Places to Go - Out and About Summer 2013, Part I - The National Mall

We've spent some time this summer on the National Mall (free museums are a huge perk of living in the DC area) sometimes with the camera, sometimes without the camera. All three kids are FINALLY old enough to understand the no touch rules of museums (even though they still forget from time to time). Here is a list of some of the new exhibits and places we've explored:

What are your favorite places on the mall?



1. The Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art - This was our first time at the Freer, which had several crazy old breakable objects on pedestals (so be careful). Lots of the art looked a little scary, but detailed and beautiful as well, especially the gigantic statues carved from wood that line the museum's corridors. T liked finding all the old swords and knives with intricately carved handles. And we all were a little enchanted with the peacock room, as we debated what it would be like to eat dinner in such fine surroundings. A beautiful courtyard sits in the middle of the museum, but, unfortunately most of it is blocked off.



2. The Hirshhorn's Over, Under Next - Exhibits in Mixed Media - This temporary exhibit runs through September 8 and has a few quirky pieces kids will love. All the kids and their friends couldn't stop giggling as they put on white booties over their shoes to walk on a floor made of beeswax in a room full of fluttering post it notes, cabbage, and snails. We also enjoyed Nick Cave's bunny tree with legs and a greek goddess-type statue surrounded by laundry. It's especially fun to to try and guess the materials that compose each artwork (lots of unconventional stuff).



3. The Hirshhorn's Peter Coffin Here & There - The Hirshhorn has some wonderful kid-friendly stuff on view this summer (of course, this is my favorite museum on the mall, so I tend to oversell it). This exhibit in particular is worth the trek downtown. The huge, lifelike black dog amused all the children, as did the courtyard's circular staircase leading nowhere. But my favorite exhibit (perhaps ever) was where Coffin used a variety of paintings from the museum's permanent collection and created a projected video animation/light show around them in the museum's basement. Suddenly flowers grew out of nowhere and spinning lights began to encircle an austere lady's profile. Haunted house meets art museum. Wonderful. Though T and P found the whole thing scary (sound effects accompany the dark lighting) and booked it to the gift shop. The exhibit runs through October 6.



4. The Smithsonian Natural History Museum's Human Origin Exhibit - By the time we reached the Natural History museum all the kids were fading, so we made a quick circuit through the human origins exhibit. Everyone had a blast learning what they'd look like as an early human.

5. The Smithsonian American History Museum - I didn't bring my camera for our visit, but we had a great time. Immediately upon walking into the museum (through the Constitution avenue entrance) the kids spotted Harry Potter's cape from the movie. Magic. Although HALF OF THE MUSEUM is closed for renovations until 2015 (including all of the kids' discovery rooms), we still enjoyed: learning about the history of American food (a huge table with spinning platters kept the youngest children entertained), "riding" the Chicago L train, guessing all movie clips in the transportation exhibit, learning about Golden Books, seeing the first Apple computer and Abraham Lincoln's top hat, gasping at the star spangled banner's hugeness, and dreaming of fancy events while viewing the first ladies' ball gown collection.

Upon our arrival at the museum, a costumed actor took us back to the late 1860s to teach us about the museum's origins and electromagnetism. Further, another costumed actor brought back the civil rights movement as she staged a lunch counter protest. Hopefully the museum continues to have several character actors wondering its hallways, as it really does bring the whole experience alive for children (and adults).

I asked the kids about their favorite exhibits, here's the list:

F (age 7.5)
* "The walls of notes" (Over, Under, Next's beeswax room in the Hirshhorn)
* Dorthy's ruby red slippers (Smithsonian American History museum)
* The first ladies' dresses (Smithsonian American History museum)
* Harry Potter's cape (Smithsonian American History museum)

P (age 6.5)
* The first ladies' dresses (Smithsonian American History museum)
* Gabby Douglas's leotard (Smithsonian American History museum)
* Becoming a caveman (Smithsonian Natural History museum)

T (age 4)
* The giant dog (the Hirshhorn's Peter Coffin exhibit)
* The Yellow ladders and stuff hanging from the ceiling (Hirshhorn's Over, Under, Next exhibit)

Me (age 37)
* The light installation in the Hirshhorn's basement (Peter Coffin exhibit)
* Huge statues carved from wood (the Freer Gallery of Art)
* The peacock room (the Freer Gallery of Art)
* The first Apple computer (Smithsonian American History museum)
* The history of Golden Books (Smithsonian American History museum)

Things to Do - 12 in 12 (August 2013)

August 12, 2013 was a busy day. Also a good one. Scroll down to see our "ordinary day" (not sure any day is ever ordinary during summer vacation), then check out Not-So-SAHM and Where the Watermelons Grow for more everyday awesomeness.



