Smithsonian- wHat should I make sure

[luvmyfam444]

To show the kiddos b4 going- movies , etc
I figure wizard of oz since the shoes are there & night if museum- any otheres?

 

[golfgal]

There really isn't a lot of "stuff" in the American History museum from movies, etc. I was GREATLY disappointed. We saw the ruby slippers, Edith and Archie's chairs and Kermit-that was about all that was there when we were there. Abe Lincoln's Top Hat, most of the 1st Ladies Ball Gowns, that kind of stuff but not much movie stuff.

 

[akhenaten]

How old are your kids...
Julia childs kitchen is at the museum.. so the movie Julie and Julia if your kids are a bit older...

The Night at the Museum takes place mainly at the Air and Space Museum ... we got to see the movie in DC and then go right to the museum and it really was great... there was a list of what to look for... Abel the monkey is stuffed and actually on display.. ( glad it did not freak out my DD that he was suffed and not cute and alive like in the movie )

If you go to www.gosmithsonian.com/nightatthemuseum/ you can print a map of the location of artifacts from the N at M 2 Movie....

 

[elgerber]

There really isn't a lot of "stuff" in the American History museum from movies, etc. I was GREATLY disappointed. We saw the ruby slippers, Edith and Archie's chairs and Kermit-that was about all that was there when we were there. Abe Lincoln's Top Hat, most of the 1st Ladies Ball Gowns, that kind of stuff but not much movie stuff.

I agree, I was greatly disappointed also, it was 1 very small room with these items. Apollo Anton Ohnos skates, Fonzies leather jacket, not much stuff there.

 

[luvmyfam444]

thanks for the info.... when i was a kid visiting the area seemed huge that all that was in - I remember a baseball ticket booth & a baseball movie showing. And of course the slippers & chairs & fonzi - i can't remember much else there.

I remember there being a good display of segregation & of course the flag. i don't want to look online @ all the exhibits 'cause I wanna be surprised too but I wanna make sure there isn't anything else to expose the kids to 1st.

 

[MrsPete]

Which museum(s) are you visiting? That'll make a big difference in what you'll want to see.

Also, what ages are the kids?

My kids like the Museum of Natural History best. They also liked Air & Space. I love-love-love the Museum of American History.

 

[plutotek]

There are so many museums, it would depend on the ages of the children as well, as the museums are spread out over the DC area. There are 2 Air/Space wings, one being by Reagan International, the original on the Mall.

 

[cassiez76]

we went to see the hope diamond and took a little walk around...not really stopping for much. but there was a cool butterfly garden. it was tuesday, so it was free. i don't know if it's still there, that was the week of thanksgiving.

then we headed to the other museum with the movie stuff. we went straight upstairs and saw the big dumbo that was there! i was beyond excited! 1st lady dresses were cool...a few had such itty bitty waists!

we didn't get to see much (it was just a short day trip), but while we waited in the lobby, i was looking around in their display windows...really cool stuff....except when i got to the mailbox. the only thing that survived for this family from katrina was their mailbox...and it was there...at the smithsonian. that hit me like a ton of bricks. i survived katrina and had to gut a house.

otherwise great day and lots of fun stuff to see and do! and make sure you hit the restrooms before you leave...we sat for 4 hours on the highway going back to baltimore that day!

 

[kristilew]

Clara Barton's field ambulance was set up, and at one point there was a living history program around it. DD11 at the time had read a few Barton bios, so she thought that was cool.

I think the museum with the Hope Diamond was a different building than the one with the slippers. (It all runs together) At that building, the big hits were the animal skeletons comparing various sizes, and the Written In Bone exhibit on how anthropologists learn about lifestyles from excavated bones.


Wow, ambulance, skeletons, dug up bones.....I'm seeing a pattern here. Should DD go to med school? Or an undertaker's academy, perhaps?

 

[golfgal]

Which museum(s) are you visiting? That'll make a big difference in what you'll want to see.

Also, what ages are the kids?

My kids like the Museum of Natural History best. They also liked Air & Space. I love-love-love the Museum of American History.

We liked the Natural History museum the best as well. We postponed our trip because the Am History museum was closed for refurbishment and that may have been part of the disappointment. We just kept walking around thinking we missed a big display somewhere because there just wasn't much on display.

