Indoor Activities in Washington DC

Has the Hope Diamond, a T. rex, a live butterfly pavilion ($1 extra), an insect zoo, and an ocean hall. The Discovery Room lets kids touch things. Free, no tickets. Go at 10am sharp or the crowds pile up.

Wright Brothers' 1903 Flyer, Apollo 11 command module, and Space Shuttle Discovery (at the Udvar-Hazy annex in VA). About half the museum is open during a multi-year renovation, but the new galleries and planetarium are worth it. Free, but you need timed-entry passes. Book up to 2 months ahead.

STEAM museum for ages 0-12 near the White House. Building, science, and environment exhibits where kids actually touch and do things. Under 1 free. Open every day except Tuesday. Book ahead.

The actual Star-Spangled Banner, Dorothy's ruby slippers, Julia Child's kitchen, and the First Ladies' gowns are all here. Wegmans Wonderplace is a free play space for ages 0-6. Spark!Lab lets older kids invent and build. Free, no passes needed.

Architecture and design museum. The Great Hall alone is worth walking into (free). Galleries have rotating exhibits on building and engineering. They run building workshops for kids regularly. Under 3 free.

Smithsonian theater for kids in the Ripley Center. Puppetry, storytelling, music, dance, ages 3-10. Weekday shows at 10am and 11:15am. They sell out, so book ahead.

You get a spy identity, then work through missions based on real espionage history. Disguise galleries, code-breaking, a laser-beam obstacle course. Best for 7+. Kids 6 and under free. Timed-entry tickets required.

Free museum about language and words. Karaoke, poetry creation, word-origin games across multiple floors. Free with a suggested $15 donation. Reserve a pass online to guarantee entry. Closed Tuesdays.

Two buildings connected by an underground walkway kids love running through. 141,000 works, all free. Daily guided tours, weekend film screenings, family programs. First Saturdays have free art-making for kids. Sculpture Garden has wading in summer, ice skating in winter (~$10). Friday evening jazz with a sangria cart in summer.

Free show every night at 6pm. No tickets, just walk in. Jazz, classical, dance, theater, poetry. Shows run about an hour. Day-of tickets at the box office from 4:30pm. The building is free to explore. Family festivals throughout the year.

300+ miniature trees inside the 446-acre National Arboretum. Kids activity pamphlet available. The grounds also have 22 original Corinthian columns from the US Capitol, a koi pond, and open meadows. Rarely crowded. No Metro access, so drive or rideshare. Bring food. Pair with Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens (also free) for a full day.

Where Lincoln was shot. Still an active theater. The basement museum has the actual Derringer pistol, Lincoln's coat, and Booth's diary. Includes the Petersen House across the street where Lincoln died. Free with advance timed-entry. Same-day tickets drop at 8:30am and go fast. No large bags.

Largest library in the world. The Thomas Jefferson Building's Great Hall and Main Reading Room viewing gallery will stop you in your tracks. Jefferson's personal book collection is on display. Free one-hour tours Mon-Sat. The Capitol is right next door (also free, book through your representative).

Underrated Smithsonian next to Union Station. Kids sort packages, design stamps, climb in a stagecoach, fly an airmail biplane simulator. Free, never crowded. When the Mall museums are packed, come here.

The actual Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights are here. Older kids who've studied them in school lose their minds. Discovery Center has interactive stations on how government works. Free, but $1.50 timed-entry passes recommended on busy days. Walk-up when capacity allows.

Former amusement park on the Potomac, now an arts center. The 1921 Dentzel carousel still runs ($2/ride). Puppet theater (Adventure Theatre MTC), art studios, and nature play area. Free parking, free admission. 15 minutes from Georgetown. Art classes and camps year-round.

Free Saturday morning shows for families, two blocks from the White House. Magic, puppetry, music, dance, storytelling for ages 4-10. Shows at 9:30am and 11am. No tickets, just show up. Has been running for decades.

Mies van der Rohe building, recently renovated. Entire children's floor with play area, storytime room, maker space, and teen lounge. Free daily storytimes (multiple languages), STEM activities, craft workshops. Rooftop terrace with city views. Good summer cool-down spot too.

African American history from slavery through civil rights to today. Upper floors cover music, sports, and food and are especially engaging for older kids and teens. Free but timed-entry passes required. They release monthly and go fast. Same-day passes sometimes available at 10am.

Home to the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Opera, and touring Broadway. Several venues inside, from 2,400 seats down to small rooms. Student rush tickets start at $20; prime orchestra seats run $150+. Free show every day at 6pm on the Millennium Stage.

1,200-capacity standing-room venue on U Street. Indie, hip-hop, electronic, punk, everything. Tickets $20-60 for most shows. Two bars, a balcony if you want space, and the sound is genuinely excellent.

