Water Rocket Rally
Upcoming dates:
11 AM – 12 PM
Sunday, August 13, 2023
Sunday, September 10, 2023
Sunday, October 8, 223
Event included with Museum admission. Free for Museum Members.
Advanced tickets for Sunday events available on VBO Tickets
Discover the world of rockets!
Bring along a recycled 1- or 2-liter soda bottle or purchase a new water rocket body in the Museum’s Gift Shop ($1.50/bottle) and join the rocket workshop! Use a variety of common craft materials to convert a bottle into a high performance rocket vehicle, then test fly it across the Museum’s Courtyard on a fountain of compressed air and water.
Event is included with Museum admission.
Participants must bring a clean, empty soda bottle (water bottles are not suitable for this activity), or may purchase one in the Museum’s Gift Shop on the day of the event.
Imagination Playground
Temporarily Closed – Alternate Hands-On Exhibits Available
Included with Museum Admission
*Imagination Playground closes periodically for facilitated education events.
Flight Sim Zone
Saturday and Sunday, 11 am to 2 pm
Take a virtual flight across the Bay and see the world from the unique perspective of a pilot.
Pass Required.
- $5 per Pass (in addition to museum admission).
- Pass is free for Members.
- Two people can fly on one Pass (pilot and co-pilot).
- Obtain Passes at museum Gift Shop.
- Each Pass good for up to 30 minutes of flight time.
- Seating is limited.
Flight Sim Zone workstations consist of the following:
- 1-screen, 3,840 x 2,169 pixel 4K display
- Logitech flight yoke and throttle quadrant
- Saitek rudder pedals
- X-Plane v. 11
How Sessions Operate
We follow a flight instruction model. Our instructors are real pilots and they will show you how to properly control a Beechcraft Baron 58 airplane, including the all-important landing procedure. Once proficiency has been achieved in basic procedures, the instructor will help you implement a more advanced real-world flying scenario based on your interests including: cross-country flight, multi-engine and airline procedures, bad-weather flying, instrument procedures and flight plans, among many other possibilities.
The Flight Sim Zone is wheelchair accessible.
FMX Flight Simulator
Saturday and Sunday, 11 am to 2 pm
Purchase your flight ticket at our gift shop.
$10 for 10-minute flight.
$8 for museum Members.
Try Flying!
The FMX flight simulator’s fully functional cockpit features the latest in “glass cockpit” avionics technology, the Garmin G1000, including a Primary Flight Display (PFD) and Multi-Function Display (MFD) with integrated autopilot.
- 6 screen “wraparound” windshield display.
- Full simulator movement in yaw, pitch and roll.
- Force feedback flight yoke and throttle quadrant.
- Rudder pedals.
- Simulation software: Lockheed Martin Prepar3D.
Invention Lab
Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 am to 4:00 pm
Included with Museum Admission
Use tools of science to explore aviation, aerodynamics, engineering, assembly and design. Perfect for older children and adults.
Current Invention Lab Activities
Through July, 2017
Build-a-Plane (Ages 3 -7)
Use kid-rated tools to build and disassemble an airplane model!
Wind Tunnel Challenge (Ages 5 and Up)
Design, construct and test a device able to fly in a vertically-oriented wind tunnel!
Program is included with museum admission and no advance registration is required. Facilitators will be available to help throughout the process. Recommended for ages as indicated for the activities above.
Imagination Playground
Temporarily Closed – Alternate Hands-On Exhibits Available
Included with Museum Admission
*Imagination Playground closes periodically for facilitated education events.
Imagination Playground
Temporarily Closed – Alternate Hands-On Exhibits Available
Included with Museum Admission
*Imagination Playground closes periodically for facilitated education events.
Imagination Playground
Temporarily Closed – Alternate Hands-On Exhibits Available
Included with Museum Admission
*Imagination Playground closes periodically for facilitated education events.
Imagination Playground
Temporarily Closed – Alternate Hands-On Exhibits Available
Included with Museum Admission
*Imagination Playground closes periodically for facilitated education events.
Solar Eclipse – October 14
Eclipse Times (San Carlos)
First Contact (Eclipse Begins) – 8:05 AM
Museum Opens / Observing Available – 8:30 AM
Maximum Eclipse – 9:19 AM
Last Contact (Eclipse Ends) – 10:42 AM
Event included with Museum admission.
Hiller Aviation Museum Open 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM on October 14.
Weather permitting – eclipse not visible if clouds are present.
On Saturday, October 14 Earth’s Moon will pass between the Sun and our home planet to create a spectacular astronomical event – an annular solar eclipse! Viewers across the country in a narrow band between Oregon and Texas will observe the eclipse’s annular phase, as the Moon passes completely in front of the Sun’s visible surface and only a thin ring of sunlight remains visible.
The San Francisco Bay Area is southwest of the path of annularity, but area residents using safe observation techniques will be able to see 76% of the Sun’s disc covered at 9:19 AM, the time of maximum eclipse. The Hiller Aviation Museum will open early and host an eclipse viewing event from 8:30 AM – 10:45 AM. Solar telescopes, certified safe solar glasses and eclipse pinhole projection boards will provide multiple ways of safely observing the event. Solar glasses will be provided to the first 100 visitors arriving on October 14 at no charge. Additional solar glasses are available for sale in advance of the event in the museum’s Gift Shop, and can also be purchased on the day of the event while supplies last.
Observations will continue outside in the Museum’s Courtyard area from opening time until the eclipse ends at 10:42 AM. Maximum eclipse is at 9:19 AM – arrive early to join us in the waning morning light and safely observe this amazing astronomical phenomena.
Not able to find solar glasses? Visit NASA’s Total Solar Eclipse webpage for .stl and .pdf files that will allow you to print a safe solar projection viewer using either a 3D or conventional paper printer (cardstock suggested for paper viewers). In a pinch, a pinhole punched in a regular index card makes a usable eclipse viewer. Observe the image of the sun cast into the shadow of the card or viewer to see the eclipse.
Near the time of maximum eclipse (around 9:19 AM), natural eclipse projection will occur in the shadow of trees with sunlight filtering through leaves and branches. Each dapple of sunlight sprinkling through the shadow will provide a naturally-projected image of the event.
Available safe observation methods will include:
- Solar telescopes – white light and h-alpha wavelengths
- Solar glasses – complimentary to first 100 visitors on October 14, or purchase in Gift Shop before or on day of event (while supplies last).
- Solar eclipse board – projects eclipse images onto the ground, a wall, or even you!
A limited quantity of solar eclipse glasses will be available to purchase in advance and on the day of the event on a first-come, first-served basis.
