At first glance, the area between The White House and The Washington Memorial known as the National Mall appears immense. In reality it’s a short hike of approximately one mile and it is packed full of things to do and see along the way. The trick is to find them before you’re too tired to care.

Once you’ve walked by all the monuments and peered through the barricades to see the White House, you might find yourself tempted to take a picture with a life-size cut-out of the president and purchase lunch and souvenirs. Once this is done you’ll be broke and the young kids may not be impressed. Don’t be discouraged, I can help add a few free stops along the way that will help keep the little ones interested.

National Postal Museum

While not directly on the mall this museum is just a short Metro ride away. It’s worth the trip. Who doesn’t love the mail? The Moving the Mail exhibit at the National Postal Museum covers the pony express, stagecoaches, railroads, and planes. This is a great place to explore with children. They can climb inside a stagecoach or hop aboard a re-created railway mail train. There is also a collection of postcards and letters on display in the Art of Cards and Letters gallery. They are often touching and sometimes very funny. Try to corral the kids long enough to read a few of these. It’s worth the time.

Freer Gallery

If you’re looking for one stop visual amazement, The Peacock Room at the Freer Gallery is the place to go. Created by artist James McNeill Whistler (famous for his mother painting) for a wealthy London shipowner, it is a testament to artistic vision taken to extreme. And it is stunning in an extreme kind of way. Send the kids on a mission to find all the peacocks while you sit and rest contemplate the mind of an artist.

Sculpture Garden at The National Gallery of Art

The Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Art is a requested stop every time we visit Washington D.C. There is something about the size and unusual shapes of the sculptures that fascinate the little ones in ways Mona Lisa never could. This combined with beautiful plantings and a comfortable bench or two makes it a great place to unwind after one too many security check points.

The National Museum of Natural History

The Natural History Museum is packed full of exhibits. Everything from animals to insects can be found here. There are also some impressive rocks and fossils. Even if you don’t have the time or energy to see everything at the Natural History Museum, a quick stop to see Henry is a must. Another must see is the above head whale and the fish fossils in The Sant Ocean Hall. It opened in September 2008 and is a very well done interpretive exhibit. It covers ocean life from tiny plankton to giant whales and will give even the smallest visitors an appreciation of the ocean’s ecosystem and the role the oceans plays in our lives.

This is my short list of top stops in Washington, D.C. There are many more kid-friendly attractions that are either free or low cost. I’m always looking for a new place to take the girls. If you have any suggestions let me know.

Photo Credits: A whole sack of thank you notes to Cliff1066 for the mailbag photo. A full stream of gratitude to NCinDC for the Sculpture Garden Fountain Photo.

From guest blogger Marsha Takeda-Morrison of Sweatpantsmom

As in most major cities, there is no shortage of great museums in Los Angeles.  We’ve got our Natural History Museum, our Museum of Contemporary Art, and our Aerospace Museum.  We’ve the one with the Tar Pits, the (relatively) newly revamped Getty Museum and recently facelifted Getty Villa.  And no list would be complete without the cultural gems like the Japanese American National Museum and the African American Museum.

But it’s safe to say that here in L.A. we’ve got something that no one else has, a museum that’s like no other, a shining beacon in galaxy of museums.  If this were American Idol, it would be David Cook

We’ve got the Museum of Jurassic Technology.

I’m not sure I can even explain what this museum is all about. Don’t let the word ‘Jurassic’ fool you – there’s not a dinosaur to be found.  The website describes it as a “specialized repository of relics and artifacts from the Lower Jurassic, with an emphasis on those that demonstrate unusual or curious technological qualities.”  Huh?

That means you won’t see any triceratops, but you can find an exhibit of decaying dice, and a rather large display case devoted to an exhibit consisting entirely of some fake plants and single ant, titled ‘Megolaponera Foetens: Stink Ant of the Cameroon of West Central Africa.’  The most curious thing is you can press a button and hear a buzzing sound, which is apparently what the stink ant of the Cameroon sounds like – although I’m sure I will never be able to verify this.  Also, don’t miss the unbelievably bizarre collection of letters to the Mt. Wilson Observatory titled, ‘No One May Ever Have The Same Knowledge Again’ and contains, among others, the following letter from a Mrs. Alice May Williams to Dr. Edison Pettit and Dr. Seth B. Nicholson (No, I don’t have any idea who these people are.)  This is an excerpt, and I kept the spelling as they had it:

“…I have got half a house with another woman some years older. She will not let me sit quite a moment it is terriable she keeps wanting to no the inds & outs of everythink. She keeps running up & down the stairs in & out of the doors slamming them about & keeps wanting to talk & keeps wanting me to get ready to go out. It is awfull I dont no wether I am standing on my head or feet & still I am going through that treatment I told you. At times somethink works my mouth to talk out loud & I have got to be carefull of her hearing as she thinks I am mad…”

See what I mean?

The last time I visited the museum, which was a few years ago, there was a guy around four-feet-tall playing the accordion on the sidewalk out front.  When he saw us approaching he stopped, ran inside and took his place behind the ticket counter to collect our admission fees.  Even the pricing is odd; where else is a child considered anyone from ages 12 to 21?  Here’s their entire price list:

Adults, $ 5.00
Children aged 12 to 21, $ 3.00
Students in full time education, $ 3.00
Persons 60 years or older, $ 3.00
Unemployed persons, $ 3.00
Disabled Persons $2.00
Active service personnel in uniform $ 2.00
Children under 12, Free

Also, their hours:

The Museum is open Thursday from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 noon to 6:00 pm

Oh, and then there’s their membership page, which starts off with the oddest, off-topic paragraph I’ve ever read on a museum website:

On March 25, 1961 Zvezdochka, daughter of the stars, the last of a group of 11 remarkable dogs, was hurtled into space amidst the flaming cacophony of a Vostok four thousand kN rocket launch known to the world as Sputnik 10.

Here at the Museum we feel a strange affinity for these first exceptional, earth-born creatures to leave our planet. Like the dogs, we feel ourselves to be lonely vanguards in a rarefied and unknown atmosphere. But, like Zvezdochka, we are emboldened by those who have gone before while knowing full well the risks and hardships of the journey.

Seriously, you must visit the Museum of Jurassic Technology, if only to say that you have.  You’ll never be the same again.  Zvezdochka and the dogs thank you.

Photo: From the exhibit ‘Rotton Luck: The Decaying Dice of Ricky Jay’