The Air Zoo south of Kalamazoo is an absolutely wonderful museum. Aircraft from many eras, including an SR-71 Blackbird and a LOT of military aircraft, as well as early experimental and civilian aircraft, are on display. There is a whole wing dedicated to spacecraft and the space race, with crewed capsules and missiles.
Don't forget to go across the street - there's another building there where they do all the restorations. There are many pieces of equipment there either waiting for their turn or in the process of restoration.
But above all, talk to the staff. They are very knowledgeable and there to answer questions or just talk about the displays and the history.
I have visited a couple of times, at the end of December when I'm there for a new-years get together. But the staff tells me that a few times a year they have an open cockpit weekend where visitors are allowed INSIDE the aircraft.
I heard a story about a woman who was there during an open cockpit day - she said she visited the museum as a young girl and was inspired, and she had just graduated from the Air Force academy as a pilot. The staff was THRILLED to talk to her and she got to sit in anything she wanted :)
I think you should probably budget at least 4 hours for this museum. There is a cafeteria on site, upstairs in the entry area.
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| A trainer on display in the restoration building |
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| In the restoration building |
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| A scale model that you're allowed to sit in |
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| A few of the planes in the restoration annex |
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| A spaceship film model from the 1960s awaiting restoration |
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| Also in the annex building |
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| One of the engines from a Saturn 5 |
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| There's a ton of stuff crammed in the annex |
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| Entry hall to the annex |
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| The SR-71 is a big draw. |
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| There are a lot of cultural pieces on display as well |
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