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Visiting the Smithsonian with Young Kids – Washington, DC

April 15, 2013 by danawyyc 15 Comments

The Smithsonian has always been kind of mythic for me. Something that I had always wanted to see, but never really thought that I would. Even thought I’ve been getting The Smithsonian Magazine (which I totally recommend) for a few years now, I hadn’t really realized that it wasn’t a museum. The Smithsonian Institution consists of 19 museums/galleries, 9 research centres AND a zoo in Washington, DC, as well as some additional facilities elsewhere, and has 168 Smithsonian affiliate museums.

It was established in 1846, with funds from British Scientist James Smithson, who had never actually been to the United States. He had left his estate to the United Sates to found, “at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” The Smithsonian Institution is now the largest museum and research complex in the world.

Smithsonian Castle

The institution was originally housed in what is now the Smithsonian Castle located along the National Mall. The Castle now contains the Smithsonian Visitor Centre with information about all of the different Smithsonian Museums. It would be a great place to start when you get to Washington and is one of the things that I left wishing we had managed to make time for. We only visited a fraction of the Smithsonian Museums on our trip – 5 to be exact. I’ve already reviewed 3 of them, so I’ll just mention them briefly before moving on to the 2 I haven’t mentioned before.

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

This was the museum that I had always wanted to go to. It’s perfect for kids – with exhibits featuring dinosaurs, insects, butterflies, mamamals, giant squid, rocks and minerals and much much more, you’d be hard pressed to find a kid who didn’t love something at this museum. You may also be interested in seeing my full review of  the  Smithsonian Museum of Natural History)

Museum of Natural History

 Smithsonian National Air and Space Museums

The Air and Space Museums were two of the most impressive places we visited while we were in Washington. The Air and Space Museum along the National Mall is full aviation history that you aren’t going to find any where else. They have the original Wright Flyer, the Mercury spacecraft in which astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, a real lunar module (that didn’t go to the moon), the Apollo 11 capsule that brought the first astronaughts back from the moon and so much more! The exhibits are well displayed with lots of interactive features and things you can touch. And you can even touch a piece of the moon!

National Air and Space Museum

The Steven. F. Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum is located near the Dulles Airport (one of the three airports that serve Washington, DC – 45 minutes from downtown Washington). It’s definitely worth the trip if you have a big aviation fan in your family or if you are flying in or out of Dulles.  The museum is less polished, than it’s downtown counterpart, but it’s inventory is stunning. The main attractions are  SR-71 Blackbird and the Space Shuttle Discovery. You may also be interested in seeing my full review of  the  Smithsonian Air and Space Museums).

DSC_0732

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

 

Location      http://www.hirshhorn.si.edu/
Address: National Mall – Washington, DC

Gordie’s Review (3.5 years): “The art is made of funny things” 

Day Pass Cost: Free!
Food Services: None.
Age Range: 5+.
Stay Length: Probably only an hour or two if you’re going with kids.
Worth the Trip?: This would be a great pick if you were looking to introduce your kids to art.

Overall: The Hirshhorn is features contemporary art – you may not like the art that is displayed, but it’s hard to accuse it of being boring. We had a little extra time one afternoon so we stopped by. The museum itself is a work of art, it’s shaped like a doughnut and raised off the ground. Outside the Museum is a sunken Sculpture Garden.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

We didn’t see much of the garden, but I really liked this sculpture. There is something perfect about a rubber stamp sculpture in Washington, DC.

The  feature exhibit while we were there was ‘Ai Weiwei: According to What?’.  Ai Weiwei is a contemporary Chinese artist whose work at this exhibit included sculpture, photography, installation, video and audio work. Not all of it made a lot of sense to me (and I didn’t have a lot of time to figure it out going through with two little kids) but some of it was really beautiful and other works were really interesting.   

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

This installation work featuring the animals of the zodiac was outside the museum in the centre court yard.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

The exhibit was fun to take Gordie to because the art was made up of so many different kind of materials. He enjoyed figuring out what the art was made of. He was a little younger than I would probably recommend the museum for, especially if your kid may be a little impulsive – there were a lot of things that kids may want to touch that they are not allowed to.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

The hole in the log, made of wood reclaimed from destroyed temples, is in the shape of China.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

This artwork was composed of a number of rectangular boxes. It wasn’t really much to look at, from a distance, but if you look through the holes you can see all the phases of the moon. Really cool.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

The art in the front is a pile of crabs, the one in the back is a pile of rebar.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

This was one of Gordie’s favorite sculptures.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Smithsonian National American History Museum

Location      http://americanhistory.si.edu/
Address: National Mall – Washington, DC

Gordie’s Review (3.5 years): “I liked the train”

Day Pass Cost: Free!
Food Services: There is a Cafe and a Cafeteria serving sandwiches, American barbeques, soups, salad bar, burgers, pizza and desserts.
Age Range: 5+.
Stay Length: A couple hours to half a day depending on how many exhibits you want to see.
Worth the Trip?: Maybe. It has some cool pieces and some exhibits you’re not going to see any where else. It’s also undergoing significant construction at the moment.

