Family Visits

Family Day Out Gloucestershire

The Jet Age Museum is conveniently located near to the M5 (Junction 11) and is served by bus routes from Cheltenham and Gloucester making it a perfect family day out experience.

We provide something for everyone of all ages with a wide range of exhibits, displays and accessible cockpits. There is plenty of archive data available that charts the history of aviation development within Gloucestershire ably supported by our knowledgeable volunteers who can bring to life many of these artefacts.

There are a range of games, puzzles and smaller cockpits accessible to our younger visitors.

Round off a visit with time in our café and shop where you can enjoy refreshments and purchase memorabilia.

A Great Day Out For The Whole Family

No admission charge

We thrive on donations

All ages welcome
Things to see, do and learn
Perfect for any weather

Plan Your Visit

Fun and Games – Quiz Trail

Pick up a clipboard and felt tip pen, follow the Piggles letters around the Museum, make a word and win a free poster!

View Our Exhibitions

The museum is home to a diverse range of exhibits including engines, aircraft and systems with a strong Gloucestershire heritage.

Our engine exhibits includes examples of radial piston engines through to the development of the jet engine by Sir Frank Whittle in the 1940s. A number of jet engine variants are on display.

The museum also houses a number of airframes developed and manufactured locally by the Gloster Aircraft Company. Systems and equipment utilised within these aircraft include Dowty landing gears, Dowty propellers and Smiths Industries Avionic systems such as the worlds first “Autoland” system.

Sit in an Open Cockpit

Sit in an open cockpit to make your family day out in Gloucestershire fun and memorable.

We do not charge for access to our cockpits, however, our outdoor Trident airliner and Vulcan bomber cockpits are very popular, and a free timed ticketing system is in operation.

From “Biggles” (children only) to the Vulcan bomber cockpit, the museum has six open cockpits on display with visitor access subject to volunteer guide availability. Access to the Gnat, Hunter and the Trident cockpits is via staircases and parents or guardians will need to assist younger children to enter Biggles and Amy.

Amy - cockpit experience for kids cheltenham gloucester

Learn About Our Heritage

The museum has its own archives containing many thousands of items related to the history of the county’s aviation, including about people who worked in the industry.

The items include documents, photos, films, technical drawings, manuals, artistic works, aircrew clothing, etc. GAC’s chief photographer, Russell Adams, took thousands of photos via many thousands of glass plate negatives which are held in the archives.

Enjoy Some Food

The café serves tea, coffee, hot chocolate, cold soft drinks and a selection of delicious cakes, fresh sandwiches, ice-cream, and confectionery.

We have vegan and gluten free flapjacks, and soya and almond milk is available for the hot drinks all available at reasonable prices.

Browse Our Shop

Our shop stocks a range of new and donated items, some hand made by our volunteers, including aviation books, new and pre-owned aviation model kits, souvenirs, toys and so much more.

We have a range of gifts for all ages.

Watch The Planes Take Off At Gloucestershire Airport

You can see Gloucestershire Airport from our building, which gives great views of a variety of planes taking off and landing throughout the day.

The airport opened in 1931, and served as a training base for pilots during the second world war. Today it is regularly used for private charter flights to destinations such as Jersey and Guernsey.

Enjoy a seat at one of our picnic benches and enjoy the view!

things to do with the kids gloucestershire

Join Us At Our Next Event

We hold a range of events throughout the year, both on site at the museum and within the local community.

All all our events, we aim to provide awareness to all ages locally, nationally and globally of Gloucestershire’s aviation heritage.

Click to view our upcoming events.

View Upcoming Events

Plan Your Visit

Opening Hours: Standard hours are Saturday – Sunday 10am – 4pm. View additional days.

Admission: There is no charge for admission to the Museum site, to the building or any exhibits, but donations to help meet our running costs and to fund our expansion plans are most definitely welcome! Click here to donate.

Find us: Meteor Business Park, Cheltenham Road East, Gloucester, GL2 9QL

Group Visits

What’s On

Excellent museum especially the Trident and Vulcan Excellent museum near Gloucester. In particular I recommend doing the Trident and Vulcan tour. On the Trident tour you can sit in the airline seats and listen to a talk and short videos before you do the cockpit tour. On the Vulcan it's a climb up to see the cockpit and find out about the different roles that each crew member does. The guides are very informative.There are lots of other planes (and parts etc) to see and other cockpits you can sit in. Also there is a shop and a cafe plus outdoor picnic benches with views over Staverton airfield. It's free to enter and there are plenty of donation points within the museum. The volunteers are definitely not pushy about donations but hopefully most people do donate. Plenty of parking for cars and bicycles.Overall it's definitely worth a visit, there is plenty to see and do and the volunteers are very friendly and knowledgeable.

Termitethecat

February 1, 2025

A hidden gem in Gloucester A superb experience for aviation enthusiasts. I really enjoyed talking with many of the volunteers and sharing our passion for aviation. Whilst there are other museums that will have a larger and somewhat more authentic collection, this place is still 100% worth a visit. It’s also free with the option of a donation, so no reason not to visit! Make sure you do the Vulcan tour, an ex Vulcan pilot took me through the cockpit and shared some stories of his time in the RAF. Also a good spot for seeing air traffic at Gloucester airport!

OG_LANKS

January 26, 2025

A lovely museum A great musuem with lots of interactive exhibits for all ages. The volunteers are very knowledgable and friendly. The museum is nice and tidy and well laid out with lots of clear information boards. Its nice to also watch the workshop area where preservation of a Meteor NF14 and a Galdiator is progressing

Arron K

January 11, 2025

A Great Find! A wet windy day, but no one was bored what a great find!History for the adults and cockpit experiences for the kids. All the volunteers were welcoming, enthusiastic and very knowledgeable, many with lived experiences of flying and engineering. A little cafe, perfect for a little break and snack.

Sophie G

November 23, 2024

Great hands on experience of the Jet’s development We didn’t know what to expect and we were delighted to find a professional museum with lots of opportunities to sit in cockpits and explore aircraft.We loved the Trident flight deck and the story of Autoland.The volunteer staff were informed and enthusiastic.We will go again.

matilda48

November 19, 2024

Fascinating history of the jet engine plus more. Excellent place to visit if you love aircraft, jet engines, flying, history, Engineering. Showcases some of Gloucestershires wonderful contributions to the Jet engine and flying.Run by dedicated volunteers, no one pushes you for money, there’s no entrance fee, but please make a donation.

mucky

November 18, 2024

A nice little museum A nice little museum, no admission fee and free parking, somewhere to go on a rainy day, you get to sit in some of the cockpits, friendly staff

Neil T

November 17, 2024

Marvellous way to spend a couple of hours. Lovely little museum with fascinating exhibits, informative displays and a modern building. The aeroplanes were well themed and chosen, with those displayed indoors restored to a high standard. The museum volunteers were friendly and knowledgeable, whilst the shop was well stocked with books and models. Easy to get to and park. To top all this off, the museum is free to enter, although they always need donations to ensure they can continue preserving their exhibits.

Piers Francis R

Great fun, lovely staff My whole family loved this visit. There were plenty of cockpits to sit in and information exhibits around the hangar. The volunteer staff was lovely and incredibly knowledgeable. We could have chatted for hours. It reignited my kids’ love for flying and aims to be pilots. It is free but we gave a donation to keep this place up and running as it’s a gem.

Joh

October 29, 2024

Excellent and Informative Very enjoyable and informative. The only downsides were trying to find the place (apparently they are trying to get some signage) and the volcano cockpit was closed for refurbishment. However the Trident cockit tour was very good.They also had a good selection of 2nd hand aviation books for sale.