Websites:

Newseum (right down near the Mall): http://www.newseum.org/

Portrait Gallery (right at Gallery Place Metro stop): http://www.npg.si.edu/

Since there is no way to see all of the Smithsonian Museums, I would only consider a couple as they do take some time to go through.

1. The National Museum of American History (NMAH) is a MUST SEE for your group. TONS of exhibits about American history and culture including the Star Spangled Banner and the First Ladies dresses. There is also a great exhibit about the American Presidency and one about the Emancipation Proclamation. To me this would be more beneficial to a US History class than the National Gallery of Art or the Portrait Gallery.

The Air and Space Museum is also a crowd pleaser with fantastic exhibits on a wide variety of topics. Same as the Natural History Museum, though this might be better for a science class.

The rest of the Smithsonian museums are much more like traditional art museums and focus more on fine art, which may not be as interesting to your students. If you find yourself around Union Station (which has a great food court), the Postal Museum is nearby and also has fun exhibits.

2. Newseum - I would definitely echo several other recommendations for the Newseum. It's been voted the best museum in DC and has very interesting and interactive exhibits perfect for high school students. I would put this right up there with the American History Museum.

3. Holocaust Museum - Everyone should visit this museum at least once. I visited for the first time on a school trip and it was a moving experience. Make sure you leave enough time for this one so you don't have to rush through it.

4. From your list I would drop Annapolis (too far), the Zoo (not special), National Gallery (less interesting), and maybe Mount Vernon. Don't get me wrong, I love Mount Vernon and I live nearby so I go there often, but it will take up a whole day and the house tour is rather short and hurried for how much time it takes to travel there. Plus there is not much else to do there besides the tour. Arlington Cemetery or even the Pentagon (building tour and 9/11 Memorial) would be better, metro accessible excursions from downtown DC.

5. Walk the National Mall after dark. There is nothing more beautiful than walking from the Smithsonian metro station past the Washington Monument and to the Lincoln Memorial in the dark. The walk is easy and the monuments are beautiful at night. It's a completely different experience than during the day and something I always take my out-of-town visitors to do. You could also start at the Foggy Bottom metro stop and walk to the Lincoln Memorial to watch the sunset and then walk towards the Washington Monument and end at the Smithsonian Metro stop. Either way would be a memorable experience for your students especially if done early in the trip as an introduction to DC!

Well, to each his own! The National Gallery is my favorite museum on the Mall; not only do I find it very interesting, I would argue that art has a great deal to do with the study of history. But of course, it's impossible to see everything in 5 days.

<Just FYI, I'm not talking about the dirty water hot dog carts...ick!>
Hobbert, I used to like one of these every now and then (back when I still ate meat)! I think every young person should experience a dirty water hotdog at least once :-)

Oh my, thank you all so much for this information. I am sifting through all of it now to try to get some sort of itinerary for our time. I will repost to let you guys critique.

NewbE, I hear ya! I just don't want a visitor to think that's the best we've got :)

I would encourage the group to go to Mount Vernon. The museum there is nice, seeing the grounds and view much as it was in Washington's time is priceless. There is much more to do there than the house tour. As this is a history group, this piece of history should not be missed.

tmodav:

We took our family to New York and DC two summers ago. I had 2 high schoolers and a middle schooler. Note that my high schoolers taking 3-4 APs each, so they are going to have a similar attention span to your group. We had a great time, but DC can lead to too much museum and monument overkill. In 5 days, you have too much on that list...

Charsuzan is right: I agree you should keep Mount Vernon on the list. I would get a tour bus for the day. I suppose you could pair it with Arlington Cemetery, but given that you are an AP US History class, I'd suggest you do what we did, and pair it with a quick visit to fast food and then a drive over to the Civil War Battlefields of Manassas (Northerners call it Bull Run). If you contact the National Park Service ahead of time, hopefully you can get a tour organized. (In the summer they are automatic at certain times of day.) It was free admission.

It's possible you could stop at Arlington on the way back to DC, but that would be a long day.

Here's a link to my trip report, starting with the day we went to DC.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...omment-7841892

Sorry, I guess I hit Send a little soon.

I would probably do Arlington Cemetery a different day than the Mount Vernon trip.

I would call your representative's office to find out their procedures. Also I would request tickets ahead of time to see the Senate or House in session in addition to the Capitol tour.

Just did 5 days in DC at the end of December. May comment more later, but one thing I want to be sure to mention is that NO food or drink is allowed on the US Capitol tour. Even unopened snacks and drinks had to be thrown in the trash, so don't plan to bring bag lunches unless someone plans to wait outside with the food.

