Best NYC museum for dads and kids – Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum

With Father’s Day looming, wanted to write about what must be the best New York museum for dads and kids – the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. It is cool. ‘Top Gun’ cool. It even has Top Gun quotes dotted about.

The whole thing is housed on USS Intrepid, a decommissioned naval aircraft carrier that fought in WWII. There are helicopters and fighter jets galore on the main deck, which looked marvellous with the Manhattan skyline behind it.  We visited with T’s godfather who happens to be an engineer in the RAF, so I think this was pretty close to his own personal heaven.

T&B on the deck of the Intrepid Museum

Shark plane on the Intrepid Museum – probably not its official name

Kick the tires and light the fires

Confess that planes and helicopters are not really my thing, but we all really enjoyed The Exploreum on the Hangar deck, which is great for all ages. C and T’s godfather were gleefully climbing inside helicopters and space shuttles, piling onto the bunk beds and lifting the kids up to see the planes. There’s a lot to see that we didn’t explore, including a submarine, a space shuttle pavillion and the concorde. A great place for dads to take their kids.

T&B enjoying the Exploreum’s helicopter

Retired naval officers on hand to explain all the gizmos

Exploring the captain’s deck

Trying out the naval bunk beds

Tips if you’re visiting The Intrepid with your own kids:

• The Exploreum on the Hangar deck is perfect for both young and old kids, with a lot of exhibits to climb inside
• The very top deck is not suitable for young toddlers or pushchairs, as it involves a lot of v steep steps
• For lunch afterwards, head to Chelsea Market at 75 Ninth Avenue, or eat at one of the waterside cafes nearby

This week’s Highs & Lows: 

On The Town – perfect musical for expats and visitors

Girls night out to see ‘On The Town’ on Broadway

High:

• Hearing two year old B stand up for herself with dignity and grace on being called a ‘stinky poo poo’ by T at bathtime. “That’s not true, and that’s not kind. You’ve hurt my feelings,” and stalking off, hands on hips, buck naked.
• Going to see ‘On The Town‘ on Broadway with our guests. We made it a girls’ night, as couldn’t convince the boys of the virtue of Broadway musicals. We had a BRILLIANT time. It’s follows three US sailors with 24 hours to explore New York, looking for love. Perfect for expats.
• T’s school field day to Governor’s Island to mark the end of term. A short ferry ride from lower Manhattan, I had no idea so much parkland and space was so close. Definitely going back.

Low:

• Feeling my v first twinge at how quickly T is growing up. It’s her last day of term today, can’t believe she’s completed an entire school year here already. Until this point, I’ve been urging her to grow (getting herself dressed being a major breakthrough in recent months), but now I’m feeling a little nostalgic. Luckily I still have B!
  

  T’s first day at school, September 2014

  

  T’s last day of term, June 2015 – growing up too fast!

Author: Alex

Hello. Toddling Round New York is my own little blog of our family's experience of moving young kids from London to New York... And of having a baby out here. They are my own baby steps of exploring this incredible city. I lived in five countries in four continents growing up, so you'd think I'd be good at this by now. Here you'll find stories and photographs of our adventures, the highs and the lows of expat parenthood, and some ideas I hope you'll find useful if you're in New York with young kids. View all posts by Alex