Our family just spent the last four weeks in DC so that my husband could attend a radiology course. I have had a few friends ask for tips and recommendations for what to do with their kids while in DC so I decided to blog about our experience. Enjoy your trip!
Metro:
- You can purchase a Smartrip card for $2 that you can use on any future trip to DC. you safe $1 per trip rather than buying a single paper fare card that you throw away. You can register it online and add money or passes online. You can have multiple fare cards on one account.
- Each adult can have up to 2 free kids under the age of 5 with them. Ages 5 and up need to pay fare.
- We bought
7-day short trip passes for my two older kids and myself since we used the metro every day for $36 each. This allows you unlimited "short trips" for 7 consecutive days. If you take longer trips then you have to pay the difference. It's a good idea to keep $5 on your card along with the pass. We lived pretty close to the mall (Takoma metro stop) so most of our trips were considered short trips (less than $3.60 for the trip during peak hours).
- Use the handy trip planner on www.wmata.com to figure out your route and see how much your trip will cost.
- Mark didn't use the metro every day so he just kept money on his Smartrip card for when he did use it. You get discounts for your trip when you ride the metro at off-peak hours.
- The metros run less often on weekends and there were often delays due to construction
Kid Logistics on the Metro:
- If you are bringing a stroller, make sure it is a slim, light stroller--ie umbrella stroller with a basket underneath works great. There are elevators at all of the metro stops but they were often broken and so most of the time I made Ellie (3) get out of the stroller so we could use the escalator instead
Recommended Museum that Kids will Enjoy and are FREE:
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Natural History Museum--exhibits include mammals, ocean animals, live insect zoo, gems, etc.
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American History Museum--check out the SparkLab. It is open until 4pm. We spent 2 hours there as the kids really enjoyed it and were even sad to leave. In the exhibit next door we each got to make a picture frame using molds that you would find in an assembly line.
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Air and Space Museum--Check to see when the family days are. We got to listen to Astronaut Randy Bresnik speak and Noah (7) even got to ask him a question. We watched a planetarium show and an IMAX movie which were both great.
The Family Favorite Museum:
The National Building Museum was our favorite. This summer they filled the bottom floor with white ball pit style balls, with a white "shore," "pier," and beach chairs. We spent a few hours playing in the giant ball pit. unfortunately this is not a year-round exhibit but I definitely recommend checking the museum's website to see what other seasonal exhibits they have. They have another kid-friendly exhibit upstairs where kids can build with lincoln logs, small building toys, and huge building toys. They have a cool video, interactive wall that Ellie danced in front for almost an hour. I even joined her. They have a lot of cool architecture models that I enjoyed looking at and an exhibit called House & Home that was also very intriguing. There is also play room geared towards kids 2-6.
Monuments and Sculptures:
- From the Washington Monument to the Lincoln, Jefferson, and MLK Memorials, there is a lot to see. However, it is also a lot of walking there isn't really a metro stop nearby. Prepare yourself for multiple meltdowns from all of your children. You may want to plan this for the beginning of your day while everyone is still fresh! :)
- The best metro stop is probably the Smithsonian. It is about a mile away. Foggy Bottom is also a mile a way but it was an uphill walk most of the way from the mall to the metro.
- There is a giant Albert Einstein sculpture just northeast of the Lincoln Memorial and you can climb all over him and take pictures
- We rented a 4-person paddle boat in the Tidal Basin. We had to leave Ellie and Barrett with my parents. I would not recommend doing this if you have more than 2 kids because they don't let you bring any extra people on the boat even if they are babies. Mark tried to paddle the boat with Noah in front with him and it was bad. We had to go back to the dock so I could switch places with Noah. This is fun if you have been to the Jefferson Memorial before and want a new experience. Otherwise, just walk to the Memorial instead.
Other Recommended Tours
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Library of Congress (Thomas Jefferson Building): This was our favorite tour. I printed off a couple scavenger hunts that I found online and they had fun finding all of the animals and "babies" painted or carved in marble. And you can see the Gutenberg Bible.
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National Archives: Magna Carta, Bill of Rights, Constitution, Declaration of Independence. My kids were excited to check out the heat sensors that they learned about in the movie National Treasure. haha
- Supreme Court: checking out the outside may be good enough if you have young kids. There is also a great picnic spot on the north side that we used a few times.
- Capitol Building--you can request a tour of this from your state senator. It was cool because we got to ride on the secret underground train from the senate office buildings to the Capitol. We also got to meet our senator. You should email them as early as you can in order to coordinate this! We stood in a long line to see the room where the senate meets but they weren't in session at the time. It was more of a hassle than anything. I would say skip it unless you are really into the legislative branch of the government.
- White House--it's improbable to get a tour of the White House (but you can try through your senator) but you may want to check out the
White House Visitor Center right next door. That was pretty cool.
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Bureau of Engraving and Printing: You have to reserve a (free) ticket early in the day in person. The kids actually enjoyed this. Definitely worth it if you have time!
-Holocaust Museum: I took the kids to the "kids' exhibit" called
Daniel's Story. No ticket is required. It is geared towards kids 8-12. It was good to bring Noah there but my younger kids were pretty clueless. There are lots of things for the kids to look at and touch in that exhibit so they didn't complain.
Mount Vernon
- If you have time to check this out, you should definitely go. My oldest boy especially enjoyed chatting with the blacksmith/gunsmith.
- The Grist Mill was neat and they even turn it on for you.
Arlington Cemetery
- My parents took the kids to see the tomb of the unknown soldier and the changing of the guard. The kids said it was boring but probably still good to go.
- We went with the kids later to look for Mark's grandpa's grave. It was a long walk but cool when we finally found it!
Not Recommend for young kids:
- Spy Museum: it was expensive and better suited for older kids (teens). I would have enjoyed it more without kids.
Security
- Every building has there own unique security protocols. If you are ready for it, you won't have any problems. Also, some security guards are just jerks, don't take it personally. :/
- Most (The Capitol building is the only exception I know of) places let you bring food in as long as you don't eat it in the building
- Have your bags accessible if you are planning to enter a building (ie: not underneath a stroller with a reclined sleeping child in it)
Lodging:
check out
Airbnb.com. We found an awesome place for a great deal. If you are traveling to DC in the summer let me know and I can pass on the house name for you to locate on the website.
