Wheelchair-accessible car park
Yes
Prairie Aviation Museum in Bloomington
Categories
Location on the map
Bloomington, McLean County, Illinois, US
Accessibility
Wheelchair-accessible entrance
Yes
Wheelchair-accessible toilet
Yes
Amenities
Good for kids
Yes
Toilets
Yes
Phone: +1 309-663-7632
Site: http://prairieaviationmuseum.org/
Site: http://prairieaviationmuseum.org/
Opening hours
- Monday:Closed
- Tuesday:Closed
- Wednesday:Closed
- Thursday:Closed
- Friday:Closed
- Saturday:11AM–3PM
- Sunday:11AM–3PM
Comments (61)
Our kids really liked the wide variety of displays about planes, space travel, local information about our airport, information about people from this area who have been involved in various aviation related exploits. The real planes and helicopters outside were also a lot of fun for our kids. We enjoyed it so much that we joined as members so we can return as much as we want to throughout the year.
Volunteers are really helpful and friendly. They have lots of indoor exhibits for such a small space and the kids really enjoyed looking at the planes in the outdoor exhibits. They also have regular open cockpit events that we plan to attend in the future.
Absolutely wonderful! The staff were nothing but friendly and helpful, and the selection of aircraft is impressive for such an out of the way place. If you attend on open cockpit days, you can see the inside of their aircraft up close and personal. I plan to go back!
A twin cities gem! The indoor museum is small but packed with a ton of really neat stuff like a mock cockpit, dioramas, LOTS of scale models, a fascinating cross section of a radial motor, uniforms, instrument panels, and much more plus an extensive gift shop with lots and lots of great die cast toys and more all reasonably priced, and the staff are all very friendly and more than willing to share their knowledge. The outdoor area has some incredible warbirds, helicopters, and various engines on display it really is a must visit spot especially for children. They do an exceptional job at preserving, and presenting aviation history. Look for open cockpit day, always a good time!
Awesome local museum. Great staff and excellent exhibits. Good place to take the kids!
My 2 year old was thrilled to be able to sit up in the helicopter and check out all the cool airplanes. The gentlemen at the museum spent time undivided time with us even though they were busy preparing for a special event. We loved the tour and all the interesting facts and stories.
If you go on the 3rd Saturday of the month you will find amazingly knowledgeable and friendly vets that have actually flown the planes that are willing to spend hours talking to you!
Great value! Such an awesome learning experience. Staff is very knowledgeable and full of wonderful stories.
This is a very neat local aviation museum. They have 8 or 9 jets and helicopters there have been retired and available to walk around and admire. Nice facility that houses uniforms and even a flight simulator.
The gentleman was very knowledgeable and interacted with the kids. The planes were fun to go in and explore!
We went for Open Cockpit Day. The volunteers were very knowledgeable and several had real experience with the types of planes on display. It is small but nice treasure for Bloomington.
We often drive by for our 2yr old to see the planes...per his request! Recently, we went for Open Cockpit Day - the little one had a lot of fun climbing in and exploring the planes.
Love the planes and all the memorabilia. The volunteer was great and informative
Its a shame to see such amazing aircraft wasting away stored outdoors, but you can get up close and personal with some iconic aircraft! They do the best with what they have, Ill be stopping by again if Im ever close by again.
Have tried 2x to go during posted hours and both times including today we found the doors locals dud another family. Highly suggest you call ahead before you disappoint your kids after 2 hours of looking forward to it. Exceptionally disappointed and will not be trying again it is has 2 negatives there wont be a third.
Really great museum! Its a small museum and doesnt take long to go through but a fun and interesting place to visit and take kids. We had a really nice time. Glad we went.
Small museum with an outdoor collection best viewed on a nice day. The volunteers were very friendly and took a lot of time to explain things. I highly recommend it!
Small number of aircraft and not in restored condition but for an old Vietnam vet. very enjoyable and brought back tons of memories. Well worth the time and money.
Really, really good. Much better than I thought.
If you are a fan of aviation or military you should visit!
Its a neat little museum. You dont have a sense of scale from seeing these on TV till you stand next to one of these aircraft. $5 admission
How do they fit so much into such a small museum?! Amazing.
Open cockpit day is a blast for the kiddos the museum is fun and the volunteers are super nice and knowledgeable
Interesting amount of information and sections inside. I know they have Special days where you can sit in one or more of the old planes, cool place!
They are very polite; great movie; amazing tour. Our girls loved it!
Nice little aviation museum. Staff was not very helpfull on the day we went.
Very unexpected quality air museum given city size. Volunteers were very knowledgeable and friendly.
One of the best museums in central Illinois, the open cockpit days should not be missed.
Fun day with the kids during open cockpit day.
Stumbled up this airplane show & museum . After we were done my informed me that he wanted to go into the Air Force like 2 of his uncles did..
Wasn’t open! Went to check it out and Uber there only to find it was closed until April 10 or whatever.
The kids love open cockpit day!
Small and cozy museum. A must stop-by if you love museums like this and it happens to on your way.
