Highly recommend coming and checking out the SDASm's Annex. The staff is extremely friendly and…read morehelpful. Very knowledgeable about the aircraft they have displayed. They also have some fun pedal cars and things available for kids. A great place to come, learn about some aviation history and spend time at the airport.

I am always energized by Museum Month in San Diego. Whoops, the Gillespie Field Annex does not…read morehonor Museum Month. So, I paid the $10 fee. A very chatty docent offered me a tour of the normally off-limits restoration hangar, and I enjoyed that. There is a MiG 21 in there under restoration as well as a recently painted yellow T-34 (as I recall). My attention was on the MiG. Outside, there is an interesting lineup of military aircraft, including one of San Diego's own, an F-102. The Atlas missile is also a San Diego product, as is the pedestal-mounted drone. Unfortunately, all the aircraft are showing signs of weather damage, some more than others. At least the canopies have been covered with blue tarps. The placard describing the deep blue Douglas A2D Skyshark indicated that of the 12 aircraft produced, it is the only survivor. Why is this uniquely rare aircraft displayed outside? Can't room be found for it in the Balboa Park location? It's a Navy aircraft with folding wings, so it wouldn't take up much space. It is a restoration facility, as well as a sort of catch-all for miscellaneous artifacts, most of which are aircraft-related. That said, it has a haphazard look about it that perhaps can be improved.

The Lakeside Museum is a well kept secret. The building began its long life as the rectory/home for…read morethe Church next door's pastors and their families for almost 100 years. Now it houses a wide variety of antiques and items from Lakeside's long colorful history! A personal favorite is the machine women would use to give their hair a "permanent". If you're interested in the paranormal history of Lakeside you need to stop by for a visit! As a paranormal investigator, I've conducted 2 full investigations of the museum and the Church, one in 2014 and another in 2017. My written analysis's of all recording devices along with a portable hard drive with these files are filed in the nearby Lakeside Historical Society's office and are available to the public.

We love the Balboa Park Air & Space Museum. Take advantage of free resident Tuesdays, or visit if…read moreyou have WIC or CalFresh benefits its very cheap tickets. When you walk in, you're greeted by an impressive atrium filled with plants, planes, and a water feature, it's an awesome welcome. There are so many aircraft for kids to see, explore, and climb into. The museum offers a very educational experience, and you can easily spend a few hours here. We highly recommend it whether you're visiting San Diego or a local resident.

Whenever we visit a new city, we always try to check three things off our list: visit a museum, do…read moresomething on the water (if applicable) & catch a sports game. The San Diego Air & Space Museum was our museum pick for this trip & it was a fun, educational morning! My husband is a retired Army veteran & enjoys planes, aviation history & anything military-related, so this museum was right up his alley. We could have spent hours exploring all of the exhibits, aircraft, artifacts & historical displays. One of the highlights of our visit was meeting a super outgoing docent shortly after we walked in. Somehow, he kept magically popping up throughout the museum during our visit, sharing fascinating tidbits & fun facts about whatever exhibit we happened to be looking at. You could tell he genuinely loved being there & his enthusiasm made the entire experience even more engaging & personal. (My apologies for not remembering his name. He was an Air Force B-52 pilot & bonded with hubby over their shared military service.) Another really cool aspect of the museum is its location directly in the flight path of the airport. Planes were flying overhead every couple of minutes, which honestly added so much atmosphere to the visit. Hearing & seeing aircraft constantly overhead while walking through the exhibits made the whole experience feel extra immersive. The vintage Pacific Southwest Airlines stewardess uniforms on display were awesome! The museum does a great job balancing serious aviation history with quirky, interesting pieces of airline culture & design history. This was definitely a worthwhile visit - whether you are an aviation buff or just looking for an interesting & interactive museum experience. We both had a great time!

The tour is a must signup. They have tiny, light chairs to take from room to room…read more The tour was two hours long. There is so much knowledge that you pickup if you see, hear and are able to question at one time. We had a lovely picnic after the tour.The picnic tables are located below in the parking lot on the left. Please call and verify the time of your tour as it may email you a incorrect starting time. There are only two tour times a day. It is only $8.00 / $6.00 to tour on your own but I strongly suggest buying the two hour guided tour.

So this place is definitely one of the coolest looking museums I've ever been too. Very nicely…read moredone, I loved that each room was completely different and the dinosaurs were all really cool. This museum is definitely on the religious side rather than science. Whatever you believe you'll still have a cool time, but there was a lot of things that I would say are not facts. Great book store as well, and pretty big! I think it's worth a visit to learn or just have a different experience.

I came for The Nat at Night. I'm sooo blown away! This museum is very very educational...packed…read morewith a lot of natural history to learn in one or more visit. I loove the interactive activities and how it engages visitors from all ages. Each level has a niiice flow...places to sit scattered around if you wanted to take a pause to absorb the AMAZING things you've witnessed. To add to this natural history adventure, you can interact with the actual researchers who preserve the artifacts in the basement...asking them questions. There's a theatre on the 1st (Main) floor as well as gift shop. I was very fortunate to get on the Rooftop which had a waitlist of over 80 people when I arrived. I'm glad I did since the food and drinks were really good. Based on my positive experience, I highly recommend this museum to the Yelp Community.

