Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum

The Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum is located at the Cape May County Airport in Cape May, New Jersey inside Hangar #1. The site used to be the old Naval Aviation Base during World War II and is listed on the National and State Registers of Historical Places.

You'll find free parking right in front of the museum with handicap parking spaces available. You'll want to head to the entrance and walk into the gift shop to pay your admission into the museum. They will then give you a wristband which gives you the entire day to explore everything that they have to offer.

We started our visit by sitting down to watch a museum orientation film. It's a short film that gives you a lot of the history on the surrounding area and the importance that it played during World War II. We found it to be very interesting and it held our attention. I suggest you watch the short film because it puts everything else into perspective that you're going to see once you enter the actual museum to see the exhibits.

Hopefully you wore comfortable clothing and walking shoes because you'll be doing a lot of walking! You'll have the opportunity to walk up short flights of stairs to climb into various fighter jets, airplanes, helicopters, boats, etc. Of course, if you're disabled, you can totally skip those parts and still have an awesome museum experience.

As we walked around we were really impressed with the variety of fighter jets, airplanes, helicopters, military vehicles, coast guard boats, jeeps, etc. that they had on exhibit. As you walked from one exhibit to another, you'll want to stop and read the provided information, so that you're learning along the way.

Our grandchildren were along with us and I really appreciated the photograph opportunities that are sprinkled throughout the museum. You'll find some life-size cut-outs, open-air vehicles, sitting areas, etc. that make for fun family photographs. The lighting can be a little "iffy" in certain areas, so I recommend using a decent camera with a flash when needed.

We spent a total of 2 hours exploring the NAS Wildwood Aviation Museum and it makes for a great rainy day, educational activity for the family to do while visiting the south Jersey Shore. Once you're done in the museum you can head back into their gift shop to pick up some souvenirs and/or light snacks.

Save your receipt that you received when you paid for your admission. You can use that receipt to receive a discount (I think it was 10% off) your purchase at the diner that sits across the parking lot. We weren't hungry, so we didn't go into the diner...but I wanted to mention keeping your receipt if you plan on getting food after your visit.

You can learn more about the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum at the Cape May Airport by visiting their official website online and by following them on Facebook and/or Twitter for updates and current specials.