Overall: The American History Museum wasn’t on our must see list either, but after our failed walk to the Lincoln Memorial (it was so windy and cold!) we decided to pick a few exhibits to see there instead. As compared to the other Smithsonian museums that we visited, this one felt more set up for school groups than the general public. The museum was undergoing renovations and we only had a couple of hours so we only saw a handful of the museum’s exhibits. Many of the exhibits pose questions to try to get you to think about a topic and consider the societal and cultural impacts of what’s being displayed.

The most impressive was seeing the Star-Spangled Banner Flag. This is the flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812 inspiring Francis Scott Key to write what later became the US national anthem. It’s very fragile and no photos are permitted.

National Museum of American History

The next exhibit we went to see was FOOD: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000, I thought it was a really interesting topic but it was primarily presented with text and graphics so it didn’t hold my son’s attention for very long.

Julia Child's Kitchen - National Museum of American History

I thought it was really cool to see Julia Child’s kitchen though.

Julia Child' Kitchen - National Museum of American History

If you are going to the museum with younger kids, the America on the Move exhibit is probably a good pick because there’s lots to look at that would be of interest to them. Gordie and my husband really liked the section on ships.

National Museum of American History

National Museum of American History

Doll house - National Museum of American History

The Dolls’ House is also usually a hit with kids.

Kermit- National Museum of American History

The last exhibit we saw was American Stories exhibit uses different artifacts to examine the interplay between objects and stories, culture, politics, and economics, science and technology have shaped the United States. This exhibit poses many questions and asks you to reflect more than presenting information like in a more typical history exhibit. They have some really interesting pieces in this exhibit like Kermit the Frog and the ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz.

Ruby Slippers - National Museum of American History

 

Do you have a favorite Smithsonian Museum? Which one would you like to take your kids to?

Filed Under: travel, Washington DC Tagged With: museum, smithsonian

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Samantha @Blissful Domesticity says

    April 15, 2013 at 3:39 pm

    All of this is just so cool. I really need to go to Washington now! America On The Move looks super cool, I would love that one.

    Reply
    • danawyyc says

      April 16, 2013 at 3:42 pm

      I never thought we’d end up going to Washington, but I had always wanted to go. Now that I’ve gone, I’m pretty sure one day we’ll be back.

      Reply
  2. Heather says

    April 15, 2013 at 9:18 pm

    Love the sculpture garden! Outdoor art is just so special isn’t it?

    Reply
    • danawyyc says

      April 16, 2013 at 3:42 pm

      They have two sculptures gardens along the National Mall and tons of beautiful garden areas – I wish it hadn’t been so cold and windy while we were there, we barely saw any of it.

      Reply
  3. Merry120 says

    April 16, 2013 at 3:52 am

    I love visiting Washington DC because there is so much to do. The Smithsonian museums are such a big part of that. I really like the American HIstory museum but I think if I took Evan he would prefer the air & space museum and the natural history museum.

    Reply
    • danawyyc says

      April 16, 2013 at 3:43 pm

      You’re almost spoiled for choice Merry!

      Reply
  4. Rosey says

    April 16, 2013 at 2:34 pm

    My son and his wife live in DC, so we’ve visited this museum too and loved it. Your pictures here are fantastic!

    I’m visiting today from Travel Tuesday. 🙂

    Reply
  5. danawyyc says

    April 16, 2013 at 3:44 pm

    Thank you so much Rosey. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Kyla @ Mommy's Weird says

    April 16, 2013 at 5:31 pm

    I am going to wait a few more years to do a trip like this. It looks amazing. And if my kids are anything like their parents they are going to eat this up!

    Reply
  7. Robin | Farewell, Stranger says

    April 20, 2013 at 8:58 pm

    They have such great stuff there! (And I didn’t realize it wasn’t one museum before we went, either.)

    Reply
  8. MelissaV says

    April 20, 2013 at 9:35 pm

    I have always dreamed of going to Washington and visiting the Smithsonian..lucky girl! I love your photos!

    Reply
  9. Salena Brit says

    March 30, 2014 at 3:51 pm

    These are awesome, i wish to visit such places some day.

    Reply
  10. Merry120 says

    March 31, 2014 at 3:35 pm

    Great post! I love the Smithsonian museums. My favorite is the American History one. Dewey’s fave is the aerospace museum.

    Reply
  11. Jessica @ Green Global Travel says

    July 9, 2015 at 12:49 am

    I’ve been to both the Natural History and Air & Space Museums, and I agree that they’re amazing places– especially for kids! I had actually never heard of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, but I loved all the sculptures you’ve posted here. The bike sculpture is probably my favorite, too!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 5 Great Things to do With Young Kids in Washington, DC (even if it's cold) - calgaryplaygroundreview.com says:
    May 25, 2013 at 6:22 pm

    […] also find the Hirshorn Sculpture Garden. If you are feeling a little more confident, the Hirshorn Museum features contemporary art exhibits – the art displayed may not always be beautiful but will […]

    Reply

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About Me

I'm an experiential playground expert and mom to three young kids. I live with my husband in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. When I'm not looking after people, I'm reading all the YA fiction I can get my hands on and am attempting to learn photography. My laundry-folding suffers due to more interesting pursuits.

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