DC Like a Local

Sure, we all love letting our imaginations go wild in the land of dinosaurs, but what if you wish to bring your kids with you?

Just about the only drawback I find visiting the Natural History Museum with kids is, of course, the crowds. A few years ago, a little noticed seismic shift took place along the Mall. Long the reining king of attendance, the Air and Space Museum has been bumped from the top of the list. While Air and Space focused energy and resources on the excellent, if inaccessible Udvar-Hazy Annex, the Natural History Museum has steadily and creatively reworked it's offerings and is now securely on top.

Kudos to them, but the 800,000 more visitors Natural History receives each year will all be in front of you when you're trying to snap a picture of the Hope Diamond. Even my beloved and deserted Western Cultures exhibit has its share of visitors tramping through nowadays disturbing my rest. So it's critical for all of us, and especially those of us with kids, to have a bit of a plan before visiting the Museum, especially if you've blown me off and come in the Spring and Summer.

Let's acquaint ourselves with the physical layout of the place. Assuming you're coming in from the Mall entrance, you will find yourself in the Rotunda. If you are confused about whether the room you are in is the Rotunda or not, look around for an African Elephant. No elephant, it's not the Rotunda. While not exhaustive, I break the main floor into three groups: the Dinosaurs and Early Mammals towards your right, the Mammals towards your left, and the brand spanking new Ocean exhibit directly ahead. These exhibits will draw most visitors and be prepared to be jostled and crowded in them during peak times, especially the Dinosaurs. These exhibits are great, and worthy of a visit, but the following are the places I find give me the most bang for my buck with my kids:

1. The Discovery Room: It probably goes without saying you'll want to visit here. It's chock full of things to explore, items to try out, artifacts to play with, and outstanding docent and staff members to pull it all together. The only catch is hitting it at the right time. Open time for families is Tuesday-Thursday from noon to 2:30 pm, Friday from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm , and 10:30 am to 3:30 pm on the weekends. They can only handle so many folks at a time, so be prepared for a wait on weekends. Go to the end of the Ocean exhibit and hang a right.
2. O. Orkin Insect Zoo: On the second floor is the ironically named Orkin Insect Zoo, which is great fun for kids with a, shall we say, adventurous point of view. Not a huge hit with my wife though. I've had fun grossing my daughter out at giant cockroaches and stuff and try to make it for the Tarantula feedings at 10:30 am, 11:30 am, and 1:30 pm, Tuesday through Friday. I presume they simply go hungry on the weekends.
3. Butterfly Pavilion: If you'd like to explore the more picturesque side of bug life, the Butterfly exhibit is adjacent to the Insect Zoo. While a portion of the exhibit is free (and all of it is on Tuesdays), I'd recommend blowing $6 ($5 for kids), and visiting the live butterfly room, where you might just get a chance to have a butterfly land on you. You may also want to book the ticket in advance on line, especially if it's the busy time of the year.
4. Written in Bone: I've discussed this exhibit more fully earlier, but I've got to say that the Forensic Anthropology Lab is great for kids of all ages. Some parents might not think that helping a four year old put together a skeleton is developmentally appropriate, but give it a shot. The Lab is closed Wednesdays, open other weekdays from 1:00 to 5:00 pm, and weekends 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.

No kidding, you could probably spend the better part of the day in this Museum alone, but, as always, I'm a fan of exploring until just before your blow out. And while these may be what I think are the best kid's exhibit at Natural History, they may not be my favorite. My favorite is whichever has the least amount of people there.

If there was a phrase I hated growing up, it was the one you see above. As will no doubt surprise you, I was fascinated by history at a very early age, delving into biographies and happy to traipse about old battlefields and museums. I, or more commonly, my parents, would often get the question: "how do I get my kid "into" History?"

The answer, of course, is that is a silly question, and as long as you approach History as something that has to be sugar-coated, kids are going to be as suspicious of your motives as my dog is when I give him a pill coated in peanut butter. The trick is to stop thinking of it as a trick. Quit viewing history as an obligation, like eating your vegetables or going to the dentist, and instead have fun with it. Admittedly, it's quite possible to suck the life out of history, and I suffered under quite a few teachers that bludgeoned me with facts and dates, but this is fun stuff. and you should enjoy it.

And there's no better place to do so than the National Museum of American History. While the physical improvements in the recent restoration are nice, I think the new attitude among the staff and the revamped programming is what is really making the Museum come to life. Always a beacon to us history dorks, the Museum is starting to draw kids in, and with good reason.