Since it's an AP US history class, my top suggestions would be:

*The National Museum of American History (which is four stories of amazing exhibits and can take several hours)
*The Capitol Tour
*National Archives
*Arlington National Cemetery
*The Holocaust Museum
*A walking tour of the monuments on the Mall at night

Let the class vote on some of the others, like the Newseum, Air and Space Museum, Portrait Gallery, Mount Vernon, or some of the many other offerings DC has.

If you are unable to get a tour of the White House, there is a White House Museum.

Trying to please 28 people with dining options is going to be a challenge, so I think the two best suggestions above are the food court at Union Station and the food carts at Farragut Square. At the suggestion of one of the Fodorites, my family at I went to Farragut Square, and all of us were pleased~my carniverous father and nephew, my vegan sister and niece, and my daughter and I who wanted spicy food.

A few things to keep in mind:

When walking the Mall from the Capitol Building to the Lincoln Memorial, it's about a 2 mile distance. Make sure the students bring/wear comfortable walking shoes.

Remind your students about appropriate behavior. Every trip I've taken to DC, I've seen some appalling behavior from school children (mostly middle school age, but some older ones).

Plan for some down time. DC can be overwhelming, even for ambitious AP students! :)

The National Archives and the Library of Congress both have guided tours available at no cost but you do have to register prior to your visit. Since both buildings are very large I schduled tours for each on my visit. The guide hit the highlights and then we were free to roam at our leisure.

I found the Pentagon to be interesting but it is a bit off the beaten path and takes a few hours. You also have to book in advance to get security clearence. However, if you find that you have some time late in the afternoon, you can take the Metro to the Pentagon and see the 911 memorial. It is open to the public.

Hate to add more to your trip, but my kids really enjoyed visiting Ford's Theatre. It doesn't take too long to visit and it is easy to see how the events that night unfolded. There is a small museum also which holds the clothes Lincoln was wearing the night he was shot.

I don't want to sound as though I am downplaying the Holocaust Museum, but I am not sure that it has a great deal to do with APUSH, unless it covers things like slavery in the U.S. as well. If you were taking an AP Euro class to DC I would say that it makes total sense.

For somewhat the same reason I think Mt. Vernon is worth seeing, because it is a place where you can get echoes of the history of slavery since Washington was a slave owner and that part of his story is covered at Mt. Vernon.

If you want somewhere that is a little more open air, there is this: http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc6.htm for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. It's close to Georgetown and easy to get to.

I like Tenthumbs idea of voting for some of the choices.

Forgot--if you read my report there's a chain of sandwich shops called Potbellies. One of them is on about 7th right near the National Archives, not too far from the Capitol and was quite good.

I would suggest you simply eat in the Capitol cafeteria before/after your tour that day.

I too have to give a shout to the National Gallery of Art. Easily one of the world's best and it's right here in the USA.

Arlington cemetery is a production (28 round trip Metro rides and it takes forever to walk around it). If it's a must do, then do consider the tour bus option - it departs from the Arlington Cemetery visitor center and is $8.75/person.


Give me your hotel/location and I can recommend nearby eateries and things to see/do after museum hours.

Can anyone suggest a budget friendly hotel?

Eating at the Capitol cafeteria could be quite expensive. I got a small bowl of cottage cheese with some grapes, cantaloupe, pineapple and a hard boiled egg and it came to over $9.

The National Museum of American history was and is my favorite in DC. Newseum cost money so they would not be able to afford the entrance fee more than likely and there are so many FREE things to do.
We grabbed a bite to eat at the Capital and they weighed my salad $$$ so wouldn't eat there again for the tasteless salad but there isn't a whole lot to choose from. I have read that there are some great food trucks in DC.

"I don't want to sound as though I am downplaying the Holocaust Museum, but I am not sure that it has a great deal to do with APUSH, unless it covers things like slavery in the U.S. as well. If you were taking an AP Euro class to DC I would say that it makes total sense."

There was this event in American History called WW II and the Holocaust was certainly a part of that history.

Lisa - how "friendly" does the budget have to be?

You may see many suggestions of the Harrington, but you should look VERY carefully at the reviews of it. Personally, I wouldn't stay there.

I'd recommend seeing how well you can do getting a group rate at one of the motels in Rosslyn (VA - across the river from Georgetwon) or out the Wilson Blvd corridor into Arlington. It's very very easy to get a motel withing walking distance to a Metro stop out that way (Rosslyn, Courthouse, Clarendon, etc.).