Here’s our family guide to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh from many visits over the years. Learn about free youth admission, KidVenture, camping vs. VRBO, how to stay cool, and more!

If you picture EAA AirVenture Oshkosh as a week of airplane-obsessed adults standing around in the sun, you’re only seeing half the picture. My family has been three times now, and every trip has looked a little different. One year we camped, twice we stayed in a VRBO, and my husband has camped under the wing of his plane.

My husband flies his own homebuilt Kit Fox, so we come at this from a slightly unusual angle: half spectators, half participants. Here’s what we’ve learned about doing Oshkosh as a family.

Family Guide to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

Our family guide to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh comes from years of attendance. My husband built and flies a Kit Fox, so Oshkosh isn’t just something we attend. It’s something we’re a small part of. It’s a given that at least part of our family will be in Oshkosh, Wisconsin every July.

The best part is, you don’t need a hangar or a pilot’s license in the family for this to be worth the trip. What keeps us coming back is how much there is for a curious kid to actually do, not just look at.

KidVenture: The Heart of Oshkosh for Families

If you only have time for one family-focused stop, make it KidVenture. It’s tucked behind the EAA Aviation Museum at Pioneer Airport, and it’s built entirely around hands-on learning — kids can work on real building projects, fly radio-control and control-line airplanes, try flight simulators, and dig into aviation history. Kids who complete a set of activities earn a Future Pilot or Future A&P pin, and the first 1,500 to finish also get a free toolkit. It runs most of AirVenture week, so there’s no need to rush it into a single day.

However, the lines for some of the more popular projects get very long, so it is a good idea to scope out your highest priorities. You may want to arrive early in the morning to make sure you get to finish them!

Where to Stay: Camping vs. VRBO

Lodging fills up fast at Oshkosh and prices are high. To save money, we’ve camped on the ground and we’ve stayed in VRBOs a ways off. Hotels in the area have proven too expensive so we’ve tried other methods. Each type has trade-offs.

Camping at Camp Scholler

Camping at Camp Scholler puts you right on the grounds. It’s a lot of fun, but go in with realistic expectations:

• It’s crowded, and it’s hot
• You can generally count on at least one storm rolling through during the week
• A little backup shelter goes a long way. We built a compound out of our teardrop camper and a tent, plus had backup from an RV my husband’s parents brought
• One year, my husband and daughter skipped the full setup entirely and camped under the wings of his Kit Fox — about as Oshkosh as an experience gets

Staying in a VRBO

Staying in a VRBO trades convenience for comfort:

• A full night’s sleep and air conditioning
• We were 45 minutes to an hour outside Oshkosh both times, which adds up over a week of early mornings and late nights
• It’s a harder call if you want to stay late for the night air shows

If your family is newer to camping or heat-sensitive, start with a VRBO. If you want the full-immersion experience and don’t mind a sweaty tent at 2 a.m. during a thunderstorm, camping is worth trying at least once.

Flying In: The Homebuilt Aircraft Village

Because my husband flies his own Kit Fox, we spend real time in the homebuilt aircraft area every visit. It’s a very approachable part of AirVenture for families, honestly.

The builders are often standing right there with their planes and are usually happy to talk about what went into building them. If your kids are mechanically curious at all, this is a great place to wander.

The Warbird / Living History Area

Some of my favorite photos from Oshkosh come from the warbird area, where historic military aircraft are parked for close viewing. But it’s more than just planes. There’s a full living history encampment set up alongside them, with period tents, a recreated field camp (we enjoyed walking through “Miller Field,” home base for a WWII bombardment group), and even a USO-style hut with photos and displays about service women during the war. It’s an easy area to spend a lot longer in than you’d expect.

One thing to plan for: this area is a bit of a hike from the main flight line and vendor area, so build in extra time to get out there and back, especially with kids.

The SeaPlane Base

We only discovered the SeaPlane Base last year, and it’s quickly become one of our favorite parts of the trip. It’s a different pace entirely from the main grounds:

• Quieter and shadier, with noticeably fewer people
• Still has food and shopping, just on a smaller scale
• You can take a pontoon boat ride on the lake
• Seaplanes taking off and landing right in front of you

The trade-off is access: it’s not walkable from the main show grounds, so you’ll need to take a shuttle bus or drive out separately. Worth building into your schedule as a slower, cooler-down day if the main grounds get overwhelming.

The Main Display Area: Current and Military Aircraft

Separate from the warbird area, AirVenture also brings in a rotating lineup of current-day aircraft — everything from active-duty military planes to aircraft the manufacturers bring in specifically for public tours. This is where we watched a demonstration involving a B-52 reenacting how crews dropped candy to children during the Berlin Airlift, a small, specific piece of Cold War history brought to life in a way that stuck with my kids far more than a textbook page would have.

One thing worth knowing: the planes here rotate throughout the week. If you walk by something you want to tour or get a closer look at, don’t put it off — it may not be there the next day. We’ve learned to treat this area as a “see it now” stop rather than something to save for later in the trip.

Talks Worth a Parent’s Time

You don’t have to be a pilot to get something out of Oshkosh’s forums and talks. The Ninety-Nines (99s) host sessions that are worth catching, and the broader schedule of forums and workshops covers everything from aviation history to current aerospace technology. Even as a non-pilot parent, I’ve found these talks interesting — a nice break from the heat and a good excuse to sit down for half an hour.

Night Air Shows

If you do nothing else in the evening, stay for a night air show (Wednesday and Saturday nights only). They’re a completely different experience from the daytime shows:

• Aircraft fly while dropping fireworks mid-flight, so you get motion and pyrotechnics at the same time
• There’s a laser light show worked into the display
• It builds to a large fireworks finale at the end

Bring hearing protection — it gets loud, especially for younger kids. Some of my best pictures from all three trips are from night shows, so if you’re into photography, it’s worth staying for.

Practical Tips for Visiting Oshkosh as a Family

• Youth admission (18 and under) is free all week! There are also free shuttles – busses and trams.
• Plan for heat, sudden storms, and long walking days.
• Hydration and sun protection matter more than most people expect. Take advantage of water bottle fillers and cooling stations!
• If camping, build in backup shelter (a second tent, a camper, or family nearby) in case of storms.
• If staying off-site, factor real drive time into your daily schedule, especially for night shows.
• Bring hearing protection for the night air shows, especially for younger kids. If you forget yours, you can probably find some for free in the swag areas.
• If you spot a plane you want to tour in the main display area, do it that day. The lineup rotates and it may be gone tomorrow.
• KidVenture runs most of the week, so there’s no need to cram it into one day – but do prioritize your faves and maybe arrive early one day to get a jump on the lines.

Frequently Asked Questions about Visiting Oshkosh as a Family

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