So let's all stop "dragging" our kids there and look at some great ways to have fun:

1. Take advantage of the programming: This is really where the Museum has set itself apart. All of the Smithsonians offer docent led tours, kid-friendly events, and so on, but I venture to say that none of them are as accessible, nor as aggressive in engaging you, as the revamped American History's lineup. I'd certainly recommend checking the events calendar ahead of time to see if anything looks interesting when you come, but I usually just walk up to the information desk when I get there and ask what's going on today. I have yet to find something my kids aren't interested, usually starting within an hour or so.
2. Participate in "Historic Theater" events: Hand in hand with my first point, I'd try to see every "historic theater" event they put on. These are events that occur on a daily, if not hourly basis, that involve a costume historical interpreter sharing their experience with an impromptu audience. It combines the best elements of street performers with the historic collections they perform in front of. I think my daughter has assisted in helping Mary Pickersgill to "make" the Star-Spangled Banner so many times she'll get a bonus if she lays out one more star. But even weightier subjects have engaged her--even the reenactment of students training for nonviolent civil rights sit ins at the lunch counter in Greensboro.
3. Use the hands on facilities: On the ground floor (down one level from the Mall entrance) are two hands-on places where kids can play with stuff. The Spark Lab is adjacent to the well laid out Science in American Life exhibit, and allows kids to explore the creative process implicit in all scientific pursuits. Or they can just play, as if there's a difference. It's killed many a rainy afternoon for us. Spark Lab also has an excellent under five section. Across the way is the Invention at Play exhibit, which ties in the process of invention with quite a few hands on activities. And throughout the museum, docents will be pushing Interactive Carts, which let you explore a specific subject with them. Don't hang back, these are a lot more fun than staring at exhibits.
4. Pick one exhibit and explore the crap out of it: Whatever you do, don't try to think you're going to see the whole Museum. Not that it can't be done, it's that it shouldn't be done. You'll tire yourself out and not get much out of it. I re-learned this one day when my daughter asked me why we always saw "boy" exhibits. Not thinking that the dinosaurs at Natural History or the planes at Air and Space were exclusively masculine, I hadn't been ready for this, but I humored her and we spent an afternoon exploring the First Ladies' Dresses. We had a great time, and I was once again surprised at how much really digging into a dull subject (for me, at least) can end up being fascinating. Sacrifice breadth for depth. It pays a higher return.

All in all, the American History museum is creeping up the list of my favorite kid's museums in DC. Frankly, Air and Space better get in the game if they want to stay competitive.

It should be obvious by now that fall is my favorite time of year in Washington, and not just for the reasons I've mentioned before. No, the real reason is that DC is a great place to spend Halloween.

Now, I thoroughly enjoyed Halloween when I was in college in DC, and I like it now as I impersonate an adult with kids. But I can't pretend the experience was the same. So for everyone's convenience, I'm going to break this post up into two parts. This one will deal with interesting events for kids and families, and I'll shortly put a post up catering to those who want to celebrate All Hollow's Eve in a more adult fashion.

So, without further ado, if you should happen to find yourself in town with a child or two in the next few weeks and wonder where to go, hopefully this will help.

Personally, I see nothing wrong with slapping on a costume and wandering around wherever you're staying in DC, but if the pickings are slim near the local Holiday Inn, I'd recommend bringing the kids to Capitol Hill or Old Town Alexandria. Both are family friendly destinations that have been celebrating Halloween in style for decades now and combine a high density of great, old townhouses with a large number of enthusiastic neighborhood kids.

Capitol Hill: Every year, the Capitol Hill community throws a bash on 7th Street next to Eastern Market, known as Hilloween. We've been going with our kids for many years now and it's a great time. On normal years, it's on Halloween night itself; but as that's a Saturday, it's been moved to Friday, October 30th. It kicks off at 5:30 and runs for a few hours. It's a great street fair with moon bounces, hay rides, and other kid friendly stuff, but my family likes to get there early, grab an outdoor seat at Tunicliffs, and watch them set up. Halloween is that much more fun for the whole family if Daddy gets a beer with it. For trick or treeting, you can head down any street for a reliable haul, but you're going to want to take at least or block or two of East Capitol street in (two blocks up 7th from the Market). They really pull out all the stops in decorating the grand houses of East Cap. For an excellent roundup of other Hill Halloween activities check out The Hill is Home.

Old Town, Alexandria: I haven't talked about Old Town much, which is mistake I hope to remedy in the future. While I've taught my daughter that dragons live across the bridge in Virginia, in truth Alexandria has quite a bit going for it. Predating DC by half a century, relics of it's colonial past are still lived in, and it's another kid friendly, dog intensive neighborhood with a great deal of charm. Take the Blue or Yellow Line to King Street and walk down King Street. There's a free trolley, but it's a fascinating walk, lined with shops, restaurants, and old houses. Old Town offers an excellent ghost tour as well, if you can pry the kids away from trick or treating.

