Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum

I first visited this museum in 2010 and came away very impressed. I visited again today and, unfortunately, it was a disappointment. First, let me say that I know what a large and expensive undertaking it is to operate any type of museum or attraction that is open to the public.
On my first visit, the museum was very well lit with spotlights along the perimeter of the hangars. At some point, it appears that they hastily retrofitted some fluorescent and LED panel lights to illuminate the hangars. I can only assume this was for environmental reasons, or to reduce electric bills, or some combination of the two. At any rate, the lighting is abysmal, to the point that I actually went back to the visitor services desk to ask whether someone had forgotten to turn on some of the switches. I then pulled up the photos from my 2010 visit and discovered that they were using better lighting (the spotlights along the perimeter) in 2010. Surely they can find a happy medium that reduces their electricity usage while, at the same time, preventing their patrons from stumbling around in the shadows and providing enough light to show off the beautiful aircraft.
Beyond that, the displays, particularly around the perimeter, were a mess. Closed off stairs butted up against the sides of planes, a classic car with no placard to indicate its context, a plane with a flat tire, another with a dry rotted tire, junk stored along the perimeter of the museum, illuminated displays that weren’t plugged in, and aircraft canopies in desperate need of cleaning.
This place used to be nice but is falling into disrepair. It’s as if nobody cares anymore.

The Strategic Air & Space Museum was originally known as the SAC Museum and was located in the northeast section of Offutt AFB near the Bellevue Gate for almost 40 years. The museum and its aircraft were moved to the current location near Ashland, Nebraska, in 1998. The current facility is much larger and nicer than the previous one and most of the aircraft are kept indoors.
I am ashamed to admit that despite having been here 4 or 5 times over the years I’ve never really taken a full day to really go through the museum and take in all of the exhibits and watch all of the short films and whatnot. I really need to set aside a day to do that. There really is a LOT of information to be consumed here. I usually gawk at a few favorite aircraft, see whatever special exhibit or event drew me hear, and then run out the door.
My favorite aircraft on display is probably the B-​36 Peacemaker. Despite almost 400 being built there are only 4 surviving aircraft. It’s an impressively large bomber with a unique engine setup. Of course, the B-​52 is also a family favorite.
Like many large museums, there are a number of activities that go on here outside of the regular displays. So, definitely head over to their website and check out their calendar of events.
$ 12 adult admission is a bit steep, but then running a museum of this size is an expensive undertaking as is restoring aircraft and constantly maintaining the ones on outdoor static display and thus exposed to the elements. For the average-​sized family (2 adults, 2 kids) you’d have to visit the museum at least 3 times a year to justify the cost of a $ 75 annual family membership. Some things inside the museum cost extra (bounce houses, simulators, and so forth).
There is a $ 1 military discount. I see that one reviewer seems bent out of shape about the military discount being so small. Two responses come to mind. First, the Omaha area is home to an Air Force base and so there are a LOT of military people in the area. So, between Active Duty and Retired they’re probably giving a discount to every other person that walks in the door. Second, as a veteran myself, I don’t care for the attitude that some current and former service members have where they just expect some significant discount on almost everything and are offended when they don’t get it. Please drop the sense of entitlement and be gracious that they were thoughtful enough to offer you a discount at all. There are plenty of people in selfless, but civilian, careers who visit this museum who make less than you do and do not get a discount.
The museum is close to a couple of decent restaurants that you may not have tried because they’re so out of the way, but since you’re in the area then you might want to visit one of them. They are: Parker’s Smokehouse and Round the Bend Steakhouse.

This review is not for the museum, but for the traveling art and math exhibit located inside the museum. With great anticipation we took our 2 teenage boys to see this exhibit but to our disappointment it was nothing more than a few high school displays with bells and whistles. Not to mention it was clear the heck over south of Omaha… big drive for such a small thing and overpriced.

If you like military air planes, then this is a great place to check out. My parents were in town for the Holidays, so we decided to see what it had to offer. While I am not an avid fan of military aviation, the place is pretty interesting as you are up close and personal with these planes. Basically you are able to wander around these huge hangars full of vintage planes, with all of them have ample history provided about them as well so you know what you are looking at :) The place is quite large and you can easily spend an hour or two looking around. They do have a gift shop, small café to eat, as well as a play area for the kids when they get bored at looking at the planes, but grandpa hasn’t quite had enough reminiscing and looking around. Overall an enjoyable place to spend a little time.

I was excited to see this near our campground. It gas good reviews, but when we get there I was blown away. This museum exceeded my expectations by a mile.
I can’t believe we got to see a B36 Peacemaker, and several other rare planes. The staff is friendly, the layout is easy to get around and is ADA accessible. Allow about two hours to see everything. There are tours (free) that last about 1:45
We will definitely come again. Photographers will want a wide angle lens and tripod. So many great photography options!

This place will keep both adults and kids entertained for a couple hours. There are lots of neat exhibits to look at and lots of cool hands on stuff for the kids. The kids exhibits are always very educational and they get new stuff in and rotate out the old stuff each year to make it worth coming back for repeat visits. Gift shop had cool stuff too.

