Things to Do In DC With Kids

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In town with a troop of miniature day-trippers? Scope out some of these family-friendly spots, where kids can wander through a room filled with butterflies, seek out treasures in a museum, and ride a carousel on the nation’s front lawn.

Things to Do In DC With Kids — See nearly 400 types of butterflies at the National Museum of Natural History’s Butterfly Museum. Photograph courtesy of the National Museum of Natural History’s Butterfly Pavilion.

The National Museum of Natural History’s Butterfly Pavilion (Tenth St. and Constitution Ave., NW; 202-633-8850) allows kids to walk among almost 400 types of colorful butterflies in a tropical garden filled with plants.

Budding thespians will want to take a trip to the Smithsonian’s Discovery Theater (1100 Jefferson Dr., SW; 202-633-8700), which puts on a variety of plays that will inspire young imaginations.

The Rock Creek Park Planetarium (5200 Glover Rd., NW; 202-895-6070) runs kid-appropriate sessions every Wednesday at 4 and Saturday and Sunday at 1 and 4.

The National Building Museum (401 F Street, NW; 202-272-2448) has kid-friendly exhibits and a Building Zone specifically for two- to six-year-olds.

Things to Do In DC With Your Kids — Build stuff with your kids at the National Building Museum. Photograph by Kevin Allen.

The National Theatre (1321 Pennsylvania Ave., NW; 202-628-6161) puts on child-oriented performances in its Helen Hayes Gallery most Saturday mornings.

The Smithsonian Carousel outside the Arts and Industries Building (900 Jefferson Dr., SW; 202-633-1000) has been a National Mall highlight for young visitors since it opened in 1967.

The National Portrait Gallery (8th St NW & F St., NW; 202-633-1000) regularly hosts a family day with scavenger hunts, stories, crafts, and music.

Glen Echo Park (7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo; 301-634-2222) also has a carousel, along with plays for young audiences at Adventure Theatre and classes on subjects such as drawing, dance, painting, and music.

At the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (14390 Air and Space Museum Pkwy., Chantilly; 202-633-1000) you’ll find “learning labs” for kids, flight simulators, hands-on discovery stations, and more.

Animal lovers will delight in a visit to the 21-acre Leesburg Animal Park (19270 James Monroe Hwy., Leesburg; 703-433-0002), which offers a petting area with llamas, bunnies, goats, sheep, and donkeys, as well as pony rides and a children’s playground.

This article appears in our Washingtonian Welcome Guide.