The Virginia Air and Space Center (vasc.org) is located in Hampton and features an IMAX theater, plus hands-on exhibits. The Apollo 12 Command Module is housed in the center, along with a DC-9 passenger jet. Look into the nose of an F-16 jet or try the simulator of a Boeing 717. Close by in Newport News, you can visit the Virginia Living Museum (thevlm.org), an indoor/outdoor wildlife park, aquarium, planetarium, botanical preserve and science museum. Other area attractions include the Mariners' Museum (marinersmuseum.org), Ripley's Believe it or Not! (williamsburgripleys.com) and Nauticus (nauticus.org), home of the USS Wisconsin battleship .
The Hampton Carousel (vasc.org) is located across from the Virginia Air and Space Center. It is one of just 70 wooden carousels still operating in the United States. Busch Gardens (buschgardens.com) and Water Country USA (watercountryusa.com) are located in Williamsburg for thrill seekers. Busch Gardens offers some of the country's best coasters and Water Country is an expansive water park. Both parks offer single day, two-day and week-long tickets, plus annual passes. The Ocean Breeze Water Park (oceanbreezewaterpark.com), located in Virginia Beach also provides a cool respite from the summer heat. If you run out of things to do, which isn't likely, you can always find miniature golf, go-cart tracks and family arcades in the area. Chances are you won't have time for them.
For the history buff, the Historic Triangle of Jamestowne (historicjamestowne.org), Yorktown (historyisfun.org) and Williamsburg (history.org) gives you plenty to explore. Historic Jamestowne was the first English settlement and features a fort that has been re-created to appear as it did in the early 1600s. At the Yorktown Victory Center, you can revisit the drama that occurred during the American Revolution and visit a 1780s farm. Colonial Williamsburg is the largest living history museum in the country and offers 88 original buildings.
For outdoor enthusiasts Virginia Beach is about 30 miles from Hampton. Walk the boardwalk or soak up the sun along the 28 miles of beach. The Virginia Zoological Park (virginiazoo.org) in Norfolk features 300 animals, birds and reptiles. The First Landing State Park (first-landing-state-park.org) offers hiking and kayak tours through the bays and marshes. Another option for enjoying the outdoors near Hampton is Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge (fws.gov). Or, check out some of the many lighthouses in the area such as the Cape Henry Lighthouses at Fort Story (apva.org).
