WINDSOR LOCKS, CONN. – The New England Air Museum will hold family fun activities Dec. 26-31. Daily activities include demonstrations about the science of flight, and the museum’s Flight Sim Spot will be open between 12 pm and 4 pm. Flight Sim Spot allows visitors to use state-of-the-art simulators to virtually fly any aircraft using real cockpit controls.
Additional activities are scheduled for the following days:
Thursday, Dec. 26, Open Cockpit. The museum will host an Open Cockpit program with up to eight aircraft to be open, including helicopters, an airliner, a jet fighter and a World War II aircraft. All cockpits will close at 4 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 27, LEGO Contest. Step into a room full of LEGOs and create a “Mars and Beyond” flying machine.” The program is for ages 3-12 and will run from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Prizes will be awarded for each age category: 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12.
Saturday, Dec. 28, Aircraft Drawing Contest. “What I love about flight”. Participants between the ages of 3-15 can make a drawing or a collage. All materials will be provided. Prizes will be awarded for each age category: 3-5, 6-8, 9-11 and12-15. Participants do not need to be present to win a prize.
Sunday, Dec. 29, Nose Art Activity. Visitors ages 3-12 can view and learn the meaning of nose art through our B-29 Superfortress and other aircraft. Children will have the opportunity to draw nose art and bring their artwork home. The program will run from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 30, Aero Modeling Workshop. This program runs from10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is offered on a first-come, first-served basis. This activity takes about an hour and a half to complete. Children ages 8-14 can build and fly their own models. All children must be accompanied by an adult. There is a $5 cost for the kit.
Tuesday, Dec. 31, Scavenger Hunt. We will offer a scavenger hunt to help visitors of all ages discover the museum’s treasures located in its three exhibit hangars. There will be prizes for all participants.
Activities are included with the price of admission on the day of your visit except where noted. Each day docents will be on hand to provide information and to interact with the visitors.
The museum will be open from 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $12 for ages 12 and up, $11 for seniors 65 and up and $6.50 for ages 4 to 11. Children under 3 are admitted free.
The New England Air Museum is the largest aviation museum in New England and is a private, non-profit educational institution that was organized in 1959. Three larger hangars and an outdoor display contain more than 80 aircraft with permanent exhibits that include the oldest surviving aircraft in the U.S. – the 1870 Silas M. Brooks Balloon Basket, as well as an S-39 Amphibian plane – the first aircraft built in Connecticut by aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky. Featured year-round are many historical aircraft and exhibits including a focus on World War II’s Tuskegee Airmen, and a display about Amelia Earhart alongside a Lockheed Model 10 Electra – the same type of plane flown by the female aviator.
The museum, owned and operated by the Connecticut Aeronautical Historical Association, is located on the North end of the Bradley International Airport airfield in Windsor Locks, Conn.
For more information: NEAM.org or 860-623-3305