Washington with kids

We%26#39;ll be in the Washington/Alexandria area next week. We would like to spend one or 2 days in Washington (we%26#39;re staying in Old Town, Alexandria). We would like to hear from you any recommendations for museums/places to visit and good restaurants to eat (moderate prices please). Our kids are 4 and 9 years old.

Thanks in advance for your kind advice.

Washington with kids

For kids that age, I%26#39;d recommend the following - you may or may not be able to fit all them in!

The National Zoo (a little out of the way from the other activities, but easily accessible by metro)

Air and Space Museum

Natural History Museum

American History Museum (closes Sept. 5 for renovations so some of the exhibits are already closed - could be skipped, IMO)

American Indian Museum (also has a good cafe with interesting foods - the prices are kind of high since it%26#39;s in the museum, though)

National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden

Trip to the top of the Washington Monument - if that%26#39;s too crowded, try a trip to the top of the bell tower at the Old Post Office Pavilion.

Walk by the White House and some of the monuments

For restaurants - there%26#39;s a food court in the Old Post Office Pavilion that could work if you time it right.

There%26#39;s an ESPN zone at 11th and E Streets, NW and a Hard Rock Cafe at 10th and E.

For less touristy, there%26#39;s Austin Grill (Tex Mex) at 7th and E. There really isn%26#39;t much on the mall. There are several other options around the 7th %26amp; E street area (near the Verizon Center) if you move a few more blocks away from the mall.

Enjoy your trip!

Washington with kids

The National Zoo its great and its free, the bureau of engraving and printing, you must go early and get your tickets for later in the day but it was fun. Also the spy museum was great my nephews really enjoyed that. You do have to pay for that one. We really enjoyed Washington D.C. My nephews were 9 and 13 at the time

There are 2 books out that list activities to do with kids in the DC area:

';Kid-O-Rama'; by John F. Kelly (a columnist with the Washington Post) and Craig Stoltz

';Going Places with Children in Washington DC (16th edition)'; Published by Green Acres School

Go City Kids - DC is a terrific resource, especially the searchable events calendar

http://www.gocitykids.com/?area=193

A couple more suggestions: the DC Ducks tour %26amp; the National Postal Museum -- one of the free Smithsonian museums, very well done (you need not be a stamp collector to think it%26#39;s nifty!) and far more engaging for kids than you might anticipate! Plus, it%26#39;s a smaller, less crowded museum than, e.g., the Natural History Museum, so itt%26#39;s a nice ';manageable'; addition to your itinerary :-)

www.historictours.com/washington/dcducks.htm

www.postalmuseum.si.edu/museum/1_museum.html

I think the National Building Museum -- with its interior courtyard which is almost the size of a football field -- is awesome

http://www.nbm.org/Info/visit.html

Here%26#39;s a great activity/guide book for older elementary - junior high schoolers; the web site gives you links to order thru Amazon or Barnes %26amp; Noble

http://www.dc4kids.com

And ask the Nationall Park Rangers you%26#39;ll see at various sights around town (e.g., the monuments) if they have any Junior Ranger materials at hand... typically an activity booklet (.e.g, scavenger hunt) designed to catch the interest of kids up to ~age 14 and an ';award';. Another freebie!

Thank you all for your recommendations. We had a ton of fun in DC and Old Town, Alexandria.