The James S. McDonnell Prologue Room at Boeing, Berkeley

Location: 100 Airport Rd, St. Louis, MO 63135

Website: http://www.boeing.com/company/tours/prologue-room.page#/plan-visit

This exhibit is completely free and open to anyone Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. during the summer months of June, July and August. The exhibit is not open on weekends. Parking is free and it's easy to find the building. I just plugged 100 Airport Rd into my GPS and it took me straight there. It's in Building 100 of Boeing's campus at the intersection of James S. McDonnell Blvd. and Airport Rd. You need to get through security to get to the rest of the campus but not this building.

From their website, "Portraying a century of milestones, the Prologue Room showcases the courageous pioneers of aviation and the achievements of thousands who turned dreams into reality."

Simply put, this room is an air and space history exhibit. My kids enjoyed it but wished there was more to do. I would say this is definitely more appropriate for school aged kids and not toddlers. 

You can sit and watch a little movie as you enter. It explains the basic principles of space flight.

My son loves the Blue Angels! 

I remember flying on Eastern in the 70's and it looked just like this!

From the website: "Visitors can view large-scale models of the F-15 Eagle, F/A-18 Hornet and AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, and an operational unmanned ScanEagle.

Wind-tunnel-size models include Boeing’s newest 787 Dreamliner, C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft, the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angel, and Air Force One.

Displays of rockets and missiles include full-scale models of a Harpoon radar-guided missile, a JDAM smart weapon, and a Small Diameter Bomb.

At the exhibit’s center are full-size engineering mockups of the Mercury and Gemini spacecraft that carried America's first astronauts into space. Also on display are models of the Space Shuttle, Sky Lab, and the International Space Station.

Touch-screen kiosks throughout the museum help visitors to learn more about the products of Boeing through dozens of videos describing the development of the venerable airplanes and spacecraft that lead the way in the advancement of technology, change the way we travel, defend our freedoms, and discover new frontiers.

Guests may view a rare collection of fine art, including one of the largest collections of paintings by famed aviation artist R.G. Smith. His bold and dramatic work captures significant achievements in flight, space travel and world history."

This would be a great field trip for a homeschool group! They have programs in place for middle school students to explore science and technology. Call them for more information.