About an hour outside of Portland, in the heart of Oregon’s Wine Country, sits a huge collection of air and spacecraft.
The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum also houses thousands more vintage parts and pieces that tell the story of flight and space exploration through the decades. And that’s not all…
Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum
The museum is divided into several buildings. Aviation is housed in one building, and space in another. There’s also a movie theater and a large outdoor playground. There’s a water park here, too (although not owned by the museum).
The Aviation Museum
The Aviation Museum showcases the earliest days of flight with replicas from the Wright Brothers and other early aviators. There’s also commercial aircraft, specialized aircraft, military aircraft and even helicopters.
The Spruce Goose is the crown jewel of the collection. The a mammoth aircraft is constructed entirely out of wood (when metal was scarce during WWII). The plane, also known as the Howard Hughes Flying Boat, flew just once. The plane’s been on display at the museum since 2001. Visitors can walk into the cargo hold of the Spruce Goose, getting an idea of the massive interior and complicated inner-workings of the plane. For a fee, guests can tour the Spruce Goose cockpit.
For more interactive experiences at the museum, there’s a kids zone and a flight simulator.
The Space Museum
In the Space Museum, you’ll experience the milestones of space exploration. Follow the history of the first rocket, from unmanned to manned exploration. The museum lays out the timeline of the space race. The building houses a Titan II Missile. It’s huge. Kids can climb around on some of the spacecraft, too.
Logistics
There’s a lot to see in both exhibits. You could spend a few hours or a whole day here depending on the ages of your kids and their degree of interest.
The museum is located in McMinnville, about an hour from Portland. It’s open daily from 9-5. Admission is $28 for adults, $25 for seniors ages 65+, $19 for ages 5-16, free for kids under age 5. Use your AAA card to save $4 per ticket.
COVID-19 impact at Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum
The museum is open during the pandemic, with some modifications. Visitors must wear face masks inside, per state orders.
Social distancing is pretty easy within the museum because the buildings are very large and open.
Due to COVID-19, some parts of the museum are currently closed to visitors. Those include:
- Liberty Belle Cafe
- Spruce Goose Flight Deck tours
- VC-9 “Air Force Two” tours
- Outdoor Playground
- Kids Biplane Ride
- Kids Zone
Wings & Waves Waterpark
Wings & Waves Waterpark sits just next door to the museum. The main attraction here? The opportunity to slide out of a jumbo jet. There are four slides that come out of the belly of an actual 747 and land in the water. Wings & Waves also has a leisure pool, a wave pool and a water playground.
A different company operates the water park. You must purchase tickets separately from the Evergreen Aviation Museum.
Read more about Wings & Waves Water Park in our article about the Top 6 Water Parks in the Pacific Northwest.
Covid-19 impact at Wings & Waves Waterpark
Wings & Waves reopens on August 15th, 2020 with capacity capped at 50%. Tickets should be purchased in advance online. You’ll be able to select a date and time for your session.
Inside the park, all attractions will be open. Chairs and tables will be appropriately spaced for social distancing.
Visiting Oregon’s Wine Country
Looking for a place to stay when visiting Oregon’s Wine Country? Check out this list of unique accommodations for families. There’s are options for modern luxe, at the Atticus Hotel, to a vintage trailer park, too.
