and gong.



Brian and Justin make bookmarks with Chinese character stampings (a museum photographer asks to take our picture) Justin makes his kite The kite is finished Kevin steers an Airbus A320 via simulation, ‘America By Air’ exhibit While Kevin steers, people (left) watch a simulation from the cockpit’s view Justin poses in front of the Northrop Gamma Polar Star (flown across Antarctica in 1935), ‘Golden Age of Flight’ exhibit We spent most of our time watching the indoor kite-flying performances, eating in the food court, and in the boys’ favorite exhibit - ‘How Things Fly.’ This is a gallery that teaches about the basic principles of flying with dozens of hands-on experiments.

After covering a third of the museum, the kids got tired. Justin has a map of the museum with all the airplane exhibits listed. He would find an aircraft, then circle it on his map - and insisted that he had to find every one of them. We promised that we would come back soon so he could finish finding all the planes.

Later that evening, we ordered out a late dinner and had some friends and family over. The kids from both families watch our boys play Wii.