Washington DC with Six-Year Old
 

We are taking our six year old grandson to Washington this weekend for two days. He wants to see the dinosaurs at the Natural Museum of History and we'll stroll by the White House which he asked also asked to see. We will be staying downtown and using the Metro and/or walking. Any suggestions for the remainder of the time? We'll have all day Saturday and until about 3:00pm on Sunday before leaving for the airport.

Oops, almost forgot.... we were thinking about one of the trolley tours or maybe the Greyline double-decker where we can get off and on easily. Do you recommend one company over the other considering it's the six year old we want to entertain?

Since you're going there anyway, check out what's in the I-Max theater at the Natural History Museum. Sadly, their Insect Museum is closed at the moment (some 6 year olds love it).

Some kids love the Spy Museum. Six may be a bit young, but ask.

The Air & Space Museum...planes and rocket ships...pretty cool!

The zoo?

The DC zoo is a great one - he sholdlike that.

And aren't there some sort of boat rides on the Potomac?

You could probably spend a lot of time in Natural History besides seeing dinosaurs. Air and Space Museum is a great place for little boys. Spy museum is great but 6 is a bit young (especially since it is not free). Paddle boats by Jefferson Memorial.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm sorry to hear the insect exhibit is closed. I was looking forward to that myself. I think we'll forget the double decker bus. The price is @ $50 per person and I'm not sure how long he would be interested, and we'll do the paddle boats at the Jefferson Memorial instead.

My cousin and I just took a seven year-old to DC for his first visit there. We didn't even get into any of the museums....he was too busy running from monument to monument, and the main thing he wanted to do was get his photo taken in front of the White House to prove to the other kids in school that he was there.

The statues scattered all around fascinated him, so I doubt your six year-old grandson will get too bored with anything that you choose to do in our nation's capitol. Just make sure you wear sneakers or running shoes, because you're going to have a heck of a time keeping up with him as he runs all over the place, excitedly pointing at everything he sees.

We had a long ride home afterwards. At one of the roadside stands that sells t-shirts and souvenirs, we bought him a snowglobe with a minature White House inside it. It also played music....and only cost six dollars. It kept him busy and fascinated in the car for hours....and he's not the kind of kid who is easily entertained!

Enjoy!