Wash DC with 9 year old--- fun sights and eats?
 

We will be taking a short trip to Washington DC over spring break with our very energetic 9 year old boy. Planning to visit the Air and Space and Natural History museums, which I've been to before and I know he'd enjoy. From what I've read online the National Building museum looks pretty kid-friendly, so I think we may try that too. He does best with hands-on or interactive type exhibits. Any other kid- friendly museums fellow Fodorites might recommend? The idea of the Spy Museum would interest him, but looks like most of the exhibits involve reading or looking at things, rather than touching or doing, so we'd likely give it a pass. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

As for other sights, we will definitely do the zoo, and I'm sure some of the monuments, along with letting off some steam on the mall. If anyone has some suggestions for other sights kids this age enjoy, please feel free to offer them. Playgrounds are great too.

We have a reservation at the Marriott Courtyard Convention Center (F and 9th Sts NW), which has a pool. There will be no fine dining this trip, probably mostly burgers, pizza, etc. I'd love any suggestions for family friendly eateries in our neighborhood. Any diners in the area?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

The Smithsonian has a new branch of the Air & Space Museum out near Dulles airport in Chantilly. http://airandspace.si.edu/visit/udvar-hazy-center/
They have an SR 71 Blackbird, a Concorde jet and the Discovery space shuttle.

The Postal museum next to Union Station may interest him. Union Station has a food court with many options.

Not that it is so much kid friendly, but a more casual place for lunch is Good Stuff Eatery or We The Pizza. The are owned by Spike Mendelson of Top Chef fame. Good Stuff Eatery is burgers and such and is really good. They are located next to each other just behind the Library of Congress.

Lots of good eats in the neighborhood. For dining with a 9-year-old, my favorite is Matchbox on H Street, where you can get excellent pizza and great burger sliders ... nice beer and wine list too. Hill Country BBQ on 9th Street is also family friendly and serves up some pretty good Texas BBQ.

You are absolutely correct about the Spy Museum--too much reading and not enough hands-on activities for children.

Farragut Square (at the Farragut North metro stop) has food trucks at lunchtime on Fridays which would be pretty fun for a kid. Plus lots of room to run around :)

Jaleo *could* be fun for lunch. It's a noisy, casual place so no pressure to dress up or be on your best behavior. Tapas is pretty fun but check out the menu online to see how into it he would be. I recommend the patatas bravas.

All of these suggestions are fantastic! Thank you all and feel free to keep 'me coming. Fodorites are the best!

The Air & Space Museum tomfuller referred to is a bit of a pain to get to using public transportation (Metro/bus/shuttle), but it's worth it. In addition to the Concorde, SR 71, and space shuttle, there are several military planes, including the Enola Gay. The BEST part about Hazy is that it lacks the hordes of school children and is much less crowded. :)

Go to Fletcher's Boathouse and rent a canoe or kayaks, or rent bikes and take a ride up the C&O Canal Towpath.

Take a trail ride at Rock Creek Park Horse Center. Rent a couple of paddle boats at the Tidal Basin.

Drive to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park in Maryland where you can take a short hike to Great Falls or take a longer (fairly difficult) rock scramble hike on the Billy Goat A trail.

Use your smartphone to play a a scavenger hunt game by Stray Boots. If you do this I suggest choosing the Penn Quarter option. We tried the Smithsonian option last weekend and it needed some updating.

A tip: There is no entrance fee to the zoo but there is a $22 charge to park. Taking the Metro is a better option. Street parking will be hard to find.

Also, don't forget Arlington National Cemetery.

One other thing I just thought of: check out the Smithsonian's Discovery Theatre.

http://discoverytheater.org/shows/calendar.shtm#/?i=2

Keep in mind that a large portion of the mall (from 7th St to 14th St) is currently fenced off because they are doing a major reconstruction project. So if you plan to take the Metro to the Smithsonian station to get to the Natural History Museum be sure to walk up 12th Street. L'Enfant Plaza station is often easier since it is closer to the Air & Space Museum.

Federal Triangle & Archives metro stations are as close or closer to the Natural History museum as the Smithsonian stop itself. I don't think L'Enfant Plaza would necessarily be easier and it's definitely not closer. You've probably already checked the Natural History museum but if not and it's of interest, the dinosaur exhibit is closed for renovation.

But the point about checking which metro station is closest to ones destination is a good one -- don't assume the Smithsonian stop is closest to all of the Smithsonian museums on the Mall.

The reconstruction on that part of the mall is turf restoration. Sidewalks are open.

I'd add to the other great suggestions here: Riding bikes on the mall -- Capital Bikeshare is everywhere!

I'll second the motions for Matchbox and the Farrgut Square food trucks. But save room for dessert:

Captain Cookie and the Milkman (two food trucks & a storefront) http://www.captaincookiedc.com

DC has so many good restaurant options -- what do you all like to eat?

We went to D.C. with our 10 year old daughter last year. She really loved riding the metro. :) It was a novelty for her! She also liked the Air and Space Museum and the Natural History Museum.

We had a fun dinner at Ethiopic. The food was very good, and she enjoyed the fact that there were no utensils.

We went to the Zoo on the Saturday before Easter Sunday; it was so incredibly crowded that it just wasn't any fun. I'd definitely try for a week day!

I'm glad someone mentioned the food trucks! :)

These are all wonderful tips! Now I'm just wishing we had a week or more so we could actually do them all. Riding bikes and hitting the food trucks are definitely on the list now, and I'm hoping we can fit Discovery theater and the Hazy in too. I also appreciate the metro stop info... very helpful. Lots of great restaurant ideas now too. Thank you all!