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Taking the Kids: To Washington, D.C., This Fall

By Eileen Ogintz, Tribune Media Services on

Even a kid who professes to hate museums has got to find something compelling at one of the Smithsonian museums. How about a 70 million year old dinosaur egg (you'll find that at the National Museum of Natural History, www.mnh.si.edu) along with the O. Orkin Insect Zoo where they can climb inside the replica of a termite mound.

Your kids can touch a piece of the moon at the Air and Space Museum, where you can look up and see the history of flight hanging above you -- the Wright Brother's airplane, Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, the plane Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in.

Sure the Smithsonian museums can be overwhelming. But since they're free, visit and take a break out on the National Mall, or come back another day.

I love that you'll find special Discovery Stations with interactive activities. For example, later this month the exhibit "Moving Beyond Earth" at the Air and Space Museum will allow visitors to interact with a robot used for space exploration by giving it simple commands. At interactive kiosks, your kids can take turns being mission control's flight director, as well as perform other jobs related to spaceflight.

I also love that the Smithsonian offers a kids' website (http://www.si.edu/kids) with fun online activities, including a "Virtual Dinosaur Exhibit," "Mr. President," where you can learn about each of our nation's presidents and "Meet Me at Midnight," which magically transports you to the galleries at night.

Got a junior foodie? Show him or her Julia Child's kitchen at the National Museum of American History and explain how she transformed American cooking in a new exhibition focusing on food and wine in America, currently scheduled to open in November. While you're there, don't miss the original Star Spangled Banner and the interactive exhibit that surrounds it. The museum is filled with all sorts of things that Americans have used at home, work, and play -- military uniforms, a World War II Jeep, Edison's light bulb, Jim Henson's Kermit the Frog and Oscar the Grouch.

Let's not forget the Smithsonian's art museums. Visit the Freer Sackler Museums of Asian Art (http://www.asia.si.edu/events/families.asp) where you can listen to stories or make your own art project through the ImaginAsia program.

For teens, there is a special ArtLab at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (http://www.hirshhorn.si.edu/collection/home/#collection=home).

And for those who love stamps, The National Postal Museum (www.postalmuseum.si.edu) has the largest display of stamps in the U.S., planes hanging from the ceiling and exhibits that let you sort mail.

 

Are you wearing comfortable shoes? The Smithsonian experts remind families the Smithsonian Museums along the National Mall span an area from 3rd to 14th Street.

Tip: Print out special family guides before you visit each museum. For example, the National Air and Space Museum has one guide, "I Spy in the Sky," for young children and another, "Looking at Airplanes," for older children, http://airandspace.si.edu/visit/guides/selfguides.cfm). There are also special kids' gallery guides.

The 10 Tips for Visiting Smithsonian Museums with Children" (http://www.si.edu/content/pdf/visit/smithsoniankidstips.pdf) can also help take the stress out of your visit too. Most important advice: Explore any exhibit that capture's your child's interests, even if you hadn't planned to go there.

And leave when they've had enough.

When else can your kids turn cartwheels on America's front yard?

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For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow "taking the kids" on www.twitter.com, where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments.


(c) 2012 DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

 

 

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