njs

Going to the national mall with a 4 year old and 3 year old for a day trip on a saturday. Please tell me what are the places to visit for their fun and memories(pictures)

Wanted some ideas so that we dont spend time walking/strollers to places/sites of little or no interest to them.

vjpblovesitaly

I can't imagine much will be of interest to kids that age. Maybe the Natural History Museum and/or the Air and Space Museum

Do you have a guidebook? Have you looked at a map of the National Mall to see what is on it?

vjpblovesitaly

Here is an online map I like:

http://www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisi...Cmap1-2009.pdf

You can use the + to make it bigger

sf7307

The national mall is full of museums. Like vjp, it just isn't a place I think of as kid-friendly. Sorry.

vjpblovesitaly

Maybe kids that age would like the Sculpture Garden (look at the map east of the Natural History Museum). There is a fountain there.

bardo1

I would mot make the Mall the bulk of your day - maybe 1-2 hours. The Natural History museum (with an IMAX movie?) and a quick ride on the Carousel?

Maybe you could expand you itinerary to include:

The Zoo in the early AM - the best place in DC to take 3/4 year olds.

A boat ride? - http://capitolrivercruises.com/

Lunch at the National Gallery of Art outdoor sculpture garden Pavilion Café. Maybe some gelati inside the NGA? http://www.nga.gov/ginfo/cafes.htm

The Lego exhibit? - http://www.nbm.org/exhibitions-colle...hitecture.html

In 3 or 5 years they will be at an age to appreciate a much wider array of things on the Mall and in DC generally. I wouldn't plan on being in town more than 6 hours TOTAL this trip.

yestravel

I have to disagree....all kids are different, but I think there are things that kids that age will enjoy. I think kids esp the 4 yr old will find things that interest them. The 3 yr old may just be entranced by all the colors and sounds. I heard that the Lego exhibit that is mentioned above is fabulous. The Natural History Museum has special demos for kids. The Sant Ocean Hall can be fun for kids. They also do an insect thing where kids can see and hold the various bugs. The dinousaurs are usually a hit with at least the 4 yr old and agree on the Air & Space Museum as also good. Check out the Smithsonian page on kids and see what might be of interest to your kids
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/...nian_kids.html
I do agree that you wouldnt want to spend the entire day there. Enjoy DC!

obxgirl

While the National Mall isn't a theme park and is geared to those older than your kids, I'm going to disagree with most of the above. I think it's possible to make a great day of it for children that young although the main thing working against you is that your visit is planned for a Saturday in August so you'll likely have crowds and heat.

The Museum of Natural History has a Discovery Room with young kid activities. There is also an insect museum (think tarantula feeding) and a butterfly pavilion.

3 and 4 should love the Smithsonian carousel.

The sculpture garden at the Hirshorn is great for little legs to stretch. I think the Smithsonian Castle has a garden with a serpentine walkway and some fountains.

The paddle boats in the Tidal Basin are fun if you don't mind doing all the work.

The big locomotives in the technology museum were a big hit with mine at that age as well as the big cascading fountain on the lower plaza/dining area between the east and west wings of the National Gallery of Art.

If you're open to places other than the National Mall, I agree that the Zoo early in the day is a good choice. The National Postal Museum has some fun stuff too. I'd echo keeping the day and the expectations short but if you're parents of 3 & 4, you already have that routine down.

As already mentioned check the Smithsonian website. There's lots of info there about visiting with families and specific activities geared to children.

I wouldn't take a kid that young to the IMAX theater at the Air & Space simulating flight. Just don't see a good ending to that story.

DebitNM

We just got home [no kids] and our biggest gripe was that there was no way to get from one museum on the mall to another except walking. It was hot, humid and made going from one to another a challenge. The only visible means of mechanized transfer was the NPS TripMobile, it was $27 per adult, didn't see what it was for kids.

The Natural History would probably be the most interesting for kids that age.

Good luck.

Sassafrass

It isn't on the Mall, but you might check out the Capitol Children's Museum.

Also, if there is any way possible you can change your trip to a weekday, The Smithsonian Discovery Theater has productions weekday mornings with puppet shows, etc. that little ones would enjoy.

