How to Spend an Afternoon at the Airport with Your Children
Choose a suitable time to go to the airport., Be prepared to pay more for food for the day., Plan for different observational activities., Check off interesting planes., People watch., Go window shopping., Look at the boarding and arrival signs...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Choose a suitable time to go to the airport.
A weekend can be a great time to visit.
Go at a time that you can get a good place to park.
This might mean a morning rather than an afternoon, but that's fine too.
Or take the airport shuttle, train, or other public transport and save yourself the hassle of driving and parking.
This is as much a part of the learning experience as the visit itself. -
Step 2: Be prepared to pay more for food for the day.
This is balanced out by the fact that you don't have to pay any entrance fees or ride fees, so it all evens out.
You could take your own food but that would spoil the fun of trying what there is on offer at the airport. , Depending on your children's interests, there are a variety of possible things to do:
Watch the planes taking off and landing.
Find a good window that provides ample view of this activity.
A good half hour or more can be spent watching this happen, especially in busier airports.
Watch the passengers boarding.
If it is possible to see the passengers go on at the airport you are visiting, it can be fun for kids to watch them.
They can even wave if they want to.
If they can see the plane that the passengers are boarding, they can watch for passengers sitting at their seats.
Watch the aircraft maintenance.
This part can fascinate mechanically-minded children for ages, even hours.
There are so many things that can be done to a plane when it is undergoing its checks that children can spend a lot of time guessing what is happening and seeing the activity from start to finish.
Watch the bags go across the tarmac and onto a plane; or watch bags being unloaded.
This fascinates children, especially to see the conveyors taking luggage up and the strong baggage handlers throwing luggage in and moving it about.
Watch the plane food being loaded.
This will happen from a catering truck and can be a fun thing to see.
Watch the aviation security people driving and walking around the plane areas.
Watch the planes being towed backwards to take them to the runways or hangars.
This often involves people walking with the plane as well and is an endless source of fascination for children. , Look for the most interesting, colourful and unusual plane designs.
Look for planes from different airlines and check them off on a list for the children to compare later. , Sit down and see what people are doing.
Things to look for include:
Passengers checking in at the ticket counters.
Do they have bags, surfboards, skateboards, funny-shaped parcels, or no bags at all? Passengers in a hurry.
Can your children spot people who are running late for their plane? Passengers lugging heavy baggage.
Passengers stuck in long queues and their reactions to the waiting.
Passengers catching 40 winks while they wait for a plane
- what other activities do people do to pass the time while waiting? Passengers lining up to board planes.
Passengers and their families saying hello and goodbye
- this can be an interesting activity for children to learn about human emotions when meeting and departing.
In an exercise of empathy, have children guess why people might be travelling
- for business, for a holiday, for a sports event as a team, for a conference, for reuniting with family members for a special or sad occasion etc. , Unless you plan to buy something at higher than usual prices, just look in the shops.
It can be really interesting to see how your region or country is portrayed in airport shops, where a lot of shops target their displays at tourists buying last-minute mementos of their visit to your region or country.
Your children can note what sorts of things are sold in airport shops; ask them questions about why they think such things are for sale and who would be likely to buy them
- locals, people from across the country, or people from overseas? , See if the children can guess the destinations from the codes.
Ask them to tell you whether those destinations would hot or cold at the time of year that you are there if you are in an international terminal. , Every intrepid observer needs refuelling.
Buy some snacks and drinks at a café that looks interesting and affordable.
Make sure there is a comfortable place to sit.
Don't feel guilty spending more on the drinks and food than usual; this is normal for airports and as already said, you should have factored this into your trip as the "expense".
Alternatively, take your food but still buy drinks.
Many airport cafés are not as fussy about people eating food from elsewhere as most eating places, probably because they often share seating space with other places due to space restrictions, or they are just too busy to notice anyway. , The travelators in particular hold a lot of mystique and joy for children.
Many lifts can be interesting too if they are glass fronted and provide good views over the airport space. , Go up high if you can and look down over the airport and across the runways as far as the eye can see.
This can be a good thing to do in busy airports, to watch the flurry of activity below. , If the dog handlers are not busy and look approachable, ask them if they mind your children asking them a few questions about their dogs.
If they oblige, your children will enjoy asking questions about what the dogs do, if the dogs have found anything interesting and how long the dogs are able to do their job each day, or even how many years.
Do not let the children touch the dogs unless the handlers say that it is OK to do so. , After a few hours, it will be time to return home.
Don't stay all day, or even for too long, or you and the children will be overwhelmed by all the activity, bustle, noise, and bright lights.
Have questions prepared to ask them about the visit on the way home. -
Step 3: Plan for different observational activities.
-
Step 4: Check off interesting planes.
-
Step 5: People watch.
-
Step 6: Go window shopping.