Love coming here with my 3-year-old son! We have WIC, so we were able to get in for free for up to…read more4 people, which is a HUGE benefit if you have WIC or CalFresh. There are several floors to explore with lots to see and plenty of fun play areas for kids. My son especially loves all the dinosaurs! They also have little scavenger hunts in several of the exhibits, which is a fun way to keep kids engaged while walking through. It's educational without being boring and easily keeps us entertained for a few hours. Definitely a great place to take younger kids!

Warbirds West is been such a BLAST to be a part of! The people are fun and enthusiastic. There are…read morealways projects to do and new things learn and new people to meet. Just in my first year I've been able to attend: air shows - in town and out of town; lots of monthly pancake breakfasts; movie nights; dinner/dance with band; formation flying; flyovers; drive military vehicles; celebrate veterans; create quality friendships and meet fascinating people, many of whom are veterans. As an Aircraft Sponsor Member, I get to fly in warbirds with people I admire and trust and look forward to more! :)

Had a good collection of antique planes and trucks, but this place no longer exists. He suddenly…read morevanished and, from what I understand, re-emerged in Redding, CA.

The Japanese Friendship Garden was easily one of the prettiest and most peaceful stops during my…read moretime in San Diego. If you enjoy walking around, taking in beautiful scenery, and getting some great photos along the way, this place is absolutely worth visiting. The garden is very walkable, and there are gorgeous views around seemingly every corner. As someone who loves photography, I had my camera working overtime. Between the landscaping, bridges, waterfalls, plants, and all of the little details throughout the garden, there are so many great opportunities for photos. The koi pond was probably my favorite part. The koi were BEAUTIFUL, and I could have stood there watching them swim around forever. It was easily one of the most relaxing parts of my visit. A fun fact I learned is that the garden opened in 1991 and was created as an expression of friendship between San Diego and its sister city, Yokohama, Japan. The garden continued to expand over the years, including the addition of a grove with around 200 cherry trees in 2015. So there is actually quite a bit of history and meaning behind all of the beauty. Definitely a 5 star experience for me. Peaceful, gorgeous, easy to explore, and an absolute dream if you enjoy photography. I would gladly come back, especially during cherry blossom season!

We visited during our trip to San Diego & oh my goodness, it was absolutely amazing…read more This is such a peaceful place to sit and enjoy the beauty of nature. Located inside Balboa Park, you can tour the museums in the area, but don't forget to stop and take a moment to smell the flowers at the Japanese Friendship Garden... There were so many beautiful birds, butterflies, koi, and plants I've never seen before. The grounds were very clean and well manicured. Pricing to get in was about $60 for a family of 4 (including student pricing for our children) which may be a bit steep if you have young children with thin patience.. however, if you are able to come in and find your Zen for a couple hours, this is the spot to do so. They offer free crafts for visitors- when we were there they were doing an origami workshop, which seemed very fun. However, our kids weren't up For it- so we did not participate. Would definitely visit again in the future!

Attended my first -art and wellbeing experience this weekend. Diana was the most amazing docent…read more She walked us through some breath work and some great impressionists. This is a small event and lovely way to spend an hour at the museum. Just grab a ticket to the museum and check in at the booth up front and the experience begins. Diana spent time talking about breathing and grounding your self. While you are given a notepad and pencil to write notes and try to recreate the art. Don't worry you don't have to share tour impressions or art. The experience was located in one room and after we explored the rest of the museum and it is interesting at how different you look at the works in front of you when you are relaxed and in the headspace to experience . Bonus shout out to the museum which is over 100 years old and continues to bring the community together to enjoy and experience the art. I did not take any pictures because I was enjoying the moment.

The SD museums of art is at the balboa park amongst other museums and beautiful outdoor flowers,…read moresceneries, etc. there were many tourists out that day including school field trips, groups, etc. I used the gocity pass to check in at the front desk and then I was able to enjoy the museum. It is two stories big offering stairs and elevators. They have security on each art room/ theme area. I was able to observe many paintings that were diverse and unique. Some are antiques kept there for everyone to admire. They have clean restrooms available as well. Bring comfortable shoes because there is pretty to walk around. Staff were very nice and checking went smoothly as well. The sticker you are given can be used all day long to come back to the same Museum. Most museums open at 10AM but plenty of people arrive earlier. I took public transportation to get up there and that was easy.

A free quaint museum about La Mesa's humble beginnings and railroad history…read more Parking was 25 cents for 20 minutes and we finished the tour with a few minutes to spare. According to the website, tours start at 11:00 on Saturdays but the guide was willing to lead parties around prior. The entire museum consisted of two rooms with a few artifacts. Our tour guide Paul did a stellar job putting all the objects into context. While I wouldn't go out to check out the museum, this is a great spot to check out as La Mesa local. Love to see a piece of history preserved so well in SD.

If you love trains, you will love it here. The exhibits are very good, though the staic ones…read moreoutside desperately need a little TLC, but the indoor area is really nice and well done. Unfortunately, the train ride was not as exciting as I had hoped for. Dues to 'track conditions,' we only went up and back a couple of times for maybe a total of 30 minutes. However, you are able to walk around and the docents are very friendly and informative. Just wish we could have went a bit further, but it was still fun.