The Hope Diamond is at the Natural History Museum.

 

[luvmyfam444]

Ahh - yep that's a good one - I know noone knows anything about the Hope Diamond - so we'll research that! & Clara Barton - my oldest knows about her - but not my middle - will talk about her too

We are only doing some of the smithsonian museums - American, Natural, Air, Ford's theatre, capitol, archives, engraving, HOlocaust, Nat'l art, zoo, arlington & mt. vernon I think that's about it

 

[kristilew]

The favorite thing for my whole crew when we did DC was the Intnatl. Spy Museum. You have to get tickets ahead of time, I think, but it was sooo worth it. Very cool.

 

[Tina]

There are so many museums, it would depend on the ages of the children as well, as the museums are spread out over the DC area. There are 2 Air/Space wings, one being by Reagan International, the original on the Mall.

There is no Air & Space Museum near Reagan National Airport. However, there IS one near Dulles Airport, in Northern Virginia. It is not Metro train accessible.

 

[Tina]

If you have any geeks in the family... my favorite is the Technology section in the American History Museum. They have part of the ENIAC, the original wooden Apple computer, the original Alexander Graham Bell telephone (which you can "use," and all sorts of things you probably grew up using and forgot about as they became obsolete. Like, do you remember when hand calculator displays were made up of dots instead of the current LED displays? Desk calculators that had the hand crank on the side? Your kids may get a kick out of seeing things that we thought were "high tech" growing up.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Ahh - yep that's a good one - I know noone knows anything about the Hope Diamond - so we'll research that! & Clara Barton - my oldest knows about her - but not my middle - will talk about her too

We are only doing some of the smithsonian museums - American, Natural, Air, Ford's theatre, capitol, archives, engraving, HOlocaust, Nat'l art, zoo, arlington & mt. vernon I think that's about it

The gem room gets very crowded so if nothing else prepare your kids for the wait. They only let so many people into the room with the Hope Diamond at a time and there is usually a line. We ended up skipping it because the line was at least an hour when we went.

My kids really loved the History Museum. Food is crazy expensive inside so you might want to eat out on the street. You can't bring drinks into the museums.

I've brought a small bag with closed containers and snacks to eat in the cafe area but I'm not sure they even let you do that anymore. Nothing open is allowed.

I think the Air and Space at Dulles charges admission, it's not free like the other Smithsonian museums.

 

[Tina]

I think the Air and Space at Dulles charges admission, it's not free like the other Smithsonian museums.

As with all Smithsonian museums, the Dulles museum is free. However, parking is not. I think it was about $12 when we went.

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

The American History Museum really stinks compared to how it was before they "renovated" it. So much of the fun stuff has disappeared and it seems just plain cold. It was always my favorite museum, and now I'd just give it a fairly quick look and move on, if I were you.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Ahh - yep that's a good one - I know noone knows anything about the Hope Diamond - so we'll research that! & Clara Barton - my oldest knows about her - but not my middle - will talk about her too

We are only doing some of the smithsonian museums - American, Natural, Air, Ford's theatre, capitol, archives, engraving, HOlocaust, Nat'l art, zoo, arlington & mt. vernon I think that's about it

Just so you're aware, not all of those are Smithsonian Museums. Here's the official SI site http://www.si.edu/museums/. Some of the places you plan to visit charge admission, so you're prepared

 

[minniebeth]

As with all Smithsonian museums, the Dulles museum is free. However, parking is not. I think it was about $12 when we went.

THANK YOU! for posting this! This is one of the museums we had on a tentative agenda (my DS15 wants to see it). We are really trying to keep expenses down as much as possible for this trip and that would definately not have been a pleasant surprise! It will help to budget the trip better.
Thanks!

 

[Dan Murphy]

THANK YOU! for posting this! This is one of the museums we had on a tentative agenda (my DS15 wants to see it). We are really trying to keep expenses down as much as possible for this trip and that would definately not have been a pleasant surprise! It will help to budget the trip better.
Thanks!

We were at this museum a week ago. Excellent. Parking is $15, free after 4 PM. From end of Mayo beginning of Sept, museum is open until 6:30 PM. 2 1/2 hours is sufficient time.