There are so many things to do and see when you go to visit Washington DC, so be sure to make a full weekend trip out of it to get the most out of your time there with your family! I have been there many times, but it was our first time as a family and our kids LOVED it!
We really hope to be able to go again next summer and see even more of DC as a family, including a possible tour of the White House. Traveling with kids can definitely be fun, no matter what age they are. If they are under 4, then just take a stroller, snacks, and a drink for them, and you're good to go!
Smithsonian National Zoological Park
When you have kids one fun thing most kids love to do at some point is going to a zoo to see some great animals they may have never seen before. Well, the National Zoological Park is a BIG one that the whole family will love and enjoy walking through.
It will take a good part of your day if not the whole day to walk through and see everything that's there, so plan accordingly. Our kids absolutely loved it there and our younger two were in awe of the bigger animals as well as some of the smaller ones too. I think their favorite though was the elephants as well as the giant pandas.
We spent a lot of our day there and did about 5 miles of walking start to finish in the zoo, but it was a lot of fun to see the reactions on our kids faces at the animals that we saw and hear how they liked each one. We saw several elephants actually, but only got a picture of this one.
Washington Monument
While this is more of a look and see type of attraction, it's a big thing in Washington DC and our kids liked seeing it from a distance as did I. We took a family picture in front of it too, so it was pretty neat.
It was really hot outside that day, so everyone was already pretty hot and wanting ice cream, which oddly enough there was a line of trucks with foods to buy not too far from the Washington Monument, so we stopped there before going anywhere else.
American Museum of Natural History
This is by far my absolute favorite part of going to Washington DC and I've been here many times! Our kids wanted to see a lot of the museum, so we went on the different floors of the building as we needed to in order to find the right places that they and we wanted to see.
There is so much to be seen in the National Museum of Natural History, so be sure to plan on being there a few hours at least.
They do have lunch places to buy food, so keep that in mind too in case you want to buy some food while you're in the museum; there are tables to sit down at. This big elephant display is in the middle on the first level as you walk in. I have always enjoyed that.
Our three-year-old loves dinosaurs and I was very excited to tell him that he could even see some while we were there. He liked it a good bit and kept pointing at the ones he liked. It's a fairly large attraction.
It has many descriptions beside each dinosaur so you can read each one to your child so they can learn more about that kind of dinosaur and like it more. I find this part of the museum very fascinating and our kids had a fun time walking through and seeing each one.
The next part of this museum that everyone in our family enjoyed walking through and seeing is the gems portion of it and by gems I mean NICE ones and also really big ones too. The really awesome thing about all the parts in the museum are that they have a gift shop for each section of the museum which is really cool to walk through too and see what's for sale!
National Air and Space Museum
If you have kids who are big into science and learning more about space and airplanes, then stopping at the National Air and Space Museum is a must. This is part of the Smithsonian Institution if you'd like to see what all is included in it within Washington DC.
This is also a great go-to museum if you have a child who shows interest in possibly being a pilot as a career in life too.
I have always enjoyed this museum even as a kid/teenager, so I was excited to be able to take our kids, especially our oldest son and toddler son as they both do enjoy space and airplanes. They enjoyed walking around and seeing different things associated with both.
DC Metro
This is a popular way to get around within Washington DC if you don't want to have to drive to every place that you need to go to. So, you'll need to get a card and add money to it so that you can scan it to enter and leave the metro station each time you need to use it.
I had been on the DC Metro plenty of times in the past, but it was my husband's first time riding the metro, as well as our kids first time too. Our kids enjoyed going on it each time.
At least once when we went into the station we had to go up a REALLY long escalator to get to the top where our destination was to where we walk to get to where we needed to go. That was interesting, especially with a double jogging stroller for our younger two to ride in.
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Being the nation's capital, it's great to get children to see this location and much of the relevant attractions relating to the history of the country. The choices you made look really good for kids to keep them engaged and interested, particularly the museum which of course covers more beyond the USA.
ReplyDeleteWe did all of these when we were in DC in August! My little LOVED the air and space museum!
ReplyDeleteSigh, I love Washington D.C., you're making me miss it!
ReplyDeleteI love when I get to go to Washington, DC. I have seen a lot of fun things and I can't wait to take my kids.
ReplyDeleteMy cousin and her family live near Washington DC. It has been years since I last visited. I hope to do so again, soon and she has to promise to take me around!
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