Washington D.C. Activities for Kids

Where are you staying? That will determine a lot of what you do.

If you're staying downtown, it will be a little easier. If you're in the suburbs, you'll probably want to ask the concierge at the hotel (I worked for a Marriott in the VA suburbs for 4 years in college and doled out a lot of advice to visitors) for advice on the best way to get around. They may have a shuttle to take you to a Metro stop or may be able to recommend a less-expensive sedan service. Driving is not the best option if you're not familiar with the area, and parking can be rough.

We went home over Christmas to see my whole family who's still there. We took our 3 year old and then 20 month old to many of the Smithsonians. They weren't as interested as I thought they'd be.

But, I'd recommend the Natural History Museum, the American History Museum, both Air and Space Museums (the National Mall and Dulles). If the weather's nice, I'd recommend walking the mall and the monuments. If it's a trip relatively soon, the Cherry Blossoms are always amazing. And, they may enjoy the National Cathedral, but it may be better for older kids.

The White House is less kid-friendly and more secure.

If you do have access to a car, I'd highly recommend Arlington Cemetery and the Custis Lee Mansion, Mount Vernon (George Washington's home), Old Towne Alexandria, and Manassas Battlefield (Battle of Bull Run).

There are too many things to do there than are possible in a few days. Having grown-up there was amazing, and though my family's been there for 32 years, I've never seen most of the sites myself.

I lived in D.C. for a year when my son was born until he was about 6 months. I was not working, so literally spent all my time occupying myself and then myself and the baby. I would say almost everything is kid friendly in D.C. So many families visit I wouldn't worry much about being out of place with your kids.

Here are my thoughts... is your 4 yr old a boy or a girl? I ask because my 4 year old would LOVE the Air and Space Museum. If you have a boy, for sure put that on your list. The Natural History Museum is also a good one for younger kids... lots of dinosaur bones and animals to look at. Again, my 4 year old would go nutty for the dinosaur exhibit.

The American History museum has lots of interesting things for kids as well. You could make a plan to visit just those things that interested you most.

If you like artwork, you might like the Hirschorn... it's the modern art museum, and sometimes little kids like the colors and abstractness of modern art vs. the formality of classic works of art. That said, there is a great rotunda in the National Gallery of Art and I've always enjoyed taking my kids to our local art museum. We pick a theme and as we walk through we look for art with boats, or horses, or whatever. I find it keeps them engaged.

The Smithsonian Zoo is also worth a full morning. They have pandas, elephants, hippo's and lots of other great exhibits. Last time I was there (2008) they were working on a new elephant exhibit, which is supposed to be great.

I don't think I would bother with trying to walk the monuments. They are a long way apart, and your kids are too young to appreciate them.

I never went to the White House, so I can't comment on that. I don't think that my kids would get the significance of it, but maybe I underestimate them :) I don't think I'd take mine to the Capitol yet either (they are 4, 3, and 16 months).

I'm not sure about the location of your hotel, it looks like you can take a water taxi to several locations. Your best bet is to get to the Metro then take that to the Smithsonian stop on the Mall. I felt very safe on the metro, all the stations have elevators (if you are bringing a stroller) but the elevators are not always easy to find. Plan ahead for extra time to get to your destination.

I agree that driving is not your best bet for transportation. I HATED driving in D.C., and it took me several months to really get my bearings and to feel comfortable getting around. Taxi's are easy though, so if the metro doesn't work, take a taxi.

Good luck! Feel free to send me a private message if you have more questions.

Jessica

i don't know how much help this will be but there is a book about dc and what to do with your kids there. the only problem is i don't remember what its called! try googling with the key words - washington, D.C. book about what to do there with kids. i know this book exsists because we used it 3 years ago when we went with our kids. mine were older than yours, but there were plenty of things for toddlers. the white house is tricky to get to visit, but you can walk around the outside of it(from behind a fence of course!) there are many parts of the smithsonian that they would like and a beautiful native american museum that had a bunch of hands on stuff. hopefully the weather will be good as walking around anywhere is great. the 4 year old will like the tour trolley that takes you around to all the monuments. the zoo is a must, you have to see the pandas! enjoy your trip!

The weather here at the moment is very nice so the Zoo is good (it's free aswell). You also have the Natural history museum and the air & space museum. Also Cherry blossom starts very soon so walking around the harbor/tidal basin is nice. You may also want to take the Metro just to let them 4 yr old especially have a train ride , very easy to access with strollers and if you go far enough eventually the train is above ground so you can see all around.