10:00 am - A slow start day. Still in our pjs and finally eating breakfast.



10:30 am - Getting ready in their new pretty dresses (I love a sale).



11:30 am - We pick up some friends and arrive at the National Mall.



12:30 pm - After exploring Asian art at the Freer Gallery, we head to the Hirshhorn's sculpture garden and try to guess the statues' names/inspirations.



1:00 pm - Checking out the Over, Under, Next exhibit at the Hirshhorn (more on this next week).



2:30 pm - Channeling our inner caveman at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. Doesn't F make the cutest neanderthal?



3:00 pm - After a whole morning together, the girls want a playdate, so we head to my friend's house.



3:30 pm - T mans the cash register while the adults drink dark and stormies (how did I not know that this is the best drink ever?)



4:00 pm - Everyone is obsessed with Harry Potter lately. Lots of magic going on.



5:30 pm - Back home. I thought the kids would be fussy, but they all end up reading books in the living room, too tired to ask for anything else.



6:30 pm - I remember that our library books are overdue, so we scooter over, stopping at the playground on the way home.



8:30 pm - The kids camp out in our bedroom for a TV show before bedtime.

Places to Go - An Afternoon at the Hirshhorn and Air & Space Museum (Washington DC)

In the past few weeks T's had a crazy busy playdate schedule. A good thing, all in all. But on the downside, we don't spend as much time together, just the two of us, as in previous years. To fix this, we decided to take Friday afternoon "off" and visit the National Mall. I always forget how easy such adventures are. On weekdays, you can usually find ample metered parking in front of the Hirshhorn (right next door to Air and Space). Plus, free admission means you can pop in and out of different places. So see some art, run through the sculpture garden, "fly" an airplane (in the Air & Space Museum's How Things Move exhibit), watch a show on the "ceiling" (i.e. planetarium). Then hop in the car and drive home. All before rush hour.



T's favorite part of the art museum? Watching three video screens in an unseen person SLOWLY covered tvs with different colors of masking tape (one tv in red, one in yellow, and one in blue). "Who's going to win, mom? Isn't this exciting, who's going to win?" I can't say I shared his enthusiasm, I found the exhibit as boring, as well, as boring as watching someone cover a tv screen in masking tape (sometimes an analogy isn't really necessary).



We ended the day with a freeze-dried ice-cream sandwich, just like real astronauts.

Places to Go - The National Mall Carousel (Washington D.C.)

The National Mall Carousel


The Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden


Lately, we've been going on a lot of adventures with friends. Which is great, but sometimes it's nice to have a little time exploring with just me and the kids, especially since none of my children have preschool on Tuesdays. The girls love the ridiculously overpriced National Mall carousel ($2.50 per person) and I love the Hirshhorn sculpture gardens (perhaps my favorite place in DC) and since they're next to each other, the combo makes for a pretty wonderful "family" day (minus poor Dad, who has to work all the time lately). Plus, the Smithsonian gardens in front of the "castle" have several lovely fountains. Unlike everywhere else on the National Mall, there's almost always two-hour paid parking in front of the Hirshhorn (plus, no need to carry change anymore, with the new credit cards meters).

We also used this opportunity to try out T's backpack/leash for the first time. I actually bought the backpack for P when she was about two years old, but the only person she would let "walk" her was F, and a three year old walking a two year old makes for some SLOW GOING. Luckily, T seemed to love his little backpack. Well, at least for the first hour. and it did make is slightly easier to keep everyone together. Slightly being the key word.



I love watching the kids when they all play together - hugging, swinging on poles (clean your minds people), running like airplanes, and checking out the fall leaves.