Trip Motivation In March 2023, we flew to DC for a week of museums, US history, cherry blossoms and so much walking. The kids were 5 and 8 and this was a perfect age to see all the amazing sights. This post has details on our itinerary and recommendations for museums. If you’re planning a visit to DC with kids, read on! For more on our flight and hotel logistics, head to this post here. Guide to Setting an Itinerary 3 day itinerary to DC? 4 day visit to DC with kids? Week-long itinerary? We were in DC for 4 full days and 2 half-days. We had collected a long list of recommendations from website searches, facebook groups, and past visits. I put them into an excel list and started categorizing items as must-do/like to do along with ticket requirements. I then tried to map out the must do items together by location so we weren’t criss-crossing the city. We hit a lot of sights but also maintained a good amount of down-time and wandering-time. Something to keep in mind that walkable might mean 15 minutes, but multiple walks can be really tiring so close-by areas need to be grouped as much as possible. Even with our organizing, we took over 20,000 steps each day! Ok Let’s get to it! Day 1: Museum of Natural History Day 2: Museum of American History and Air and Space Museum Day 3: National Building Museum and Memorial Walk Day 4: National Zoo and Pool Time Day 5: US Capitol, American Indian Museum & National Portrait Gallery Day 6: National Postal Museum Day 1: Museum of Natural History We arrived in DC in the afternoon and checked into our hotel. (See more here) The hotel was located near the White house and the west side of the national mall sights. For lunch, we went to Elephant and Castle for some yummy shepherd’s pie and pizza pie to celebrate pi day. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has a lot to offer kids of all ages.  We spent around 2 hours here. Here are a few highlights: Gem and mineral collection: Over 10,000 gems, including some of the most famous diamonds in the world, such as the Hope Diamond. Ellie loved the colorful gems. Hall of Mammals: Lots of cool action poses from various mammals big and small. The Africa area even had some ambiance music going. We spent a lot of time learning facts in this section. Dinosaur Fossil Hall: 200 dinosaur fossils, including a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton. Butterfly Pavilion and Insect Zoo: This exhibit is a beautiful and peaceful place to relax and enjoy the company of butterflies. There are over 1,500 butterflies from all over the world. Free on Tuesdays! After the museum, we relaxed at the hotel, including dinner and TV time. We also decided it would be really fun to watch the Night at the Museum sequel that took place in DC!  Day 2 Morning: American History Museum The Smithsonian Museum of American History was my personal favorite of the museums we visited. It is a great place for kids to learn about the history of the United States. There are many interactive exhibits that will keep kids engaged and learning. It is so varied and has so many cool things to see. 3 floors and over 50 exhibits. We spent around 3 hours here. Some of our favorite spots include Entertainment Nation: Sports, Celebrity, Movie artifacts and more are all featured in a really cool new exhibit. You can see R2D2, Ruby’s slippers, famous costumes, and so much more. So cool! Spark Lab: This was a mini science museum with hands-on stations to build a pinball machine, learn about weaving, code some music and do some cool stem activities. There was also a small toddler play area next door but our kids were a little too old. Perfect for the under 5 crew (We don’t have any of those anymore!) The Star-Spangled Banner: Here you can see the flag that inspired the song and learn about the history of the United States and the symbolism of the flag. First Ladies of the United States: Ellie and I are a sucker for pretty dresses. Jill Biden’s inaugural dress (and mask!) are featured along with Obama, Clinton, and over 100 gowns. There are also really cool displays of China dishes and other artifacts. American Democracy. We walked through this area quickly and wished we  could have spent more time here. It was really interesting to read about the history of the founding of the nation and how voting and comprise has helped shape our current country.  Day 2 Afternoon: Air and Space Museum After lunch (Bi Bim Bap at Rice Bar!), we spent the afternoon at the Air and Space Museum. This was a little bit of a walk but we required reservations for this museum and this was the day with the best times. The National Air and Space Museum is undergoing some remodeling and is going to be even bigger and better later in 2023. Even with half the exhibits closed, we still spent 2 hours visiting. This museum requires reservations! This is the busiest museum in the whole country with half a million visitors a year. There’s info on the first flight, history of commercial flights, space, and even some star wars ships! Some highlights include The Wright Flyer: The first airplane to fly successfully is on display in an exhibit by the entrance and the story of the first flight was presented in a really cool way. Carter loved this area and reading about the trial and errors of the first attempts. Planets Gallery: Ellie’s class is really into space and I always love putting it into perspective just our different and far other worlds are.  Destination Moon: This exhibit brings you into history and shows what scientists were thinking at the time of the planning and flying. Looking back, its so crazy that we put people