Need suggestion for Friday night activity with a 10-year-old
 

Hi all -

I am arriving on a Friday night in the fall with my 10-year-old. The museums appear to be closed by the time we arrive (around 6ish). Can you suggest an early evening activity?
Also, I am looking for a fun japanese restaurant I can go to for dinner. We will not have a car so preferably an easy metro ride from the mall area.

Thanks so much
Jennifer

Lots of ghost tours going on: http://dc.about.com/od/walkingtour1/a/GhostTours.htm
For dinner, Asia Nine in the Penn Quarter:
http://www.washingtonian.com/restaur...iews/1889.html
Or you could find something located closest to where you will pick up the tour. The best way to search for a Japanese restaurant by neighborhood is to go to the Washingtonian Magazine website (www.washingtonian.com) and click on the Food and Dining section.

Even if the museums are closed, the Mall is a great place to be around evening time. Touring the monuments at night is a wonderful experience, as they're all lit up and usually less crowded. You can join a tour or do it on your own.

If you're going to D.C. between mid-Nov. and March, your 10-year-old might enjoy the skating rink that opens by the National Gallery of Art's West building. It's open until 11 on Friday nights.

Walking around the Mall at night is nice; we'll often do that in the summer with our children. If the weather is inclement, or you're not in the mood to walk, Olde Town Trolleys offers a "Monuments by Moonlight" tour.

I'll second the skating rink. Also, the Kennedy Center may have a performance of interest that evening.

If you get in sometime before 6pm, you could go to the 6pm feature of "Night at the Smithsonian" which will be playing in the IMAX theatre at the Natural History Museum.