When I was a kid in the 1970s one of the things that I waited for all year was to be able to stand right at the gate, face glued to the glass, waiting for my grandparents to get off of the airplane – whether it be for Summer vacation or Christmas holiday. We would head up at least half an hour early to watch the planes land and take off, check out what all of the workers were up to out on the tarmac and get our fill of the very cool place called the airport.

Especially in the Winter, I loved to watch the snow and planes mix. You’d get a great view of the guys spraying all of that (now we know wickedly toxic) blue de-icer and sheets of ice would dissolve. I was the kid who thought jumping on the conveyor belt to see where all of that luggage went would be a great afternoon.

Even as a teenager, I dated a guy who loved planes and we’d spend Friday nights camped out at the arrival gates just watching the planes land and holding hands (aw).

Today, they’d probably take us in for lengthy questioning and a strip search.

Loving things like planes, learning about them by the simple act of observation, is sort of like me saying I used to work for newspapers when we pasted them up in the basement and no one even knew the meaning of the word e-mail – so very old fashioned.

But, being a kid from an era when the airport was a public place where people came and went without many a worry at all, I long for some old skool puttering around where the airplanes hang out.

Apparently, I am not alone in my love of all things airport. In fact, the folks at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) had so many requests for tours, school groups, opportunities to learn more about the day-to-day life of one of the busiest airports on the West Coast of North America that they took a prime spot at YVR and created the newly opened Public Observation Area.

Just behind the food court in the domestic terminal, this is one of those spots that can make a rainy day in Vancouver way more fun or you could even make a trip to the City just to hit this great space for some serious aeronautical education.

The Public Observation Area was one of the great things I got to check out on my trip to Vancouver a few weeks ago as the folks at YVR invited a crew of writers to come check out the new space. Just a note, YVR did not pay for my trip to Vancouver or to be reviewed by Our Big Earth. They were gracious enough to give me a great tour, answer my questions and let me poke around a bit to check things out, which was seriously great because this new space is really a learning adventure.

While it’s open to anyone, really it was designed to serve people who wouldn’t necessarily come to the airport otherwise – people visiting Vancouver, using alternate forms of transportation, local folks. With the new Canada Line in place, you can go from downtown to the airport in 25 minutes (it’s a fun ride), making it super accessible and, honestly, a pretty darn inexpensive day out. Take a look at the video to see it in action:

While that gives it to you from a bit more of a marketing perspective, here’s the mom perspective – there were a few things that I totally loved about the Public Observation (other than it being close to the coffee and sushi):

1. Everything was very accessible to kids from ages 3 and up. There were binocular scopes at a variety of kid heights, the giant interactive map was easily checked out by a person of the 3-foot height range and there were lots of safe, fun spaces for kids to watch the airplanes as well as everything happening on the tarmac.
2. It’s a place where you can bring a whole range of kids. One of the things that stresses me out is when I know one kiddo in my crew will be excited, but for the rest it won’t be age appropriate. The Public Observation Area has something for kids with all sorts of interests – maps, videos, observation, trivia, games, airplane spotting. Great stuff
3. You could actually have a play date there. Close to the food court, set up for eating/chatting and contained so the kids can’t run off, this is the perfect spot to get some learning in, burn some energy off and get out of the house with friends for a while.
4. I love that, when we go to Vancouver, this is an easy trip for us. We seem to be going more and more these days and finding new and cool things to do on those down days when the hotel sucks, the kiddo needs some freedom and it’s raining like a mad dog is well, rather challenging. “Let’s ride the Canada Line to go check out the airplanes” would not get old for the kiddo who thinks the sky train is her ticket to the future.
5. For me, old skool mama, this is a great trip back to my childhood - except that now kids get to learn a whole lot more about the cool stuff I just guessed about, parents can check out bits about the architecture, some of the fantastic art that lives past YVR security points and the airport comes alive again…which is very cool.

The Public Observation Area is by no means grandiose or extravagant. It actually surprised me how monochromatic most of it is. But, its simple design is all about giving the airplanes and the amazing accomplishments of flight center stage.

So, as you head over to the Mainland this holiday season, or are planning your next family trip to see friends in the City, I highly recommend hopping the Canada Line and heading over to YVR to check out this new space. It’ll make you wish you had wings of your own:)

Photos courtesy of Kim Stallknecht