We will be visting DC for a few days at the end of March with our 2-year old, and are wondering what kid-friendly attractions we may want to see. We are planning to go to the zoo, and would consider driving to Baltimore for the children's museum if it's worth it. Any other ideas?

The acquarium in Baltimore is lots of fun if you are driving that way for the children's museum (although I have never been to the museum so I can't comment). However, if you only have a few days, there are plenty of things to do in Washington. The natural history museum of the Smithsonian has lots of fun things for toddlers, including holding live insects (if that is something you are interested in). If your child in iterested in planes at all, there is the air and space museum -both on the Mall as well as the new one called the Udvay Hazy museum near Dulles airport. At udvar hazy, while the museum is free, the parking is $12. Also, depending on what weekend you come, there are always lots of puppet shows and things of that nature in and around DC. If its not too cold, there is great falls park - both in MD. and DC -- while it is probably more for adults - there are waterfalls and things of that nature to look at. hope that helps.

I think a toddler would find many of the exhibits in many of the Smithsonian museums fun to look at, and most have "hands on" exhibits. For example, the nautral history, air and space, the new Spy and Indian museums etc - pick one for yourselves and I bet baby will be visually stimulated.

the aquarium at the inner harbor in baltimore is wonderful--but the lines can be very long--they give timed tickets for entrance...but you can spend the time at the shops and restaurants at the inner harbor, which could be great fun for a toddler...be sure to stop by the fudge store in the second building (from the aquarium) of the inner harbor--the staff sing and put on a show as they roll out the fudge--and then offer free samples!

If you are talking about Port Discovery in Baltimore, your child is too young, it is geared towards older kids; personally, I wouldn't bother with Baltimore on this trip (it's a great place, but your child is a little young for most of the attractions up there); I would do the zoo (go on the zoo web page and see if you can score tickets to see Tai Shan, beyond cute and he should be outside in March; plus they do give away same-day tickets and I assume with a toddler that you are up early anyway), the carousel should be open on the Mall (near Air and Space and the Castle), when my daughter was that age she loved the Air and Space museum, as well as Natural History which has a new mammals exhibit which would be fun. Don't forget just running on the Mall will be entertaining, too and if you all haven't seen the monuments then you can combine that with a toddler running around. Things will be pretty crowded in March with school groups, etc. so just be prepared for that.

Hope this helps; if you want kid-friendly restaurant advice, let me know.

Mary in D.C.

Totally agree with previous post - just chasing pigeons on the Mall is a highlight for little ones!
Port Discovery (Baltimore children's museum is great - but probably not worth the drive if you are limited on time). Check the museum websites - most have "discovery rooms" where kids can touch things - the Nat'l Gallery of Art does frequent kid programs that is a way for parents to see the art with the kids being happy - ex. "See how many paintings have dogs??".
Would suggest skipping Mint, Capitol and White House tours - paddle boats in front of the Jefferson Memorial might be a big hit.

If you do come to Baltimore there is alot more to do in one centralized area than in DC. The Aquarium, the Maryland Science Center, Port Discovery, and paddleboats on the harbour are all a short walk from each other and my 3 year old niece loves all of these places. The Maryland Science Center also has an IMAX theatre that sometimes screens Disney films on the huge concave screen. And all of these places have something for just about every age under 12.

Hope you have fun.

Also, I wouldn't recommend the spy museum for children who are too young to read. While there are a few (only 2 come to mind) things for young children to do, the museum is large and very interesting. I recommend it, just not for youngsters.

When it gets a bit closer to your trip, you might check the Washington Post's Friday "Weekend" section which will list upcoming activities geared for children.

Have a great trip!

When our kids were this age, we successfully made travel decisions in a more round-about way. (along the lines of the person above who said chasing pigeons was what a kid that age wanted to do.)

We found our kids at any age were thrilled by vacations - as long as they kept to a reasonable schedule - since they were getting far more Mom and Dad attention than they ever got at home - not that we neglected our kids at home, but trip attention is different.

So we looked at what was available in a certain destination, and ruled out what was kid-UNfriendly and went to everything else - although sometimes on an abbreviated schedule.

So most of the museums of the Smithsonian (except perhaps art related) would be fine - only problem is you will want to spend far more time at any specific exhibit than your rugrat. Just riding the Metro, if you don't do that at home, will be fun.

All of the buildings and memorials are fine - lots of space there to run around and make cool echos.

I disagree with those above that say go to Baltimore - although I have enjoyed several trips there. The travel part with kids is not usually the best part of the vacation. So I would pass on the trip to Baltimore and see things in DC.

Don't know where you are staying, but I would suggest a place with at least m/w and refrig. Three meals/day in restaurants sitting still is often more than a 2 year old can stand - and that increases you meal options - from getting takeout to having to pack up a meal to go because of restlessness.

Thanks for all of your advice. Yes, we definitely will be staying in a suite - the Embassy Crystal City. Any restaurant ideas that tolerate young children would be welcome. Also, is there any sort of convenience/grocery stores nearby? Thanks again!

My kids are teens now but I can't resist weighing in. The paddle boat in front of the Jefferson is a great idea if weather permits and, at the end of March, it could be very pleasant weather. So far, we're having a mild winter. Letting your child run around outdoors while you sneak in a few peaks at monuments is a good plan - many are condusive to this - the Roosevelt Memorial and the WWII Memorial are two suggestions. There used to be a very small aquarium downtown and that was perfect for toddlers. I agree with NOT doing the Spy Museum or traveling to Baltimore - save those for when your child is older. The National Zoo is a terrific place for toddlers. Riding the Metro will be fun if you don't have one where you live. The bugs are Natural History are a great suggestion too.