dpenwell

The mall itself may not be all that great, but Kettler capitals ice rink is awesome! You can watch the capitals practice for free sit on comfy couches and watch tv or ice skating. There is a nice event yearly mid summer that has lots of activities for kids all free to the public.

Since we don’t have a childrens museum in the DC area, I try to take my kids to Richmond museum. It is basically one large room plus a few outside activities and a younger kids play area, but my 5 year old could play there all day. The stream (water play) is fun and educational. There is an apple tree that my son played at for at least 2 hours straight. The kids collected apples and put them in the apple tree which would keep spitting out apples.

if your child likes to create their own artistic masterpiece they have an art room with every possible tool you could wish for. It looked like fun, but there just wasn’t time.

This is a great place for kids. We will go back again.

The scenic lawn (backyard) overlooking the potomac river is a great place for kids to play, and the season pass is very reasonable.

If you visit the museum the headset is well worth the extra cost.

There is a lot to see but with children it is a bad idea to even try to do it all in one day. Try to plan the areas you most want to see in advance. I wish I could go more often and should since I live here!

If you don’t want to get up early on the day of your visit to wait in line for the free tickets, you can order at nps.gov for a small fee. You must reserve pretty far in advance for peak summer and weekend days though.

I can’t wait for this to reopen! It closed shortly after my visit. I only had the chance to see a few of the many exhibits and plan to go often as I live nearby. The highlight is usually the original star spangled banner, but there is so much more!

Great for families with young children. I love the kids play area! When I was there there was also a drawing table where kids can make an attempt at copying drawings of bridges. My son loved the exhibit more than I had expected especially at age 5. I believe that was a traveling exhibit though. We will definitely go back for the play area as we live pretty close!

I didn’t see a place for links, but here is the web site link is www.fi.edu and www.pleasetouchmuseum.org

Looks like a great place for kids that we’d like to visit while visiting the main attractions like the liberty bell. Philly is the place we most want to go on our list right now as soon as we get several days to enjoy it!

Very cute railroad car hotel to look at, but be warned these cute train cars are extremely small. It is a good experience to do once, but once is enough for us. It was just too small for comfort. The atmosphere is great for a family though the space is not. We loved the free movie on the barn with cheap popcorn and the playground. People here are very welcoming. They even have horse and carriage rides from the parking lot. Many people love the place, just keep in mind that it is a tiny old train car you’ll be sleeping in!

I loved the train ride since the first time I rode. Definitely take first class for just a little extra. If you have kids, first class gets you unlimited rides which easily pays for itself. My son likes this place, but it is a place I love to go to even more so! We drive from the DC area and i believe it takes 3 to 4 hours. Enjoy your trip!