The Army Flying Museum

Our visits to the Army Flying Museum

The Army Flying Museum is one of our favourite places to visit, and every trip feels like a new adventure. It’s the kind of setting where children are instantly curious, excited and completely absorbed.

One of the highlights is the interactive exhibits — especially the one where coordinates are read out and the children turn dials and press “fire”. To them it’s just fun and exciting, but so much learning is happening at the same time: careful listening, recognising numbers and letters, understanding cause and effect, and seeing what happens when they adjust the controls. It’s a perfect example of play that looks like play but is packed full of learning.

The mindees love being able to sit inside a real helicopter, explore aircraft up close, and listen to people talk about flying. Even the loud helicopters overhead become confidence-building moments, with children growing braver and more fascinated as the day goes on. Watching an Apache swoop across the field while we played in the aeroplane park is something none of us will forget.

There’s also so much variety — soft play, Lego, colouring, stickers, hands-on displays, and even activities like making your own jet engine. It means children of all ages stay engaged, work together, and learn through curiosity and exploration.

What I value most as a childminder is how naturally learning is woven into the experience. The children leave happy, tired, full of questions, and excited to talk about what they’ve seen and done — and that’s always the sign of a really good day out.