Here’s a list of tips and Fun Things To Do with Kids When visiting Washington, D.C. which is one of the most exciting cities to visit in America. Everyone in America should visit the Capitol at least once. It’s a truly worthwhile experience.

My kids were 12, 10 and 7 when we went on a family trip with some of our cousins for a visit our Nation’s Capital (2006).  Here a a few of the fun things we did when we toured the National Mall area in Washington D.C.

National Mall

Our visit was primarily centered around the National Mall. Here are some things that my family did during our visit, and some things I recommend for making your trip to D.C. enjoyable for the whole family.

If you’ve never heard of the “National Mall,” it is not a shopping mall. It is the long, grassy area that includes our important national buildings for conducting our government, as well as our national museums (which are all free to the public). It also includes the reflecting pools and many iconic monuments. The Lincoln Memorial is at one end of the mall, the the Washington Monument in the center, and our huge Capitol Building is at the other end (nearly 2 miles end to end). On one side is the White House and the Smithsonian museums are located along the perimeter at the other side. Many other famous monuments are located throughout the Mall area such as the Vietnam Memorial, the new Martin Luther King Memorial (which was not open yet when we visited.


Bring a Guide Book

Start with a good Guide Book – If you’ve never been to DC before, this is an invaluable tool for tips, information, planning, and maps! There are hundreds to choose from. Here is one of my favorites: Frommer’s Easy Guide to Washington, D.C.


Plan for Breaks

Visiting all the major monuments in one day was like going on a long hike. In fact, it was exactly like a long hike. We started at the Vietnam Memorial, then proceeded around to the Lincoln memorial and made our way around. The distance from the Lincoln Memorial to the other end at the Capitol Building is nearly 2 mile! I definitely recommend making a planned stop for an ice cream break about half way through. Keep an eye out for the ice cream carts! I also highly recommend carrying everything in a backpack and bringing a stroller for smaller tots.

After our first day of monuments at the National Mall area, we did one museum per day (We saw Air & Space, Natural History, and American History with the National Archives next door). That seemed to be just enough for the kids. The place is huge, and can be overwhelming, so take it in small bites when you can.


Give the kids a camera

Give each of the kids their own camera to use during your trip. Let them capture their own memories with their own eye. You may be surprised at what they find meaningful. For kids who don’t already have their own phone, this is easily accomplished by letting them use an old phone (that will still take pictures you can transfer later), or an ipod, or even an old digital camera. My kids spent a lot of their shots taking pictures of the ducks in the reflecting pool on the mall, and of the cute black fox squirrels that were everywhere. “Never mind the giant monuments, look at the squirrel, Mom!”


Get Some Perspective

Have fun with your cameras and, take some goofy perspective shots. My kids had a great time doing this. 

Take a picture of them “holding up” the Washington Monument. Or have it coming out of their head like a hat. Or just get an interesting perspective shot by squatting down low and looking up at your child with a tall monument in the background.


Monuments

Unless they have had a lot of history lessons, most kids don’t understand the real meaning behind most of the monuments. Help make it more meaningful by explaining briefly so that they can understand and make it age appropriate. Show them that these things are important, and in fact, we want people to remember them which is why many of our monuments are shown on our Nation’s money! 


Look at your Money Honey!

Break out your wallet and give everyone a penny and show them the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the penny. Then have them look very closely to see if they can find the statue of President Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial on the penny (see photo at right). Most kids are amazed at the teensy tiny image of the statue on the penny since they have never noticed it before! Show them that this same image is also on a $5 bill. 

penny

PRO-TIP: Be sure to get your money back. Kids have a way of trying to use your enthusiasm for their own profit — my kids sure tried anyway!)


Hands On Fun

Many of the monuments are ok to touch. A tactile experience helps children remember the experience, learn more from it, and really take it all in. 
 


Washington Monument tour

There used to be a long line outside the Washington Monument of people waiting to tour inside.  Now days you need to have a ticket that tells you what time you can go in, and they only give out a limited number of tickets per day. The ticket kiosk is at the base of the hill near the monument and opens early in the morning. The tickets are free, but once the tickets are gone for that day, that’s it so stop and pick some up first thing when you get to the Mall.

Wave Hello to the White House

You can see the White House from one side of the National Mall, but it was several blocks over. Our kids had already done enough walking for that day, so we didn’t walk over for a closer look, but we did make sure we made note of it.

Regardless of your politics, even if you don’t see the actual president while you are there, keep your eye out for secret service guys and point them out to your kids. As you walk down Constitution or Pennsylvania Avenue, be sure to have everyone stop and “wave hello” to whoever the current President is in his (or her!) house. Explain that the White House is the president’s home and it’s also their office where he also works. If you look carefully at the White House, you can usually see secret service men on the roof.

Smithsonian Museums

The Smithsonian Museums are all located in the big National Mall area, and they are all free to the public. They are generally open every day of the year except Christmas. There are so many wonderful museums that it’s hard to know where to start. Be careful not to overdo it with young children by trying to see too much in one day.

We went to about one museum per day, which was just about right.  The Smithsonian Museums are all free to attend, so if you get tired, you can leave without feeling like you didn’t get your money’s worth. The food there is expensive though, so you may want to backpack in some sandwiches like we did. 

If you get tired of the fake smiles and “cute” poses kids usually make for pictures, let their personalities shine through during photo ops.  For example, photographing a big bear at the Museum of Natural History?  Let everyone show their bear side. Have fun and make memories at the same time.

TIPS for the Museums:

Plan for Crowds. Big Crowds.
The museums were VERY crowded on the days we went. Summer is most likely the most popular time of the year. Extremely crowded. I am not exaggerating. They pack them in!

If you are worried about losing your toddler in the crowds, you might want to consider a Harness Buddy especially if you’ve got an escape artist or a run-away child. They can store their water in the cute little backpack and have their hands free to explore while you keep a firm grip on them in a crowd. If not a harness, then definitely make sure you have an ID on all of your children. It is too easy to lose them in a split second, especially in summer crowds.

Souvenirs
T-shirts and souvenirs are usually much cheaper at the corner stands than they are in the gift shops, so don’t pass up a good opportunity to get everyone a T-shirt to remember their fun.

Photos make the best souvenirs, so don’t forget to actually have some prints made when you get home. My favorite souvenir from most of our trips is to upload all the photos into a photo book to get printed. make the best souvenir ever – a photo memory book.

Water bottles!
Have at least a full bottle of water for each person.

Snacks – food is really expensive in the Museum restaurants and often at the end of VERY long lines, so to eliminate whining, bring your own food! The long lines are not worth it.

Sunscreen -don’t leave home without it.


Parking

Parking is so extremely limited in D.C. that we didn’t even bother. We were staying outside of the city, so we took the Metro in. There is a Metro stop that lets you out right at the Mall near the Smithsonian museums. Easy to hop on and off, and the kids got a thrill about riding this above ground rail system.


Keep Going Back

I went back again a few years later and re-visited many of the museums and archives. I also visited one of the newer museums that was really worth a visit — The United States Holocaust Museum.

There is always something to see, no matter how many times you visit. Most of all, enjoy your time together with your kids while enjoying the sights!

And don’t forget your guide book!


Get it at Amazon!