If you’ve been searching for ways to entertain the kiddies and possibly out of town guests, look no further. We’ve rounded up eight super cool tours where you can learn fun facts about chocolate, baseball, doughnuts and even airplanes. Click through the gallery to see our favorite local tours where kids are more than welcome to lead the way!
Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Factory Tour–Mukilteo
Do you have a kiddo who stops what she’s doing every time a plane flies by? Then a visit to the Future of Flight and the Boeing Factory will be right up her runway. The awesome 90-minute factory tour has one caveat—your child must be at least four feet tall. If she meets that criteria, she can come with you on a totally cool tour of the Boeing plant—watch her eyes light up as she leaves the freight elevator and walks up to the railing that overlooks the enormous factory floor. Depending on when you visit, she may be able to watch 747, 777 and 787 Dreamliners being assembled on the production line before they take to the sky. Your tour guide will fill your little pilot’s head with lots of fun Boeing facts (did you know Disneyland could fit into the Mukilteo factory, with room to spare?), plus you get to ride on a bus and follow the path a plane takes from factory floor to ready for the runway.
For tykes too little for the tour, the Future of Flight Foundation offers fun Weekend Family Workshops on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.-3 p.m. Held in the Future of Flight Aviation Center, your pipsqueak pilot can learn about aerodynamics through fun age appropriate stories and crafty creations like glider building. There’s also a fun plane table for your toddler (think train table with toy airplanes), design your own airplane kiosks (you can print out your final design for free or order a t-shirt or poster) and the Strato Deck, where you can get a bird’s eye view of the factory and Paine Field’s active runway. Maker Mondays is also another opportunity for little aviation buffs to work on their 3D-modeling skills ($5/seat for non-members; Free for members).
Don't Miss: Check out the free photo booth, where you can snap a photo, then head to the kiosk by the entrance to pick your favorite Boeing background and email yourself the finished product. Say Boeing!
We Suggest: If you’re going on the tour, leave your purses, cell phones, snack bags, coloring books and cameras in the car—no bags, notebooks or cameras of any kind (even turned off cell phones) are allowed on the factory tour.
Cost: Tour and Gallery: $25/Adult, $15/Youth (16 & under); Future of Flight Gallery only: $12/Adult, $6/Child (5-16), free for children under 5.
Details: Factory tours run daily on the half hour and are 90 minutes; reserve tickets online or call 1-800-464-1476. Tour tickets sell out quickly. To ensure that you are able to visit the Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour on the day and time that works best for you, book your tickets ahead of time.
8415 Paine Field Blvd.
Mukilteo, Wa 98275
425-438-8100
Online: futureofflight.org/index2
photo: Boeing Future of Flight Foundation
What’s your family’s favorite Seattle-area tour? Tell us in the Comments below!
— Kristina Moy & Erin Cranston
