Have you been to visit the Hickory Aviation Museum? A few of my friends took our children there recently as a little, local summer field trip.
The museum is a treasure trove of plane artifacts from several different time periods and different wars. My airplane obsessed child was awe-struck by the variety of model planes and antique flight suits. As we wandered around the small but jam-packed museum, two friendly volunteers, both veterans, shared interesting facts and stories with us. They knew where the museum’s artifacts had come from, what special instruments and devices were used for, and had wonderful stories about local Hickory Veterans. They clearly loved sharing their knowledge with the kids.
After we had explored the museum cases and all tried out some old-fashioned airline passenger seats, we surprised the children by announcing that we could go out on the tarmac and see some real antique war planes! We were given a great guide to the planes, which included interesting details about each plane, and helped us moms seem like experts as we were peppered with endless questions from the children. The kids got to peek into a restored cockpit, stand under a plane painted with vicious teeth, and thoroughly poke around some very neat old planes! My eight year old was fascinated by a Navy plane which featured foldable wings, a space-saving feature on aircraft carrier ships.
All of the children learned so much from the museum and from the helpful volunteers. It took about an hour to explore the museum and the planes on the tarmac. We will certainly bring more friends back soon to explore this wonderful little museum. Go check it out for yourself! You may want to bring a little money to spend on some tiny gift store trinkets, and also for lunch at the Crosswind Café, the yummy restaurant inside the airport. Plan your visit to coincide with the free flights for kids offered at the airport via the Young Eagles program on the second Saturday of the month for an aviation-filled adventure right here in Hickory!
The Hickory Aviation Museum is located at the terminal at Hickory Regional Airport at 3101 9th Avenue Drive NW in Hickory. Hours of operation are Tuesday - Friday 10am-3pm, Saturday 10am-4pm and Sunday 1pm-4pm; admission is free. For more information, visit www.hickoryaviationmuseum.org or call (828) 323-1963.
