Mount Vernon and Child-Friendly Museums in Washington DC June 25th, 2010
If you’ve been to Washington DC before, you know the capital of the United States of America is an amazing place, packed with monuments, memorials and museums, but not everything in this city of over a half million people is geared for children. The question of where to go with your kids may be first on your mind when you wake in one of the city’s four star hotels. Washington DC , thankfully, has a number of places that fascinate kids, in Washington DC and in nearby Maryland and Virginia. Here’s a sampling of a few of them:
Begin with the Smithsonian museums, particularly the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of Natural History; both museums are on the Mall. In the Air and Space Museum, kids may explore planes and spaceships; they can see an IMAX movie and visit a planetarium. In the Natural History Museum, they may feel the skin of a crocodile and study the jaws and teeth of different animals from around the Earth. Be sure to take a look at the Insect Zoo, Dinosaur Hall and Sea Life Hall.
The National Museum of American History is also a terrific place for kids to learn about the nation; there are exhibits from famous television programs, as well as the Spark! Lab, which is a hands-on, interactive science and invention center. Kids should also enjoy America on the Move, where they’ll learn about the role of transportation in the growth of America.
For a break in-between museums, you may wish to bring the kids by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing , where they can see real money being printed. Tours are provided here every fifteen minutes, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays. A little farther away, kids can tour the home of George Washington at Mount Vernon . You can take a tour of this 14-room mansion, furnished with original pieces that date back to the 1740s. The tour includes the main mansion and other buildings on the 500 acre estate, such as the kitchen, slave quarters, the smokehouse, coach house and stables.
Finally, if your kids like the water, then they might also like the Washington Navy Yard, where they can find out about over 200 years of naval history, through interactive exhibits and displays, including model ships, undersea vehicles, sub periscopes, a decommissioned destroyer, and even a space capsule.
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- Posted by Cliff
- Tagged Travel
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