-
Step 7: Look at the boarding and arrival signs.
-
Step 8: Have a snack.
-
Step 9: Ride the travelators
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Step 10: lifts (elevators) and escalators.
-
Step 11: Take advantage of the view.
-
Step 12: Have the children ask questions of the security dog handlers.
-
Step 13: Take the train
-
Step 14: or car home again.
Detailed Guide
A weekend can be a great time to visit.
Go at a time that you can get a good place to park.
This might mean a morning rather than an afternoon, but that's fine too.
Or take the airport shuttle, train, or other public transport and save yourself the hassle of driving and parking.
This is as much a part of the learning experience as the visit itself.
This is balanced out by the fact that you don't have to pay any entrance fees or ride fees, so it all evens out.
You could take your own food but that would spoil the fun of trying what there is on offer at the airport. , Depending on your children's interests, there are a variety of possible things to do:
Watch the planes taking off and landing.
Find a good window that provides ample view of this activity.
A good half hour or more can be spent watching this happen, especially in busier airports.
Watch the passengers boarding.
If it is possible to see the passengers go on at the airport you are visiting, it can be fun for kids to watch them.
They can even wave if they want to.
If they can see the plane that the passengers are boarding, they can watch for passengers sitting at their seats.
Watch the aircraft maintenance.
This part can fascinate mechanically-minded children for ages, even hours.
There are so many things that can be done to a plane when it is undergoing its checks that children can spend a lot of time guessing what is happening and seeing the activity from start to finish.
Watch the bags go across the tarmac and onto a plane; or watch bags being unloaded.
This fascinates children, especially to see the conveyors taking luggage up and the strong baggage handlers throwing luggage in and moving it about.
Watch the plane food being loaded.
This will happen from a catering truck and can be a fun thing to see.
Watch the aviation security people driving and walking around the plane areas.
Watch the planes being towed backwards to take them to the runways or hangars.
This often involves people walking with the plane as well and is an endless source of fascination for children. , Look for the most interesting, colourful and unusual plane designs.
Look for planes from different airlines and check them off on a list for the children to compare later. , Sit down and see what people are doing.
Things to look for include:
Passengers checking in at the ticket counters.
Do they have bags, surfboards, skateboards, funny-shaped parcels, or no bags at all? Passengers in a hurry.
Can your children spot people who are running late for their plane? Passengers lugging heavy baggage.
Passengers stuck in long queues and their reactions to the waiting.
Passengers catching 40 winks while they wait for a plane
- what other activities do people do to pass the time while waiting? Passengers lining up to board planes.
Passengers and their families saying hello and goodbye
- this can be an interesting activity for children to learn about human emotions when meeting and departing.
In an exercise of empathy, have children guess why people might be travelling
- for business, for a holiday, for a sports event as a team, for a conference, for reuniting with family members for a special or sad occasion etc. , Unless you plan to buy something at higher than usual prices, just look in the shops.
It can be really interesting to see how your region or country is portrayed in airport shops, where a lot of shops target their displays at tourists buying last-minute mementos of their visit to your region or country.
Your children can note what sorts of things are sold in airport shops; ask them questions about why they think such things are for sale and who would be likely to buy them
- locals, people from across the country, or people from overseas? , See if the children can guess the destinations from the codes.
Ask them to tell you whether those destinations would hot or cold at the time of year that you are there if you are in an international terminal. , Every intrepid observer needs refuelling.
Buy some snacks and drinks at a café that looks interesting and affordable.
Make sure there is a comfortable place to sit.
Don't feel guilty spending more on the drinks and food than usual; this is normal for airports and as already said, you should have factored this into your trip as the "expense".
Alternatively, take your food but still buy drinks.
Many airport cafés are not as fussy about people eating food from elsewhere as most eating places, probably because they often share seating space with other places due to space restrictions, or they are just too busy to notice anyway. , The travelators in particular hold a lot of mystique and joy for children.
Many lifts can be interesting too if they are glass fronted and provide good views over the airport space. , Go up high if you can and look down over the airport and across the runways as far as the eye can see.
This can be a good thing to do in busy airports, to watch the flurry of activity below. , If the dog handlers are not busy and look approachable, ask them if they mind your children asking them a few questions about their dogs.
If they oblige, your children will enjoy asking questions about what the dogs do, if the dogs have found anything interesting and how long the dogs are able to do their job each day, or even how many years.
Do not let the children touch the dogs unless the handlers say that it is OK to do so. , After a few hours, it will be time to return home.
Don't stay all day, or even for too long, or you and the children will be overwhelmed by all the activity, bustle, noise, and bright lights.
Have questions prepared to ask them about the visit on the way home.
About the Author
Lori Sullivan
Dedicated to helping readers learn new skills in crafts and beyond.
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