Angelina Kerner
Author
Review: The Hiller Aviation Museum
Hey readers,
Today, I’ll be reviewing a place – an aviation museum.
I finally gave in to hubs to go to the museum with our son, who’s 18 months old. It took a couple of hours to get there and when we got there, it was bad to say the least. Once, I paid ($18 per person with my son being free), my hubs became a ghost. I honestly can’t tell you where he went but at the end of the trip, he said that he enjoyed himself. My son and I haven’t…well maybe my son enjoyed it… and that’s a maybe.
So, here’s what I realized while being there. Mother’s with toddlers who can’t talk yet and have to be watched a lot closer than older toddlers shouldn’t pay the entry fee of $18. If you ask me of what I remember of the museum (the exhibits), I’d say only the plane that was outside and the toddler play space. Is that worth $18??? No. Museums that cater to kids are cheaper than this place! And, kids are much more high maintenance. I’ve spent more time watching the floor, my son’s tail that was linked to his backpack and my son. I thought that at least the toddler section would be worth it….but…no.
The museum has an “imagination playground” that is a foamed floor with safe to use big BLUE foam blocks. Considering the size of those blocks, the space is too small, especially if there are a lot of kids trying to play with them. All of it was blue and at times was confusing where was which part. I’d say that they need to have each type of block painted with different colors or better yet buy a new set. In that same section, they have an air tube thingy where kids put cloths so the cloths could fly up and out and kids do it again and again and again. It’s amusing and my son loves it, most kid places have one. One minus of this one is that that most cloths for the game were torn up. I mean seriously- they may be kids but they know when they are being duped and if they don’t, the parents do. We don’t pay $18 for an entry for them to play with bad cloths. And yes, kids till 5 years of age are free, but it doesn’t give them a right to treat them badly by not replacing the cloths for the game. Know what I mean?
Here’s what really pissed me off. Since it took a couple of hours to get there and with how hot it’s been, I decided that I would breastfeed my son at the museum. I didn’t want the puree or applesauce to go bad. After an hour and a half of looking after my son with occasionally getting a glimpse at my hubs, I went over to the reception desk where I bought the tickets to ask where I could breastfeed my son. I didn’t want to feed him in the car because of the heat and therefore asked. The lady said – “we don’t have a place for breastfeeding.” a couple of seconds passed. “Maybe the bathroom?”
I stared at her. REALLY? For a place that I paid $36 to get in, to not really see the museum because I had to follow my son around, the lady was recommending a FREAKING BATHROOM!!! I came for my husband, but I didn’t expect to be treated LIKE THAT.
After the lady recommended the bathroom, I glared at her, told her that was a stupid idea, picked up my son and went to find my husband. I found him and dragged him out…he took his time getting out of the gift shop and I told him that I wouldn’t give any more money to the place that has no respect to breastfeeding mothers. I ended up feeding my son in hot car, forcing hubs to blast the AC and he hates using AC unless we’re on a highway. Then we drove away. Hubs finally agreed that he was too young for the museum and that we would return when he’ll be 7 years old.
I won’t be returning unless they will do better for mothers and toddlers. Treat people with respect and you’ll be respected. I don’t have respect for the museum at the moment.
Angelina
Angelina Kerner 