Nice static display of aircraft. It is worth the stop.
Neat place, cool old aircraft....didnt even know this was here...
We loved prairie aviation museum! We will be back soon
Nice for a little museum. Worker was very nice and helpful.
Fun place to visit and to volunteer on Open Cockpit Days.
This place is amazing great place to learn about aviation and american history.
They were supposed be open but they were closed
Open cockpit day is always fun.
Veey beautiful old Navy air force plane.
Love this place,, and you should stop,, very knowledgeable staff.
The best museum in central Illinois
People here are really helpful and nice.
I enjoyed visiting museum
Very Informative museum
Not much to see for $4
Good stuff bront
Very good one
I had never been on a helicopter. Very nice experience.
Total reviews rating 4.6
61 Reviews for Prairie Aviation Museum 2023:
Review №1
2021-10-19Ive always been fascinated with older vietnam war time aircraft ! THIS was an experience for my 7 Daughters & I !! I got to actually touch the planes that were at one time in flight ! It was an amazing experience. The two Gentlemen were awesome to talk to, very friendly and knowledgeable ! ALL of my girls really enjoyed the Huey alot. The Gentleman in the photos name was Tom. A real nice guy, I salute you and once again, Thank-you for your service !
Review №2
2022-05-11The staff was extremely welcoming and knowledgeable. I brought my kids there because they are interested in aviation and I ended up just as excited. Its a small place packed with interesting items and interesting people, the staff has a passion for everything on exhibit. Highly recommend!
Review №3
2021-03-22Review Date: May 18th, 2012These birds have been permanently grounded.Every childhood boy likes one of three things: planes, trains, or automobiles. I leaned towards things that could fly, especially at supersonic speeds. So, it came to my surprise that there was a aviation museum within a reasonable driving distance from my home.I have actually been here about 3 times total since my first visit. I think I was with Matt the first time here. I think we explored a bit of Bloomington-Normal before a concert in the evening.The museum itself is just a little ways off the one of the main busy roads that runs through Bloomington. I actually think this up the road from the Bloomington Airport. How fitting! It’s not a massive museum by any means. The building itself is probably no larger than your local fast food eateries. But within those small confines is a tremendous amount of history. Each time I’ve come here, I’ve signed the guest book and donated a few bucks on top of paying the admission fees. The price is listed on their website. It was $5/each for adults.As I said, the building itself housed a ton of information regarding aviation. They had a section dedicated to NASA. They had tons of props and displays scattered throughout. They had graphs with a ton of information. Suffice to say, I can’t put in words what photos do better. While I did supply photos below, due to limited storage space, I couldn’t upload nearly enough photos to show everything. While the inside was full of information and relics from aviation’s past, the things I was dying to see were outside. The things that flew in another time and in another place.On one of the trips, we lucked upon a volunteer who was giving tours. He gave us a quick tour of the jets, planes, and aircraft outside and then let us explore to our hearts content. A few of my family members were veterans of the military, mostly in the Rangers and Marines. My dad tried to enlist but due to a hearing issue, wasn’t allowed in. By the time I was ready to join, my body had too many injuries to even think I could try to enlist (I was a very active kid and while I never broke a bone, I did do a lot of damage to my joints). Matt was also in the Marines for an undetermined about of time. So, suffice to say we all had some interest in the military in some way, shape, or form.Following the path outside winds you around all that there is to see. It was extremely cool to be able to go up to any of the aviation vehicles and see them in person. Some of them had ladders that you could take up and see in to the cockpit. They are locked shut so don’t get any wild ideas of hopping in and taking off. I do think they have special events where they open them and allow people to get in and have their photos taken. Check their website for details on that and other events they have.In the end, this place was great to check out. I loved getting to see the jets up close and person. I took one of my favorite photos ever and it’s included below. Can you guess which that is?If you have kids that love aircraft or have a general interest yourself, do oneself a favor and check this place out if possible.“Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.”
Review №4
2022-06-25Fantastic displays! Friendly staff to help out. Loved it and definitely will return!
Review №5
2019-04-21Fun little museum. Its not big by any standards. But it is a fun little place to visit if you wish to spend an hour or two with the kids. Tons of model planes. F14 Tomcat is their crown jewel. Makes an ideal place for some cool photos. Easily noticeable from the road. Has an entry fee.
Review №6
2021-11-23The visit just to see the F14 Tomcat is well worth it!!!! Incredible display of aviation history here. This private collection of planes and helicopters is kept running by the volunteers and donations by visitors.
Review №7
2019-03-25This was a lovely little museum. They had nice, unique displays. The volunteer was knowledgeable and very friendly. We enjoyed seeing the cockpits if the planes on display.
Review №8
2018-09-14Great little museum to visit. Nice historical planes to see. Good place for kids to explore
Review №9
2021-06-19Open cockpit day is a great trip for kids, and the volunteers are very friendly. The indoor museum is pretty minimal, but the outdoor airpark is neat to look around.
Review №10
2021-11-10Amazing place! One of the best experiences from the trip to Bloomington!Lot of planes, nice old man who told us so much about the planes...