Things To Do
Things to Do in Kalamazoo
Everyone is invited to imagine, explore, and discover at the Air Zoo!
Looking for kid-friendly things to do in Kalamazoo? The Air Zoo is the perfect place to bring your family for a day full of interactive exhibits and excitingexperiences.
The Air Zoo proudly offers a collection of family-friendly activities easily accessible in southwest Michigan, including hands-on learning exhibits like our science and engineering stations, and Toddler Tarmac. Ready to fly? Ourflight simulators, allow visitors to step right into the cockpit and indoor amusement rides provide guests with even more flying fun.
Ready to learn? The Air Zoo boasts dozens of historical exhibits, too. Discover more about the history of Guadalcanal, space exploration in our Dare to Dream exhibit, explore the heroes of Michigan aviation, and more.
Check out some of the exciting things your Air Zoo has to offer below, or take a peek in ourvirtual tour - and plan your next family day in Kalamazoo!
Air Zoo Experiences
Flight Simulators
Guests can jump in, grab the controls and perform full-motion loops, rolls and dives while dogfighting in a fighter plane, or perform aerobatics in a high-performance stunt plane in the Air Zoo's 3D full-motion flight simulators. Or, try one of two Doron flight simulations and fly over the countryside in a Goodyear FG-1D Corsair, or whiz through deep canyons or race a speeding train in one of 15 barnstormers.
Indoor Amusement Rides
From a Montgolfier Balloon Race and Century of Flight Ferris Wheel to steering your own flying circus biplane and immersing yourself in the sensation of weightlessness as you experience being dropped from a two-story height in the Paratrooper Jump, there is something for "kids" of all ages to enjoy at the Air Zoo!
Missions Theater
Check out an engaging flick in the Air Zoo's Missions Theater. This Quonset hut theater offers visitors several different experiences per day. Interested in hosting your own presentation in our Missions Theater? Call an Air Zoo Group & Events member for more information at269.350.2848 orcontact them now!
Check out all the other fun activities we have for kids. FromScouting Super Science Saturdays toseasonal camps,Launchpad to Learning, andSummer STEAM Days the Air Zoo is a great place for kids to experience the excitement of science and aerospace.
Incredible Exhibits:
Free with admission!
Amelia: Adventurous Aviatrix
The Air Zoo proudly presents Amelia: Adventurous Aviatrix: An all-new 2020 exhibit that explores the adventures and legacy of Amelia Earhart. Located in the Flight Innovation Center’s Golden Age of Flight gallery, the exhibit tells the story of a brave, bold woman who broke through barriers to make history in the sky. Guests will learn how Amelia went from a playful child born in Atchison, Kansas, in 1897 to an aviation and women’s empowerment icon and contributor.
Memories & Milestones: the Air Zoo Story
In 2019, the Air Zoo celebrated four decades of flight and family; people, planes, and programs; spacecraft and science; education and exhibitions! We hope you were able to join us when our special anniversary exhibition Memories and Milestones first debuted. Now, with its new location in the Flight Discovery Center, our look into the early days of the Air Zoo may be enjoyed anytime.
D-Day: En Route by Plane and Parachute
The Allied invasion of northern France on June 6, 1944—the largest seaborne invasion in world history—required air power and air defense for success. As America reflects on the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the Air Zoo presents an exhibition that explores the invasion through the lens of all things air.
Apo11o
The Apollo 11 moon landing, which put the first two humans on the moon on July 20, 1969, not only made history but also served as a moment shared by a nation. As the nation celebrated, in 2019, 50 years since that cosmically cool lunar adventure, we have recreated that nationally-shared, public memory with a typical suburban living room plucked right out of the summer of ‘69! Relax on the sofa with your family and watch the moon landing broadcast on a console TV. Explore the Apollo 11 story inside and outside the immersive living room. Find out about the teamwork it took to put two people on the moon and learn more about the ways the space program impacted American life in the late 1960s and how it shaped the technologies we know today.
Featured Exhibits -
Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame (MAHOF)
The Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame (MAHOF) honors more than 140 men and women for their outstanding contributions and achievements to aviation and/or space. They had a vision and followed their dreams with determination and triumph. The MAHOF is committed to recognizing these enshrinees as role models, as they inspire today's youth to follow their own vision and achieve excellence, no matter what their field of choice.View the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame Enshrinees
Black Wings: American Dreams of Flight
Take a visual journey through African-American contributions to flight... When the Wright brothers signaled the arrival of the new air age with their historic flight in 1903, they sparked America's fascination with an exploration of the skies. While many African Americans were enthusiastic about flight, they still faced racial discrimination and were denied access to formal training as pilots and mechanics. The Smithsonian exhibitionBlack Wings: American Dreams of Flight chronicles the powerful group of aviation pioneers who challenged these obstacles and created their own legacy in the world of flight, and is now permanently housed at the Air Zoo!
Women in Aviation and Space
This exhibit honors women in aviation and space, such as astronaut Sally Ride and aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart and Air Zoo founder Suzanne Parish. It shines a light on the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), who were the first women in history to fly U.S. military aircraft, and highlights the contributions they made to fight for America's freedom. It showcases original uniforms, a visual history mural, photo collages, a timeline and a unique mosaic, which includes each of the 1,102 WASP plus Jacqueline Cochran, founder of the WASP.
Space: Dare to Dream
Space: Dare to Dream pays tribute to the dreamers who dared to find the answers to our very existence and shaped humankind's knowledge of our place in the universe. This exhibit celebrates those innovators' amazing discoveries and the history of space exploration. Visitors are able to explore Galileo's study, learn about ancient cosmology, and experience the rumbling liftoff of Saturn V as it leaves Earth.
Guadalcanal Memorial Exhibit
Experience the Air Zoo's multi-sensory and immersive exhibit on the battles of the Guadalcanal Campaign, one of the longest and bloodiest campaigns of World War II. The Guadalcanal campaign is known as the psychological and geographical turning point of the land war in the Pacific. Guests experience the sights and sounds of these important battles. The exhibit includes a full-size bunker replica, hands-on activities, rare and unique artifacts, insightful dioramas, first-hand narratives, the Wall of Honor memorializing 20 men who earned the Medal of Honor for their sacrifices on the island, and much, much more.
Come visit us.
Great place! Very interesting educational and informational! Great place to take the whole family as there is something for young children up to adults!
blackeyedsusan2018
We took our grown daughters and young grandsons to the Air Zoo. It was very entertaining for all of us. There is so much to see and do. Rides for the whole family!
Rick C