As the capital of the USA, Washington D.C. is a vibrant destination known for its memorials, to its monuments and museums as well as a prominent center for the performing arts and music. The museums are especially intriguing, and a wonderful place for families to learn about history, art, culture and science. Listed alphabetically, the following 5 museums are open daily throughout the year (except for December 25). Additionally, all the Smithsonian museums boast free admission, so there is no excuse not to visit.

National Geographic Museum

The Terra Cotta Warriors was one of the fantastic traveling exhibits showcased at the National Geographic Museum

Located at the Washington D.C. National Geographic Society headquarters, the National Geographic Museum is a wonderful little gallery with high-tech interactive exhibits and stunning photography on nature and world cultures. Diverse temporary and ongoing exhibits showcase a variety of fascinating subjects from the big cats of our planet – including lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs and jaguars – to the beautiful and mysterious depths of our oceans, to a captivating study on insects and animals that includes strange and amazing facts that are especially appealing to children. Concerts, films, lectures and family events are also featured in the Grosvenor Auditorium. For more information visit their website at http://events.nationalgeographic.com/events/locations/center/museum/

Smithsonian American Art Museum

The Smithsonian American Art Museum's vast collection spans three centuries

Spanning three centuries of American culture and imagination, the Smithsonian American Art Museum features over 7,000 artists in its vast collection from colonial times to present day, including photography, paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts and crafts. It also hosts a variety of programs including weekly art workshops, children’s scavenger hunts, interactive games, tours and musical performances. See works from world-renowned masters such as John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt and Georgia O’Keeffe. The museum’s main building is a national historic landmark, and an exquisite example of Greek Revival architecture. For more information visit their website at www.americanart.si.edu

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

The National Air & Space Museum has the world’s largest collection of historic air and spacecraft

With the world’s most expansive collection of historic air and spacecraft, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum is one of the leading hubs of all aspects of aviation and space flight, planetary science, and geophysics and geology. Hundreds of displayed artifacts can be seen at the National Mall building in Washington, D.C. including the Apollo 11 command module, space suits worn by the astronauts, touchable lunar rocks, the original 1903 Wright Flyer, fighter planes from World War II, and so much more.  Children will love the interactive simulator rides where they can embark on a voyage through the universe, engage in air-to-air combat aboard an F-4 Phantom II jet fighter, and orbit around the International Space Station. An IMAX theater and planetarium complete this spectacular museum. For more information visit their website at www.nasm.si.edu

Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Vintage artifacts offer a view of America's past at the National Museum of American History

Over three million objects embodying the American legacy – from culture and sociology, to technology, science and military history  – are showcased at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.  Its extensive collection brings history to life and includes items such as an Alexander Graham Bell telephone, a Samuel Morse telegraph, flags, trains, gowns worn by the First Ladies, locomotives, tools, the ruby slippers worn by Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, the boxing gloves of Muhammad Ali, presidential objects, historical textiles, famous sheet music and more. Events such as films, performances, gallery lectures and tours, and demonstrations such as quilting and lacing making offer enrichment opportunities. For more information visit their website at www.americanhistory.si.edu

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Dinosaurs at the National Museum of Natural History

The most visited of the Smithsonian museums, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s premier natural history museums. It has fantastic permanent and visiting exhibitions, guided hands-on programs, and an IMAX theater with exciting and educational shows. See the dazzling blue Hope Diamond weighing over 45 carats. Learn about dinosaurs, early humans and amazing creatures of the ocean. An insect zoo showcases live insects and includes daily feedings and hands-on activities that are certain to delight children. The Discovery Room and Discovery Stations at the museum allow for closer examination and manipulation of fossils and artifacts. A Butterfly Pavilion with exotic plants lets guests discover these stunning winged jewels of nature.  For more information visit their website at www.mnh.si.edu

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We recommend stayting at the Hotel Palomar Washington DC, in the conveniently located Dupont Circle.  It’s in a great neighborhood where you’ll be sharing stroller space with local residents instead of solid tourist crowds. Near the hotel is the Phillips Collection, a moderate sized art museum that’s stroller friendly, featuring impressionists like Gaugin and Van Gogh in its permanent collection. It’s great for a short visit. Or take a browse through the large kids section at Kramer Books around the corner. Adjoining the store is the Afterwords Cafe, with a reasonably priced full menu including tasty salads and sandwiches. In summer months, the hotel’s out door pool is unique in such an urban location; no matter what the season we found the rooms spacious and the fun, hip colorful decor enjoyable. The kids also loved the free Wii games and lemonade in the lobby. 

