Our family is on year two of what I hope will be a new tradition - the Christmas break staycation. We are blessed to live in the Mid-Atlantic where there is a large number of destinations for families to enjoy. So rather than spending a small fortune to fly somewhere and travel during the school break we have in December, our family has opted to keep it local but get away from it all and become tourists in our backyard. Last year we spent one night in a hotel in Baltimore and took the boys on a tour of WBAL television station and then visited the National Aquarium and the Maryland Science Center in the Inner Harbor. This year, we headed to our big city neighbor just to the south - Washington D.C. It's the first time our boys visited the nation's capital and we spent three nights thanks to the Hilton points we have acquired downtown at the Embassy Suites.
My goal was to put together a three day itinerary of things to do in D.C. that required no admission charge. That's right. . .zero, zip, zilch! If you have never traveled to D.C. before, you may be surprised to find that there is SOOOOO much to do for free that you can easily fill several days. We had so much more that we could have done, but here's a quick summary of what we accomplished! Keep in mind that my boys are 4 and 7 so that played into what we did and how much time we spent in each location.
U.S. Government Buildings
We began our trip with taking a peek into several locations that would show our kids where the work of our national government takes place. Tours of the U.S. Capitol, White House, Supreme Court, and Library of Congress are all available free of charge. The White House is the most coveted tour and does require reservations through your Congressman so you will need to plan several weeks ahead and may need some flexibility on your day and time. You can also reserve a U.S. Capitol tour through your Congressman (which we did), but we learned this wasn't really necessary as they have an amazing number of tours offered each day which you can secure a ticket for simply by walking into the U.S. Capitol Visitor's Center. The tour does not take you to see the inside of the Senate and the House so if you want to see that you need to request gallery passes from your Congressman in addition to reserving a tour. As far as the Supreme Court and Library of Congress, there are free self-guided tours throughout the day and also free guided tours at select times. You are unable to reserve these ahead of time, but might be able to luck into one when you stop by. We simply walked around the stunning Library of Congress building without a formal tour, but at the Supreme Court we did join a lecture inside the courtroom so we could see where the Court does their work. Be sure to visit the children's area of the Library of Congress. There are several activities just for kids as well as some quiet, cozy reading spaces and, of course, lots of books to snuggle up and share with your little ones.
Know Before You Go - Security at the U.S. Capitol is VERY tight. No food or liquids (even bottles of water). I always pack snacks and bottled water when going out for the day. . .and then promptly had to throw them away at our first stop. Hoping to save you from the same mistake!
The National Mall
Lining the National Mall, you will find a host of Smithsonian Museums perfect for family visitors. Lines can be long to go through security and enter so pack your patience for these free attractions. One of my favorite museums, and the one we happened to visit on this particular trip, is the Air and Space Museum. Take an in depth look at NASA, space, flight, and exploration in this hands on museum. You can see some amazing things here - including having the ability to touch a legitimate moon rock and see the spacesuit worn by Neil Armstrong when he walked on the moon. There is so much for kids to see, do, and touch here including an entire kids play area where they learn the physics of flight and becoming a flight director in Houston during a mission to outer space. If you're looking to upgrade your experience, there are several add-ons that come with a price tag including IMAX movies and audio tours. Air and Space is not the only Smithsonian Museum available - there is really something for everyone ranging from art to Native American History to Natural History and everything in between.
As you work your way down the National Mall from the U.S. Capitol and past the Smithsonian Museums, you find the other great free attractions along the National Mall - a series of national monuments. While there is nothing to really "do" at these, they are truly breathtaking to see in person. Even my little guys LOVED spending hours walking D.C. and looking around at them. Three not to miss (actually they're really hard to miss anyway. . .) are the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and the World War II Memorial. The size, scale, and grandeur of these will captivate your children. While there are many other memorials of great importance along the way, for example the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, it's a bit harder for little kids to understand what they are looking at and the significance of that conflict.
Know Before You Go - D.C. is a very walkable city, but it's much bigger than you may realize if you plan on walking EVERYWHERE with your kids. We decided to Uber from our hotel to our starting point in the morning, then walked away from museums to memorials throughout the day as we leisurely made our way back to our hotel.
The National Zoo
Another Smithsonian "museum" featured on the outskirts of D.C. is the National Zoo. If you're staying downtown, you will definitely need to Uber or take the Metro up to the zoo as it's quite a walk from other D.C. area attractions - but well worth it! Like everything else in the article, this zoo if FREE. Lions, tigers, and panda bears - oh my! The zoo is good sized and easily takes 2-3 hours to visit but can take much longer if you have animal lovers or want to extend your stay. There are many great presentations by animal experts throughout the day that are worthwhile to check out. Probably one of the highlights of your zoo visit will be seeing the Giant Pandas. You can also find specific feeding times so you can be sure to see them up close in the Panda House. My personal favorite though are the gorillas!
Don't forget to check out any special events that you might be able to catch while visiting. We were there over the holiday break which meant that Zoolights was going on in the evenings. This is again FREE - where else can you catch a day at the zoo and a holiday light exhibit without paying admission?
Know Before You Go - The zoo is surprisingly hilly! Be prepared and consider bringing a stroller for older toddlers and preschoolers who may not typically need one anymore. We were sure glad to have ours!
Has your family visited DC? What have been the best finds for kids that you've seen along the way?