This is a very cool museum.
My kids were a little bummed they could not see more of the inside of planes but enjoyed going under and looking up inside some of them to see where they kept the bombs. We got to go outside and see the plane my father flew on as I was growing up. It is being restored and added to the museum. They had a very nice ⁹⁄₁₁ tribute as well as the «Remember the Fallen» display. Both very touching. Overall very nice place to visit, 2 hangars with lots of planes to see.

A good idea done very poorly. Bad lighting, you can only see the outside of the planes and there aren’t many planes at that. I enjoyed the little that they had to offer but it wasn’t worth the extremely high price, not even if it were half off would be priced right.

We went to SAC today and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It reminded us of the Pensacola FL Naval Air Museum. We got to see lots of our favorite air force bombers and airplanes. Lots of things for kids to do and the entry fee is quite reasonable. If you like historic airplanes, this is a great place.

Awesome museum. Lots of aircraft and history. Cheap entry fees. Not overly crowded. Sweet missiles inside and out to. Def worth the visit

Very cool museum for those interested in military history specifically the aircrafts in the military. I actually came here mainly to see the drone that my professor caught during Vietnam. Pretty cool to know a guy who had such an impactful career in the US military! Proud to know him.
Ok back to the review!
The place is kept up very well.
The actually museum is AWESOME!
I only gave this place a 3 because I am absolutely in shock and disgusted that the admission fee is $ 12 and MILITARY ADMISSION IS $ 11! What in the world!!!
How is this a military museum and they only give military a crappy $ 1 off! Not cool! These men and women made this museum possible! Very upset with this!
I am hoping that some of the money goes back to our military or a fund for soldiers in some kind of need.
To the people running this place: Stop insulting the military and give a more appreciative discount.

This was a really neat place that we hope to go back to. We stopped kind of on a whim while visiting Nebraska about an hour before they closed. We felt it was a little pricey (around $ 50 – 60 for 3 adults & 2 kids) but we also didn’t realize the sheer size of the building. We only got to see one of the hangars — there are two more we didn’t get to. My kids loved seeing all the different planes, walking underneath the wings, sitting in the cockpits, and seeing their inner workings. Each plane/​piece has an explanatory sign with lots of information. This museum would be perfect for people interested in military history or aircraft. Even though there were quite a few people there it did not feel busy at all since the place is so big.
There are a few motion simulators for (brave) people to ride on ($ 5 a person) and my son & husband enjoyed the roller coaster one. (There was a line for this & they did have to wait awhile but it wasn’t a big deal.) There are some kiddie airplane rides for younger kids (a quarter a piece) and also a room just for them with tables of dominos, airplane toys, coloring pages, books, and a toddler area. We also saw that they had a food court, gift shop/​store, and a planetarium that looked pretty neat — it had shows at 3 times during the day. We would definitely come visit here again. My advice: make sure you have more than an hour! I can see it making a nice half day trip if you were visiting. Also, if you have smaller kids, bring a stroller/​carrier as there is a lot of walking.

We had a terrific ½ day visit while staying in nearby Omaha. The numerous airplanes and displays kept my 7 & 9 year old children occupied the entire time.
Any aviation buff would enjoy the numerous Cold War era aircraft on static display here — including a SR71 Blackbird hanging from the ceiling right when you walk in! That alone is worth the price of admission!
We were able to go inside a few aircraft — this might change depending on the season /​day of the week. They also had HUGE bounce houses available for the kids! But, the availability of those might vary also.
The volunteers were all polite and knowledgeable and I thought the admission price was very reasonable.
5 stars! Easy! Make sure you check out the Doolittle display — my favorite part!

Awesome way to spend the day. We loved the aircraft, space craft and exhibits. There was something for everyone. My son loved the simulator, he talked about it for days. My daughter liked the meteorites, space rocks, so cool. The hands on areas were great and the tables set up for picnics.

Overpriced. They could do well to visit the WWI Museum in Kansas City for pointers on what makes a great museum.

This was a neat place to visit. They had a lot of cool aircraft and my husband and kids and i enjoyed looking at them all. It would be way cooler if we could go in some of the planes though. The kids and i rode their motion simulators and it was fun, but a little outdated. The guy running the ride informed me that in a couple months the rides should be upgraded though, so that should make it a better ride. The kids really enjoyed it though. Overall enjoyable.

A lot of cool planes! Wish you can go inside them… oh well. Still fun to look at. They have some motion ride inside that is very high tech. for the 90’s… it’s a little outdated… kids had fun tho. Worth a visit if you like planes.

What an amazing collection of aircraft! I have never seen a B-​36 in person. What a gem in the middle of nowhere! Only $ 10 for entry. The only downfall is how far away the museum is from everywhere.

I love military museums so this is one of many I have visited. I liked it! I thought the price was a little steep considering it is Omaha, but they did have some cool aircraft. Some of these planes are in rough shape and should be restored (may they are planning I dont know). I was surprised the B48 was so banged up as this is a pretty rare plane to see. The SR71 out front on display is really mounted very unique and looks sick. I loved how it looked like it was flying right at you as you walk in.
The B1a was a pleasant surprise as well. Not a plane you see often in any setting so I was pretty pumped to see that as well. Overall a good setup and fairly unique selection of planes. Worth it!

This place is way cool. Lots of really neat old military planes and some helicopters. It is definitely worth a visit. We are spending the night in the museum with my son’s Cub Scout troop.