D.C. with Kids
D.C. is filled with kid-friendly attractions. These sights are sure winners:
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Any youngster who gets an allowance will enjoy watching bills roll off the presses. Despite the lack of free samples, the self-guided, 40-minute bureau tour is one of the city's most popular attractions.
DC Ducks
What do you get when you cross a tour bus with a boat? A duck—DC Ducks, that is. Tour the city by both land and water without leaving your seats aboard these unusual amphibious vehicles: standard 2½-ton GM trucks in watertight shells with propellers.
Discovery Theater
Within the Smithsonian’s Ripley Center on the Mall, this lively theater began by offering low-key puppet shows before expanding to feature more than 300 programs a year exploring art, science, and global heritage—everything from robots to the Wright brothers to African drums.
International Spy Museum
This museum takes the art of espionage to new levels for junior James Bonds and Nancy Drews. Even the most cynical preteens and teenagers are usually enthralled with all the cool gadgetry. This museum is best for older tweens and teens—if you bring along a younger sibling, you could be in for a workout: there aren't many places to sit down, and strollers aren't allowed in the museum. Also, there is an entrance fee. The museum moved to its more capacious L'Enfant Plaza in 2019.
National Air and Space Museum
There's a good reason why this place is one of the most popular museums in the world: kids love it. The 23 galleries here tell the story of aviation and space from the earliest human attempts at flight. The museum store sells ever-popular freeze-dried astronaut food—not as tasty as what we eat on Earth, but it doesn't melt or drip.
National Museum of American History
Oh, say, you can see . . . the flag that inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner," Oscar the Grouch, the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz, an impressive collection of trains, and more Americana than anyone can digest in a day.
National Museum of Natural History
Say hello to Henry. One of the largest elephants ever found in the wild, this stuffed beast has greeted generations of kids in the rotunda of this huge museum dedicated to natural wonders. Take your kid to the O. Orkin Insect Zoo, home to live ants, bees, centipedes, tarantulas, roaches, and other bugs. Did we mention the dinosaurs?
National Zoo
Known more for its political animals than its real animals, D.C. nevertheless has one of the world's foremost zoos. If your child is crazy about animals, this is an absolute must—it's huge.
National Children's Museum
You enter this new museum in Downtown D.C. via cloud-inspired dream machine, going on to enjoy a slime pavilion, data science alley, a green screen in which body movements create weather, and more—all of which slip in STEAM educational principles.
Paddleboat the Tidal Basin
How better to see the Jefferson Memorial and the world-famous cherry trees—gifts from Japan—than from the waters of the Tidal Basin? The paddleboats get the kids and you off your feet and into the sun!
