Family travel to Washington, D.C.
Explore the breadth of knowledge in all Smithsonian Museums, become a member of the Library of Congress, and take a trip to the White House!
I know that some schools offer the Washington D.C. field trips where they rush through landmarks, so instead we decided to visit the city as a family and actually browse through the amazing Smithsonian museums, practice broadcasts in the Newseum, and more! We took our time, enjoyed strolling through the National Mall, visited Smithsonian Museums, Holocaust Museum, took a tour of the United States Capitol (you do need to make a reservation ahead of time). We also tried to make a reservation to visit the White House, but we were too late, and it was already booked for the dates we had planned, so do plan in advance. If you do visit the United States Capitol, do take time and take a tour of the Library of Congress. It is truly magnificent! The tour is really informational, the building design reminded us of Italy and the Vatican Museum.
If the evening is nice and warm, take the stroll down the National Mall (you can also rent scooters there). The United States Capitol building is lit up, as well as the Lincoln Monument. Climb the steps and visit the monument, then go back down and admire the reflection of the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument in the Reflecting Pool
Did you know that all Smithsonian museums are free to enter? I found it fascinating because the museums are grand, full of amazing art pieces and information. We highly recommend taking your time and devouring the information about these museums! Our favorite museum was the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History where we had hands-on experiences with skeletal structures of different animals, we watched a live tarantula being fed a cricket, and we had fun finding places that we recognized from the Night at the Museum (we recommend that you watch this movie before you come to this museum). Our second favorite museum was the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The informational movies there were awesome, we even saw the Wright Brothers’ flying device
Additional sights that we explored included: the International Spy Museum (tons of cool gadgets; we felt like true special agents), the White House Visitor Center, Holocaust Museum, and several Smithsonian Art museums.Â