One of the Washington area’s newest attractions is the only spy museum in the United States. The International Spy Museum houses over two hundred spy tricks and technologies from invisible ink to tiny cameras you can fit anywhere. There’s also historical presentations concerning how and why these various devices were developed and used from the eras of George Washington to the Cold War. Maybe best of all: the James Bond car. The museum shop has some fun, unique spy- worthy gifts, and for a food and foot-resting break, there are two restaurants, the Spy City Cafe and Zola. 

On the other end of the technology scale there are the natural wonders in the US Botanic Garden on Capitol Hill. The garden has an especially sweet spot for children: the children’s garden lets kids explore hands on gardening with watering cans and spades and plants to plant. If the weather allows, there are outdoor tables for picnicking near by. Whatever the weather, this indoor botanical wonderland has jungle plants and orchids, cactus gardens and seasonal floral displays. The meandering paths through the glass enclosed structure have the classic, relaxing feel of the Victorian era. We were all charmed by the beautiful, fragrant offerings. 

The Lincoln Memorial is an impressive sight at the opposite end of the mall from the Capitol building.

Just behind the Botanic Garden is one of Washington’s main attractions, the US Capitol Building, and the meeting chambers for the Senate and the House of Representatives. An iconic structure, it anchors this end of the National Mall, a long expanse of grass, reflecting pools, and pathways that leads past the Smithsonian buildings and the National Gallery of Art up to the Washington Monument and beyond it to the Lincoln Memorial.

A family warning: just because you can see all of these amazing buildings, memorials, and monuments does not mean you should try to take them in all in one day. It’s a long walk for little feet between attractions, and even the stroller crowd needs a little down time. See it, drive past, stroll around it and experience the sites one or two at a time. And then take the time for a sweet treat: there are two nationally and deservedly famous cupcake purveyors in the D.C. area. One of our favorites is Georgetown Cupcake, with enormous, decorated treats. Another is Hello Cupcake in Dupont Circle. Both offer a place to sit down, relax,  and get a delicious sugar fix. 

If you’ve had a relaxing meander through the Botanical Garden, and the kids are up for it, do spend some time at the Capitol. This neo classic landmark is a huge structure, with over five hundred rooms on five levels. On the first floor there’s congressional offices, while the second floor houses the chambers of the House and Senate. Where you’ll want to focus with little ones is under the dome in the central rotunda, the circular area with a gallery of art work depicting American history and events. Older kids and adults will enjoy the weekday proceedings of Congress when in session from a viewing area on the third floor, but you’ll have to obtain passes at the visitor’s center to observe.

You can also take a tour of the Capitol building. These tours are free and offered first come, first serve from 8:45 to 3:30 pm daily except Sunday. 

The U.S. Capitol is an amazing site for the kids.

In 2008, the Capitol Visitor Center opened, and here in this state of the art facility, visitors can view collections from the Library of Congress and National Archives, and kids can touch a scale model of the Capitol Dome. Live video feeds of the action taking place in the House and Senate are exhibited, and there’s an interesting short film that explains the history of the building and offers political and historical insight into the workings of Congress. The center makes the Capitol building experience more hands on and accessible to visitors.

On another day, you’ll want to explore the other end of the National Mall – the Washington Monument. Our kids learned about the construction of the monument and enjoyed the view from the top and the elevator ride to get there. Although the monument is the tallest structure in Washington, it’s just over five hundred and fifty five feet high. Inside this monument to our nation’s first president, the structure has 193 memorial stones on the east and west walls, donated from patriotic and civic groups world wide. 

Honoring another beloved United States President, further down the mall from the Monument is Lincoln Memorial. Fronted by an expansive reflecting pool and a great view of the Monument they’ve just seen, your kids will love scrambling up the steps to view the awesome, massive statue of Abraham Lincoln. The Lincoln Memorial is open after dark, and seeing this beautiful monument lit up and sparkling with light is a real treat, and very memorable for the whole family.

