Downtown

Downtown with Kids

If you happen to time your visit with a monthly KidSpy workshop at the International Spy Museum, your junior James Bonds and young Nancy Drews can assume a new identity complete with disguise, go on a spy mission, meet real spies, and more. This is a great museum for tweens, but younger kids may not get it.

The National Building Museum takes building blocks to new heights as kids can strap on a tool belt and design their own cities.

At the National Archives kids can gawk at the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights; suddenly school history isn't so abstract.

The Newseum lets kids experience the stories behind the headlines, and they can even "broadcast" the news in front of the camera. Older kids can pick out big story headlines from world events they lived through.

Both the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum have something for everyone, from presidential portraits to art made from aluminum foil, bottle caps, and even television sets.