DC's main comedy club, running since 1992. National headliners Thu-Sun, open mic nights midweek. 300 seats so you're close to the stage. Most tickets $20-40, bigger names $40-65. Two-drink minimum.

Two buildings, both free. The West Building has European masters including the only Leonardo da Vinci painting in the Americas. The East Building is modern and contemporary. Sculpture Garden outside has jazz in summer and ice skating in winter.

America's first modern art museum, opened 1921 in a Dupont Circle townhouse. Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party is here, plus Rothko, Degas, Bonnard. Feels like walking through someone's personal collection, not a museum. $20 adults, under 18 free. Free on Third Thursdays 4-8pm.

Jazz supper club in a Georgetown alley since 1965. Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, and Wynton Marsalis have all played this 150-seat room. Two shows nightly at 6pm and 8pm. Tickets $20-70. $15 food/drink minimum. Arrive early for the good seats.

Indie rock since 1993 on 14th Street. Mainstage holds 400-500, the Backstage room is smaller with DJ nights. Co-founded by a former bandmate of Dave Grohl. Tickets $15-35. The Red Room bar is free to enter and open late.

Built in 1910, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and James Brown all played here. Restored and reopened in 2012 with R&B, go-go, jazz, hip-hop, and comedy. Tickets $25-75. The Sunday brunch shows are a local favorite.

Comedy club in a converted flower shop in Petworth. Stand-up, storytelling, variety shows. Tickets $15-30. Sometimes BYOB. Worth the trip uptown if you like small rooms and discovering comics early.

3,700-seat hall opened in 1929. This is where Marian Anderson performed in 1943 after the DAR barred her from performing for them. Now hosts big touring acts, comedy specials, and ceremonies. Tickets $40-120. Good acoustics and sightlines throughout.

Abandoned streetcar tunnels under Dupont Circle, turned into an art and performance space. Rotating installations, immersive theater, comedy. Tickets $10-25. The tunnels themselves are the main attraction.

20,000-seat arena in Penn Quarter. Caps, Wizards, and every major touring act. Concert tickets $50-200+. Surrounded by restaurants and bars on F Street and in Chinatown, so the area is lively on event nights.

6,000-capacity venue at The Wharf with a movable stage that adjusts the room from 2,500 seated to 6,000 standing. Opened in 2017 and immediately became one of the best rooms on the East Coast. Tickets $30-100. Three levels, good sightlines everywhere.

250-capacity room at The Wharf for Americana, roots, rock, blues, and singer-songwriters. Every seat is close to the stage. Full bar and food. Tickets $15-35. If The Anthem next door is too big for your taste, this is the antidote.

Food hall in NoMa with 40+ vendors. Free to browse, food runs $8-18. Rooftop cinema (Angelika Pop-Up), weekend artisan markets outside, and street art in the surrounding area. Good rainy-day option.

Massive collection of American art from colonial portraits to contemporary work. Shares a building with the National Portrait Gallery. The Kogod Courtyard between them is a glass-covered atrium worth seeing on its own. The Renwick Gallery (one block from the White House) is a satellite space for craft and decorative arts. All free.

300-capacity basement venue and record store on H Street. Indie rock, electronic, hip-hop, experimental. Upstairs cafe and vinyl shop are free to browse. Tickets $15-30. All ages for most shows. Good spot to catch artists before they blow up.

Free stand-up multiple nights a week at Hotbed in Adams Morgan. No tickets, no cover. Just show up early to get a seat. Casual bar setting, rotating lineup of DC-area comics. A lot of these people end up at the bigger clubs.

Five floors tracing African American history from slavery through civil rights to today. Free but timed-entry passes are required and sell out immediately when they release monthly. Same-day passes sometimes available at 10am. Plan at least 3 hours. It will move you.

Free jazz every Friday evening, Memorial Day through Labor Day, in the National Gallery's Sculpture Garden. Bring a blanket. Sangria and snacks from the garden cafe. 5-8:30pm. Get there by 5 for a good spot.

450-capacity room at The Wharf. Indie rock, folk, electronic, emerging artists. Low stage so you're close to the performers. Full food and drink menu. Tickets $15-40. Right between Pearl Street Warehouse and The Anthem in both size and location.

Modern and contemporary art in the round concrete building on the Mall. 12,000+ works in the permanent collection plus rotating exhibitions. The sunken outdoor Sculpture Garden is quiet and free. No tickets needed. Way less crowded than Natural History or Air & Space.

7,028-seat outdoor amphitheater in 117 wooded acres, 30 minutes from DC in Virginia. Concerts, ballet, opera, musical theater under the stars in summer. Lawn seats $25-45 (bring a picnic). Orchestra seats $40-100+. The smaller Barns at Wolf Trap does intimate winter shows.

Restored 1917 movie house on Capitol Hill, 200 seats, original facade still intact. Live music, comedy, film screenings. Tickets $20-50. On Barracks Row, so easy to pair with dinner at one of the nearby restaurants.