Behind-the-Scenes at Yakima’s Fun Aerospace Camp for Kids

Exploring Yakima’s Fun Aerospace Camp Adventures

A friend of mine told me that she had just enrolled her sons in an aerospace camp in Yakima. I perked up and asked her where it was being held and what exactly is an aerospace camp. She told me that it was a day camp offered by Mrs. Heather and Ms. Jackie at the McAllister Museum of Aviation.

First of all, I had totally forgotten that Yakima has an airplane museum. I always see the road sign on Washington Ave that advertises pilot lessons. It says something like, “Learn to Fly!”

I have a 12-year-old daughter who has always been interested in science and space exploration. When she was little, she told me that she wanted to be an astronaut. I figured learning stuff at Aerospace Camp is the next best thing to becoming an astronaut, at least since she’s only 12 and on summer break from middle school.

FUN FACT FROM THE FOLKS AT THE MCALLISTER MUSEUM OF AVIATION: Your museum membership to the museum has an option for free annual entry to the Museum of Flight in Seattle!

Check out the behind-the-scenes gallery of Yakima Aerospace Camp below!

Grades 6-8 Yakima Aerospace Camp: A Place for Airplane Fun, Tours, and Friendships, Oh My!

The Yakima aerospace summer day camp ran from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost of the camp was $250 per student. This week-long summer camp focused on kids in grades 6 thru 8 and gave kids a behind-the-scenes look at planes on the tarmac and in the hangar. It also taught them about the basics of airplane construction, what it’s like to be a pilot, plus some important aviation history. They got to take a tour of the airport tower and viewed some of the parked museum airplanes on the field. They brought their own lunch and bottled water each day to keep the cost of the day camp affordable, and it allowed the children to *gasp* speak to each other and make new friends.

The day camp also included building their own “rockets” and planes from simple elements like wood, markers, and glue. My kiddo generally thumbs her nose at things I sign her up for, but she told me she was happy that I signed her up for the aerospace camp.

If you want your child to participate next year, contact the fine folks at the Museum of Aviation at info@yaktivekids.com or call (509) 457-4933. mcallistermuseum.org

McAllister Museum of Aviation is located at 2008 S 16th Ave in Yakima, right next to the Yakima Airport.

Other fun museums in the Yakima Valley include the Yakama Nation Cultural Center, Yakima Valley Museum, Central Washington Agricultural Museum, American Hops Museum, and the Yakima Electric Railway Museum Yard.

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