The Newseum (Washington DC) - The Newseum is free for children this summer, so we decided to visit. Turns out the Newseum is ALWAYS free for children under 7. Now we know. Anyways, while this isn't exactly a kids' paradise (seeing the Berlin Wall doesn't inspire awe in those too young to know what it is), there is one floor full of interactive computer games (my kids loved this part) where you can also record your own newscast - this alone is worth the price of admission, especially if you go on a weekday when crowds are absent, as you can record over and over again.
After we finished reporting the news, we took the coolio glass elevator to a wonderful viewing deck on the top floor. The Newseum also houses a 4D movie (included in the price of admission), which looked really promising, but unfortunately a glitch in the operation system kept us from viewing it. Oh well, we still had a great time.
Mini-Golf at the Building Museum (Washington DC) - The Building Museum's new artsy, indoor mini-golf course is pretty fun, for children and adults (even little children). Many of the holes are sort of tricky and some don't make a lot of sense, but I think my kids liked it better that way. Plus the murals are amazing. On the downside, we went on a Tuesday morning and the exhibit was full (with no lines), so I can imagine crowds on weekends.
The Science Museum of VA (Richmond, VA) - I love this place. This summer, an interactive exhibit on How People Make Things entertained the kids for hours - we made dye-cut horses and boxes, spoons from wax, and assembled a car (sort of, T only assembled the steering wheel, apparently tires were not a necessity to him). The museum also has an Imagination Playground set, where the kids created castles and bridges. And, of course, we visited space and learned about various other sciency things. Awesome.
The National Gallery of Art's Sculpture Garden (Washington DC) - While the girls spent an hour learning about French artists during the National Gallery's FREE Stories in Art program (for our previous post on Stories in Art click here), T and his friend J splashed at the fountain - they spent an hour chasing birds and feeding ducks. Seriously, a whole hour. Apparently toddlers really love a fountain. By the end they were soaking wet but happy (though the security guard looked positively sick of us).
The Hirshhorn's Courtyard (Washington DC) - Famed Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei currently has a huge installation piece in the Hirshhorn's courtyard. And Barbara Kruger's wallpaper-like installation is under construction in the museum's basement (you can already see a lot of it). Both are definitely worth checking out. Especially while the interactive Suprasensorial exhibit is still upstairs (my kids love this exhibit).
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Where have you been exploring this summer? We'd love to hear!!
by Gusti); and finally (3) kids undertake a craft project based on the artwork discussed (for Smith, the kids made sculptures out of wood and metal). As part of the program all the kids receive a "Secret Agent" guidebook, which includes several great discussion questions for talking to your children (or even curious, fun adults) about other works of modern art in the building. F (5 years old) seemed enchanted by the whole thing, she constantly had her hand up and loved the whole discussion. P's attention waivered more, but she still enjoyed the class (when we arrived home, she couldn't wait to tell her dad how she "made art in a museum."). A good day, raincoats and all. 
