Take the Kids -- the best places in D.C. to visit with children

Washington, D.C. offers tons of activities for kids that parents can enjoy too. At the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History youngsters can climb on the plastic stegosaurus and then watch the tarantula feeding in the Insect Zoo. At the full-scale National Zoo they can watch elephants and seals perform, or watch orangutans in school. Or spend a day at one of the amusement parks nearby.

	Lincoln Memorial No trip to Washington, D.C., is complete without a stop on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to appr ... More Info
	National Mall The National Mall, the broad swath of grass and trees that stretches nearly two miles from the Linco ... More Info
	International Spy Museum Since 2002 the International Spy Museum, located in Washington, D.C.'s Penn Quarter, has offered the ... More Info
	Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Smithsonian) You can't miss the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. It's the only doughnut-shaped building on ... More Info
	Shenandoah National Park A two-hour drive from Washington, D.C. will take you up to the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Th ... More Info
	Madame Tussauds Wax Museum Not surprisingly, you'll find the Washington, D.C., outpost of Madame Tussauds Wax Museum heavy on p ... More Info
	National Air and Space Museum (Smithsonian) The National Air and Space Museum is an indispensable part of your Washington, D.C. visit if you hav ... More Info
	Rock Creek Park Ask Washingtonians what they love most about their city, and you'll likely hear that D.C.'s ubiquito ... More Info
	Great Falls Park Just north of Washington, D.C., the Potomac River is forced into narrow Mather Gorge, where it crash ... More Info
	C&O National Historic Park Stretching 184.5 miles from Washington, D.C.'s Georgetown neighborhood to Cumberland, Maryland, the ... More Info
	Manassas National Battlefield Park Barely half an hour from Washington, D.C., you'll find the site of the first major battle of the Civ ... More Info
	White House The White House may well be the most powerful and abiding symbol of American government. The buildi ... More Info
	U.S. Capitol Following his one term as president, John Quincy Adams served in the House of Representatives for 18 ... More Info
	National Zoo Sited on 163 wooded acres along the slopes of Rock Creek Park, the 120-year-old Smithsonian National ... More Info
	Washington Monument At 555 feet, 5.5 inches, the Washington Monument is the tallest stone structure in the world. It is ... More Info
	Smithsonian Museums The Smithsonian Institution bills itself as "the world's largest museum complex," and it's hard to i ... More Info
	Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens If you're looking for an interesting, family-friendly day trip from Washington, D.C., it's hard to b ... More Info
	Jefferson Memorial You may know the Thomas Jefferson Memorial from the many iconic photos of Washington, D.C. during ch ... More Info
	FDR Memorial This meandering 7.5-acre memorial -- near the Jefferson Memorial, just off the Tidal Basin -- pays t ... More Info
	Smithsonian Air & Space Museum Annex (Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center) Aviation buffs who can't get enough of the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall will w ... More Info
	National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian) The National Museum of Natural History, located on the National Mall just across from the Smithsonia ... More Info
	National Museum of American History (Smithsonian) Dorothy's ruby slippers, Abraham Lincoln's top hat, Dizzy Gillespie's trumpet -- these are just a fe ... More Info
	National Museum of the American Indian (Smithsonian) The National Museum of the American Indian has one of the most extensive collections of Native Ameri ... More Info
	Newseum If you're a news junkie, this is the museum for you. The $450 million, seven-level Newseum is a monu ... More Info
	National Gallery of Art Opened in 1937 as a gift from financier Andrew Mellon to the people of the United States, the Nation ... More Info
	NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, located northeast of Washington, D.C., in Greenbelt, Maryland, w ... More Info
	Baltimore's Inner Harbor Baltimore's Inner Harbor hasn't seen ship traffic since the 1950s; instead, it's been transformed i ... More Info
	National Arboretum Think flowers, think Washington and you're likely to think of the gentility and romance of the cherr ... More Info
	Six Flags America Of all the amusement parks within striking distance of Washington, D.C., Six Flags America, in Bowie ... More Info
	Kings Dominion Kings Dominion, an hour and a half drive from Washington, D.C., offers more roller coasters than any ... More Info
	Busch Gardens Williamsburg Visitors to Washington, D.C. looking for fun outside the monuments and museums circuit should consi ... More Info
	Hersheypark If you like roller coasters, water slides, and chocolate, you'll love Hersheypark, a two-and-a-half- ... More Info
	Water Country USA In the heat of summer, it's not a bad idea just to throw on a swimsuit and spend a day in the pool a ... More Info