For many Pittsburgh residents, Washington, D.C. is a popular vacation destination. The nation’s capital is full of interesting things to see and do, and since many of its top attractions have an educational component, it’s a great place to visit with kids.
Though, it can be overwhelming to determine what the best things to do on your trip are — there’s so much to see and so little time! To give prospective tourists a place to start, we’ve compiled some of the best places in the area to visit with family.
Smithsonian Museums
There are 17 museums that are collectively part of the Smithsonian Institution, and they’re all free to visit. If you want to try and hit all of them, you could fill several days just going from museum to museum.
The National Museum of Natural History is home to the Butterfly Pavilion, where visitors can immerse themselves in a butterfly habitat. For dinosaur lovers, the museum has a large collection of fossils.
The National Museum of American History houses more than 3 million historical artifacts. The Wegmans Wonderplace area lets kids be a part of history, with areas for pretend play and games based on the museum’s exhibits. The museum also has pop culture artifacts, like Dorothy’s ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz,” original Muppet puppets and the Batmobile from Tim Burton’s “Batman.”
The National Air and Space Museum, National Gallery of Art, National Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of African American History and Culture are also among the Smithsonian Institute’s most popular museums. Since the latter is still relatively new and often crowded, families should consider reserving passes online before visiting.
Non-Smithsonian Museums
The Smithsonian Institute’s museums may be the ones D.C. is most known for, but there are many others in the area that are perfect for kids.
Of the city’s other museums, one of the most well-known is the International Spy Museum, which focuses on real-life espionage from around the world. Kids can try their hand at code-breaking puzzles, crawl through vents and see real spy gadgets that seem straight out of a movie.
The younger crowd will love the National Children’s Museum, which lets kid visitors play in its exhibits. The museum has many interactive areas focused on STEAM-related subjects (in science, technology, engineering, art and math), such as climate action and the weather.
One relatively new museum is Planet Word, which highlights language arts. It’s described as “the world’s first voice-activated museum” and features exhibits about linguistics, reading and music.
Explore Nature
You might not expect to find many plants and animals in an urban environment like D.C., but the United States Botanic Garden and the Smithsonian National Zoo bring flora and fauna from all over the world to the U.S. capital. The National Zoo has exhibits featuring animals from the Amazon Rainforest, Asia, Africa and North America. The zoo also recently welcomed two giant pandas that have drawn a lot of attention from tourists.
The United States Botanic Garden is home to plants from many different biomes and maintains a balmy temperature all year. It also recently opened its Children’s Garden for the 2025 season, where kids can help maintain a community garden and learn more about gardening.
Go Boating
Paddle boating in the Tidal Basin is a popular activity for tourists, but if you’d rather go off the beaten path, there are many places to go boating in the area. The company Boating in DC has several boat houses around the area in popular locales like National Harbor, The Wharf and Nationals Park, so anyone can go kayaking, paddleboarding or sailing on the Potomac River. The company also holds boating tours and activities like paddleboard yoga.
Visit Famous Monuments
Some of D.C.’s most iconic locations are its monuments, so no trip is complete without hitting a few of them. The Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial are among the most famous, but there are many to explore, honoring historical figures like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and memorializing veterans who fought in the Civil War, World War II and the Vietnam War.