Other than just trick or treating, many local groups offer kid themed events in the coming few weeks. Here's a sampling, and if you know of any more, let me know in the comments.

1. Kid's Ghost Tours: Ok, full disclosure, this is part of the ghost tours I show around. But shameless self promotion aside, we're offering two kid appropriate ghost tours of Capitol Hill this weekend. Full details are available at www.ghosttoursdc.com, but if you're interested in going, sign up for a spot by emailing us at info@ghosttoursdc.com.

2. Boo at the Zoo:  The National Zoo turns itself into a one-stop Halloween extravaganza this weekend, an event they do every year. It's awesome, but book quickly, tickets have already sold out for Saturday. It combines all the "normal" Halloween activities (haunted houses, trick or treeting, etc.) with animal encounters, keeper talks, etc.

3. Ghost Ship Barry: Now, I'm a sucker for a good haunted house, but a haunted ship? That really takes it the next level. The Washington Navy Yard is "haunting" their museum ship, the ex-USS Barry on Friday, October 30th from 6 to 10 pm. Check back to their site for reservation information.

I've enjoyed taking my kids to the National Gallery of Art for some time, but I've never really considered it a "kid-friendly destination" in the same league as, say, the Natural History Museum or the Building Museum. It's fine, and amazing if you're looking for a world-class art museum, but they can be a bit stuffy about kids. I've had good experiences, and I've had bad ones, with docents and security guards, and an informal poll of other parents confirms my suspicions. Quite understandably, some of the people who work here art folks, and not kid folks. I once had a docent come up to me as I was pointing out a piece of art to my daughter and "remind" me that children must be supervised at the National Gallery. I literally was holding her hand at the time and my daughter was, amazingly enough, actually engrossed in our discussion of the painting. Of course, for every one of those stories, I have at least two examples of a kid friendly guard or docent. Overall though, the National Gallery does at times have a "look, don't touch" rep going in some quarters of local parentdom.

So I was pleasantly surprised this weekend when I took my daughter and her friend to see the new The Art of Power exhibit and found myself immersed in the National Gallery's Summer Drop-In Program. Totally by accident we joined in, and had a great time. The Program consists of two parts: Stories in Art, geared towards kids 4 to 7, and Artful Conversations, aimed at children from 8 to 11. Having a four and five year old in tow, we followed our docent on a fanciful hike through the forest and examined Jasper Francis Crospey's Autumn-On the Hudson River. Although it does speak to my need to take my child camping a bit more, in that when asked to suggest things that might appear in the painting, she volunteered tigers. On the Hudson, keep in mind. Clearly, we need to get that kid out of the city more. Following this, the group read a story and had an art project, all with the assistance of a docent who clearly enjoyed working with kids and took the time to engage them individually. Pretty impressive for a drop in program.

The Summer Drop-In Program is a first come, first serve program held throughout the summer. There is no charge and the program lasts about an hour. Parents do have to remain with the kids, so no sneaking off for a cup of coffee, folks!

Buoyed by this, I decided to take a look at what else is available for kids at the National Gallery. The Concourse between the East and West Building is a must see, with it's fascinating subterranean look at the I.M. Pei designed fountains above it. It also has the attraction of being the location of a good but museum-priced cafeteria. Also in the Concourse is what quite possibly may be the best toy store in DC, the Children's Shop, full of toys, books, art supplies, and other items. Your kids certainly wouldn't have to be an art lover top enjoy the store, either. And finally, the NGA hosts a film program for both children and teens.

All in all, I'd say while in DC you should feel free to the bring the kids to the National Gallery of Art. Even if there is not a program you're interested in, they have the further advantage of being much less packed than the other museums they shares the Mall with. And on the unlucky chance you run into a stuffy docent, blow them off and enjoy this real national treasure.

It somehow escaped my attention, but this week is the fortieth anniversary of the moon landing. As might be expected the National Air and Space Museum, will celebrate this historic event with a day of festivities this Thursday, the 16th.

Countdown to Moon Day kicks off at 10 am. This celebration, which temporarily replaces the Museum's Mars Day! family day, will have a wide array of hands-on items, lectures, discussions with experts, and other activities. For the younger kids (3-6) the NASM will host Lunar story-time at 11 and 1:30 in the Looking At Earth gallery on the first floor. And, as always, be sure to touch one of two moon rocks in Washington, DC. Can anyone tell me where the other is?

If you are unable to make it Thursday, Apollo Astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and Alan Bean will be having a book signing at the Museum this Saturday, the 19th from 11 to 2.