The live insect exhibition was always a hit with one of my kids.

brando

Take your kids there without a doubt. It is true they won't get much out of it, but if your not seeking to see everything it is great.. We were in DC a year ago with a 4 and a 2 year old and had a great time. We were at the mall for maybe 6 hours and we went into the natural history for maybe an hour or so(a lot of dino's animials, etc), the rest of time we hung in the grass the kids chased pigeons, we played catch, etc etc..... Great backgrounds with the kids playing, and they still talk about DC. They loved the carroulel(sp) and food venders as well.

I say do it, if anything it may inspire the desire for a next trip.

mcnyc

The National Mall has a carousel that the kids might like. It's located right across from the Smithsonian castle (red building on the Mall, can't miss it). It really depends on the kids. Personally, I love the carousel. There's an ice cream stand right near it to complete the experience. For me at least.

The Air& Space Museum has a movie, One World, One Sky: But Bird's Adventure, which is free and playing at the planetarium thereon on Fridays and the first weekend of the month through Sept 6.

And Natural History has a fun Discovery Room that the kids might like. American History has a part of their website dedicated to enhancing your kids' visit to the museum (I remember they used to have some muppets up before the remodelling, but unsure if they have muppets up now). I'm sure if you look each of their websites online you'll find similarly.

Also, another fun place kids seem to like is the Spy Museum. Never been, so I can't say much about it.

Oh, and don't forget the National Zoo. Not on the Mall, but it is part of the Smithsonian, is located a walk away from the nearest metro station, but is fun if your kids like animals.

Enjoy DC.

yestravel

Spy musuem is for older children I understand.

KTtravel

I think the kids are too young for the Spy Museum but I agree that the Natural History Museum would probably something they would enjoy.

DancingBearMD

Re some of the above postings:

Sassafras, the Capital (with an "a") Children's Museum closed a few years ago, and is being reincarnated at National Harbor as the National Children's Museum, with a scheduled 2013 opening.

I'm not sure what DebitNM was expecting as far as transportation options, but, yes, distances on the Mall are deceiving, and it can be quite a hike in hot weather going from one museum to another.

Yes, your kids are too young for the Spy Museum.

Natural History Museum is a great idea for all of the reasons stated above, as is the Zoo. Our kids enjoyed the Imax movies at that age (you can book them online in advance, along with the Planetarium at Air and Space), but some might get freaked out. And the carousel is a regular stop for our kids, now 9 and 4.

From the carousel, if you walk through the lovely garden to the left of the Smithsonian "castle" building into the gardens behind the castle, there are two little-noted Smithsonian museums which are actually located beneath the gardens--one of Asian art and one of African art. The African art museum in particular can be a good introduction to art museums for little ones as it includes a lot of animals and masks.

The National Gallery of Art has good food options, including the cafe next to the fountain in the outdoor Sculpture Garden, which is between the Natural History Museum and the National Gallery.

And if you are travelling by Metro you might get off at the Navy Memorial/National Archives stop, which is convenient to the Natural History Museum and the aforementioned Sculpture Garden. If so, kids love running around the big world map at the Navy Memorial, and the friezes surrounding the Memorial, with lots of ships and such, can catch kids' interest.

november_moon

Just got back from DC. We don't have kids, but we noticed that a lot of kids were enjoying the natural history museum and the sculpture garden.

DebitNM

I was expecting some kind of public bus to run up and down at least one of the streets[Constitution, Independence, Jefferson or Madsion] along the Mall; it would have been nice.

The only ones we say were basically during early am and afternoon commute time along Constitution which were clearly meant for going to and from work, nothing for visitors during the non-commute time of 9:30 t0 3:30 or so.

vjpblovesitaly

The Circulator runs around the National Mall on weekends only:

http://www.dccirculator.com/index.ph...d=24&Itemid=24

DebitNM

I saw that, we were there during the week, M -Thurs.

tenthumbs

I went in May with my 5 year old nephew and 7 year old niece. My niece is a very low maintenance child who will entertain herself where ever she is. My nephew~not so much. He's a tougher crowd. He loved the Duck Tour, the Natural History Museum, and the Air and Space Museum. My daughter was 7 the first time she went. She was bored looking at the statues and monuments as she really hadn't developed an interest in history, but she loved the zoo and the Discovery Room at the Natural History Museum.