One of DC’s most famous features, especially for visitors, is its plethora of museums. When spending a day in the city, rarely will there be a better blend of entertainment and learning available than what is offered by museums. But many very interesting museums are often presented, by default, in a way oriented for more mature visitors, presented in ways that might not engage the youth who enter their halls. Many museums recognize this, and to counteract it, have specific programs, handouts or even whole exhibits targeted to children. Other museums are designed from the ground up for young visitors, helping instill love and appreciation for museums as an institution from an early age that children can carry with them throughout their entire lives. Washington Parent has assembled a list of our favorite museums to visit with kids, and what makes them so special.
See For Yourself at the National Museum of Women in the Arts
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Address: 1250 New York Ave. NW, Washington, DC
Nearest Metro: Metro Center on the Red, Blue, Silver and Orange Lines is just around the corner, about 2 blocks away.
Why Kids Will Care: The National Museum of Women in the Arts “See For Yourself” cards are printable cards which provide facts and questions to reflect on for visitors of any age. The part that hooks kids, however, is how they increase the ability to engage with the artwork. Finding the original piece depicted on each card becomes a mini-scavenger hunt, while the card’s contents help guide kids’ understanding of the work, so they’re not alienated by art they might be too young to understand on their own.
Shift Your Perception at the Museum of Illusions
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Address: CityCenterDC, 927 H St. NW, Washington, DC
Nearest Metro: Gallery-Place/Chinatown Station on the Red, Yellow and Green Lines is about 2 blocks east of the museum.
Why Kids Will Care: A smaller museum, the Museum of Illusions focuses on visual spectacles which reveal the fallibility of perception and how our mind fills in the gaps to arrive at what we witness, even if that differs from the truth. The way it teaches this is experiential, allowing guests of every age to be captured by the illusions, without needing deep understanding of the science behind them to learn how they’ve been tricked.
Find the Hidden Pathways of the O Street Museum
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Address: 2020 O St. NW, Washington, DC
Nearest Metro: The Dupont Circle Metro Station, on the Red Line, is just a few blocks north of O Street.
Why Kids Will Care: The O Street Museum is an incredibly strange and interesting place. Made of what on the outside looks like a row of ordinary townhomes, every room inside is decorated differently, feeling like a quilt of culture and history. Most importantly, it is riddled with secret passageways, hidden behind mirrors, book cases and more, making the simple act of navigation into an adventure of exploration.
Kids are the Stars at the National Children’s Museum
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Address: Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC
Nearest Metro: Federal Triangle Metro Station, on the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines, is a stone’s throw away from the NCM, coming out right in the same plaza.
Why Kids Will Care: The National Children’s Museum is, as the name suggests, focused on being an experience for younger kids to enjoy. With play spaces, educational opportunities and crafts to be made, the whole site is designed as a place for kids to have fun.
Live Language at Planet Word Museum
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Address: 925 13th St. NW, Washington, DC
Nearest Metro: McPherson Square, on the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines, is diagonally across Franklin Park from the museum.
Why Kids Will Care: Planet Word focuses on exploring the world of language, how it’s used and how it evolves, often doing so through interactive activities like karaoke, a comedy showdown or painting. The museum also provides downloadable guides to theme your experience by focusing on a specific cultural lens to understand its exhibits through, allowing for a personalized connection with a visitor’s identity or an identity they’re curious about.
Imagination Comes to Life at the National Building Museum
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Address: 401 F St. NW, Washington, DC
Nearest Metro: Judiciary Square Metro Station on the Red Line is just across the street.
Why Kids Will Care: The National Building Museum has two main exhibits that appeal to kids most often. Brick City is one of their longest-running exhibits, and depicts many famous buildings and landmarks rendered in LEGO form, showing the possibilities of what can be done with the classic building toy. More recently, they’ve opened the Building Stories exhibit, which focuses on architecture and design found in children’s books, and helps kids appreciate the environments their favorite stories take place in even more.
Explore the Air and Space Museum’s Discovery Stations
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Address: 6th St. and Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC
Nearest Metro: L’Enfant Plaza, on the Blue, Orange, Silver, Yellow and Green Lines is just a couple of blocks away.
Why Kids Will Care: Fridays to Tuesdays, 11 a.m.–3 p.m., the museum offers hands-on learning stations that allow children to engage with some of the more esoteric elements of the museum in a fun way, like learning about the principles of flight or getting to feel a space suit. Of course, the planes and rockets make this a solid visit at any time for youth, but there’s always more to discover.
Discover History’s Wonders at the National American History Museum
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Address: 1300 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC
Nearest Metro: Federal Triangle Metro Station, on the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines, is just across the street.
Why Kids Will Care: Wegman’s Wonderplace is a 1,700-square-foot interactive playspace inside the museum designed for the youngest historians to learn and play in ways tailored (and sized!) to them. The NAHM is one of the often more opaque museums to young children, but Wonderplace brings it to life for them.
Become Art Detectives at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
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Address: 8th and G Streets, NW, Washington, DC
Nearest Metro: Gallery-Place/Chinatown Station on the Red, Yellow and Green Lines is about a block north of the Museum.
Why Kids Will Care: Exploring the museum becomes like solving a grand mystery with SAAM’s Art Detectives, following trails through the museum and uncovering hidden stories and meanings in various works of art.
ImagiNATIONS Spring to Life at the National Museum of the American Indian
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Address: 4th St. SW, Washington, DC
Nearest Metro: Federal Center SW on the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines is a couple of blocks south of the museum.
Why Kids Will Care: The imagiNATIONS Activity Center serves children 10 and under from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays to Saturdays. It teaches children the cultural and scientific practices of this land’s first peoples in a hands-on way, using small groups (5:1 teacher ratio) to ensure a personalized learning experience for each child. Sessions are first-come, first -served, so arrive early!
Liam McCrickard holds a B.A. in creative and professional writing from Goucher College. He is former assistant editor at Washington Parent. He works as a freelance designer, writer and editor of tabletop role-playing games.
Liam McCrickard holds a B.A. in creative and professional writing from Goucher College. He is former assistant editor at Washington Parent. He works as a freelance designer, writer and editor of tabletop role-playing games.
