Kalamazoo’s ‘Air Zoo’ Unleashes Mechanical Beasts of the Sky

The windshield wipers had been hard at work for most of the drive. They kept our view clear as conditions allowed as we slowly headed home from our weekend trip to Lansing, Michigan. Fortunately, a break in the rain had allowed us to make a pit stop at a curiously named roadside attraction in Kalamazoo, the Air Zoo!

We started off at the store, determined to find a patch for our travel quilt. A patch was found and obtained before we headed into the museum. Which meant once again I was left carrying an item around a museum. 

Although, to be fair, this time there was a bag, and it was adorable. The bag had directions and a guide to making a paper airplane.

After checking out, and with little idea of what we were getting ourselves into, we were ready to get our ‘animal’ fix with a flying Tiger, Cougar, and even a Camel!

Kalamazoo Michigan’s Air Zoo begins in Building 1

We walked through the clouds and landed in a large open room with lots to see and do. There were indeed lots of different planes from many different eras that served a wide variety of different purposes. 

One of the highlights of my visit was the chance to get up close and personal with some of these incredible machines. In contrast to some of the other museums I have been to, the Air Zoo contained a variety of interactive exhibits that allow visitors to sit in the cockpit of a real aircraft, experience flight simulators, and even try their hand at flying a virtual plane. The kid friendly museum also featured several rides including flying balloons and an airplane ride. 

Keeping with the kid friendly theme, the museum is currently hosting “DC Superheroes: Discover your Superpowers!” Produced by the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. Which is a fun Hands-on exhibit that lets you solve puzzles and follow a superhero story. 

Kid free, we skirted around those exhibits and focused our attention on the planes. I enjoyed learning about the aircraft on site. One of my favorites was the SR-71 Blackbird, a sleek black airplane that looks more like a spaceship than a plane. Its claim to fame is that it is the fastest aircraft to every fly. Interestingly, only 32 were ever built and the Air Zoo is home to one of them!

Past the large open space, we dove deeper into the museum, to a section on space. The area was filled with spacecraft and figures out of science fiction, literally! They are currently hosting a number of statues of beloved sci-fi characters such as Iron Man, C3-PO, and the Terminator. Selfies were not only welcome but encouraged.

Building 2 in Kalamazoo Michigan

After exploring the first building we were excited to see what awaited us in the Flight Discovery Center. 

Although they do offer shuttles, we choose to walk the short distance. It had stopped raining and although it was a bit humid, it was nice to be outdoors after being cooped up in the car. We ended up being glad we chose to walk as the path was dotted with additional planes we would have missed otherwise!

The second building gave visitors the opportunity to sit in cockpits and display seats of aircraft. It also happened to be a working restoration area. Although no one was actively working on restoration on a Sunday, you could see the workshop and where they were at in the process. 

One of the airplanes that they were working on was pulled out of Lake Michigan! 

I will say, that was also one of the nice things about this museum, is that despite being a Smithsonian affiliate it made sure to keep a local spin on things! 

At $18 for an adult this museum gave us over 2 hours of entertainment! This indoor activity is kid friendly and has things to do that an entire family could enjoy!