Finding the right accommodation for your family can be more problematic than locating all those fabulous attractions, with many choices taking you either outside the city center or featuring a business-first environment. We were thrilled with the Hotel Palomar Washington DC, a clean, modern, interesting spot in trendy Dupont Circle. Just because Dupont Circle is trendy, never fear, it’s a great location for the kids with restaurants of all kinds a few steps away and an easy access subway ride to all the DC landmarks. Best of all, it’s a short walk to Georgetown, Washington’s premier shopping and strolling enclave with brick side walks and old fashioned brick and stone row houses, capacious trees, and the pleasant campus of Georgetown University, all strung out near the picturesque Potomac River.

It’s an easy trip from the hotel to the National Zoo part of a scenic, shaded National Park and administered by the Smithsonian Institution. In case you didn’t know it, the Smithsonian is the world’s single largest museum complex, with nineteen museums, the zoo, and a variety of research facilities under its umbrella. Every Smithsonian run venue, including the zoo, is free. With one hundred and sixty-three acres set in lush Rock Creek National Park, seeing all of the animals in the zoo will take hours. There are lions and tigers and bears, oh my, plus giant pandas, white tigers, and extensive simian exhibits. We loved the baby animals, including tiger and cheetah cubs, and the beautiful spots for picnicking and resting between wildlife sightings.

The Natural History Museum – a great part of the Smithsonian complex.

The National Museum of Natural History and the National Air and Space Museum are also part of the Smithsonian complex. The National Museum of Natural History is great fun for kids with its extensive displays of dinosaur skeletons, natural gems and minerals – including the reputedly cursed Hope Diamond, dioramas of early man, an insect zoo, and a coral reef. There’s an IMAX movie theater too. Our favorite exhibits are the gems and minerals. There’s not a more impressive collection of geologic wonders in the US, in our slightly biased opinion.

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum offers another enormous collection – this one containing historic air and spacecraft spread out over twenty-two exhibition galleries. Here you’ll see the original Wright Brother’s plane, the 1903 Flyer, as well as the “Spirit of St. Louis.”And kids can get a look inside the Apollo 11 command module.

The Smithsonian’s Discovery Theater offers great kid-friendly performances in their main location next to the Smithsonian Castle at Riley Center on the National Mall as well as at the Natural History Museum and at the Round House Theater in suburban Silver Spring, Maryland. The theater has frequent showings of fairy stories and folk tales like Rumplestilskin and Hansel and Gretel, as well as Native American and Afro-American tales. The theater uses puppet shows, storytellers, dance and music. The programs are always imaginatively presented and professionally mounted.

The Smithsonian castle – an icon in the Smithsonian complex

More museum wonders await children at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Here you’ll find literally over three million American historical and cultural artifacts from the present back to the War of Independence. We loved how spiffy this museum looks since its 2008 renovation. Highlights include the fashions worn by this country’s First Ladies, a stunning exhibit of the original Star-Spangled Banner, and President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. We liked the carriages, stage coaches, ships, and a Chicago Transit Car among other forms of transport exhibited too, and the interactive America on the Move exhibit which explores the history of U.S. transportation from 1870 to the present.

The children will really enjoy  the Spark! Lab, another interactive exhibit allowing a hands-on approach to science and invention. This museum also frequently sponsors free public programs ranging from gospel choir performances to story-telling festivals. We saw a great performance of folk and blues artists, taking a much needed sit-down break to listen to songs written by Woody Guthrie and Muddy Waters.

This brings me to a caveat about enjoying the free museums, exhibits, and culture offered throughout Washington DC: pace yourselves. The cultural offerings are so extensive, and the price – free – always right, and it’s tempting to pack in as many museums, exhibits, and shows as you fit in a day. It’s much more relaxing to stick with one or two museums in a day, take a stroll around Dupont Circle or Georgetown, and call it a day. Washington DC often requires more time than a family would think, in order to enjoy all it has to offer. While the museums and attractions are clustered closely together, your little ones will get tired and cranky and be unable to appreciate the wonders assembled for their enjoyment if you try to pack too much in.

Likewise, I’ll save more information about the Washington area in my next article: Washington DC Museums and Monuments – Beyond the Smithsonian. Until then, enjoy the monuments and monumental collections of Washington, D.C.’s Smithsonian museums.