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Seeing the dead in a scientific light!
by shellakers
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Recently, we took my mom to see the amazing Bod...
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If you've ever taken a trip to D.C., you'll know that the sheer amount of museums and monuments can be overwhelming for the average family. I was a nanny for a year in the D.C. metro area and we were frequent visitors to the downtown area, specifically to the National Mall. The National Mall is a concentrated complex of memorials, monuments and museums clustered around a large park that showcases the Washington Monument and the famous reflecting pool. Although it takes several days to visit the highlights of the Mall, especially the National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian, this is an itinerary I found worked well for a full day at the Mall with preschool or elementary aged children.
Some supplies I recommend bringing with you for the day- crayons,paper and a clipboard, hats and sunscreen, extra clothes and shoes, stroller and/or carrier, and a picnic lunch as well as plenty of water. There are lots of parking garages to choose from, but I recommend getting a spot near the National Gallery of Art and starting your day here. If you have school age children, visit the gallery's website and download and print out their children's guides in PDF form. They have a good deal of interesting info and activity suggestions for exhibits that will make your visit to the gallery much more dynamic. Children love the water features incorporated into this museum and the sculpture garden is a good place to visit first to run off some energy. Encourage your children to choose an art exhibit that interests them and dig out the crayons and paper for them to draw their own renditions and interpretations. If there are specific paintings or exhibits you'd like to see, make sure to hit those first and don't plan on being able to spend any longer than an hour or two within the museum before little ones get antsy.
Fuel up with a snack and head out for a bit of a walk across the mall to the Washington Monument. I do recommend getting tickets to ride the elevator and take in the views form the top of the Washington Monument. Although the tickets are free, there are timed departures so if you're running a tight schedule that day, you'll want to reserve tickets online so you don't end up waiting. Once down on solid ground again, you'll want to meander through West Potomac Park. If you're visiting in spring, this is a beautiful spot to have a picnic lunch under the blossoming cherry trees. Keep a close eye on little ones around the reflecting pool. The park itself can be pretty soggy in areas if it's spring and that's where the extra clothes and shoes might come in handy. After you've had your fill of the park, head over to the Lincoln Memorial, located at the far end of the reflecting pool. Kids love this open memorial and the marble steps leading up to it. The views down the wide expanse of the mall are also very photo worthy.
I recommend leaving the FDR memorials and the Jefferson memorials for another day. You'll already be doing quite a bit of walking and this loop can add a lot of extra mileage. Head back through the West Potomac Park and down Jefferson Drive. I recommend passing the Smithsonian up for another day and continuing down to the National Air and Space museum. This is one of the most popular museums in DC, so you'll want to avoid going during school vacations and holidays. The National Air and Space museum is specifically attractive to younger children because of all the life size displays of airplanes and space vehicles. There are also many interactive exhibits and I've found it's best to time your visit to this museum in the afternoon. You can slip into an Imax or Plantetarium show for some down time with tired little ones and the the museum is small enough to be able to tour in a an hour or two if you want to call it a day early. The nice part about this itinerary- you're back where you've started and fairly close to your parking garage at the end of the day!
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| category: | major attractions | |
| recommended for: | elementary,tweens | |
| time commitment: | full day | |
| keywords: | Imax, memorials, monuments, museums, Planetarium, 'Washington, D.C.' | |
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