Museums & Educational Attractions in Washington DC
Looking for museums & educational attractions in Washington DC? Here are 23 of them, with the details parents check first: price, opening hours and the right age range.
Sorted by distance from the middle of Washington DC, nearest first. Those are straight-line miles, so every drive is longer than the number on the card.
The Phillips Collection is America’s first museum of modern art. Founded in 1921 by Duncan Phillips, the museum has a permanent collection of over 6,000 works of…
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Located in a spectacular 1908 landmark building just a few blocks from the White House at the corner of New York Avenue and 13th Street, the National Museum of…
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A museum on the George Washington University campus in downtown Washington, D.C., displaying textile art and artefacts from around the world and throughout…
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A museum on George Washington University's campus in downtown Washington, D.C., dedicated to textiles and creative work from cultures worldwide, spanning from…
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National Building Museum's Play, Work, Build exhibit invites families in Washington DC to explore construction and design through hands-on activity. Children and…
National Building Museum's Play, Work, Build exhibit invites families in Washington DC to explore construction and design through hands-on activity. Children and…
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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History serves as a premier children’s museum located in Washington, District of Columbia. This institution offers an…
A major art museum in Washington, DC with free admission to all visitors. The collection spans centuries and includes iconic works by artists such as Leonardo da…
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A decorative arts museum housed in a historic mansion in Washington, D.C., with gardens surrounding the property. Families can tour the house to see the rooms…
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An art museum in Washington, DC, with a permanent collection spanning from the 1850s onwards. Visitors see paintings by Impressionist masters like Monet, Renoir…
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Junior Playland is an indoor playground in Arlington, VA featuring a 3,500 square-foot candy-themed play area designed to keep children stimulated and active. The…
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KID Museum Bethesda Metro Center is a 28,000 square foot interactive maker learning facility in Bethesda, Maryland where families and children engage in hands-on…
Good Knight Child Empowerment Network operates as a children's museum located at 11001 Rhode Island Ave, Beltsville, Maryland. This engaging facility focuses on…
George Washington's Mount Vernon is a museum located in Mount Vernon, Virginia. The venue preserves and presents the historic home and estate of George Washington…
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Kids Play Gallery is a museum space in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where children can explore, learn, and grow through imaginative play in a safe, clean, and vibrant…
Play Street Museum in Gaithersburg is an interactive children's museum offering hands-on, immersive exhibits designed for imaginative play. Children can explore a…
Fairytale Museum in Waldorf, Maryland is a touch museum featuring interactive exhibits that represent various rooms and artifacts found in castles from the 1800s…
Play Street Museum – Columbia is an interactive children's museum in Columbia, Maryland designed for kids up to 8 years old. The museum features educational…
Play Street Museum – Ashburn is an interactive children's museum in Ashburn, VA where kids explore a small-scale city designed to their size with hands-on exhibits…
Play Street Museum – Severna Park is an interactive children's museum in Severna Park, Maryland designed for toddlers and children up to 8 years old. The museum…
The Baltimore Museum of Industry (BMI) celebrates Maryland’s industrial legacy and shows how innovation fuels ongoing progress. Through exhibitions, educational…
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Where a card says no price or no hours listed, the venue does not publish it. We would rather leave the gap than fill it with a guess. Prices come from each venue's own website, and we publish one only when the figure appears on the page we took it from. Tell us if we are missing one you know.
Which one, by age
Two children three years apart do not have to be a compromise. The age line on every card shows what that venue serves.
Junior playland
Best here for under 2, 4 miles out, listed ages 0–9 and admission from $16.
National Building Museum
Best here for two to five, 1 miles out, listed ages 3–9 and admission $15.95.
KID Museum Bethesda Metro Center
Best here for six to nine, 6 miles out, listed ages 6–12 and admission $15.
Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens
Best here for ten and up, 3 miles out, listed ages 10–16 and admission $5.
Free museums & educational attractions in Washington DC
One place on this page gets you in free. That makes a short trip easy to justify on a day when nobody is sure how long they will last.
The George Washington University Museum and Textile Museum
Free to get in and 1 miles out.
By town
Most of these are not in Washington DC proper, and the town is usually what decides whether a place is worth the trip.
Museums & Educational Attractions in Washington
15 of them: The Phillips Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, International Arts & Artists Hillyer Arts Space, The George Washington University Museum and Textile Museum and The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, the closest 1 miles from the middle of Washington DC and 6 with a published admission price.
Museums & Educational Attractions in Gaithersburg
2 of them: Kids Play Gallery and Play Street Museum – Gaithersburg, the closest 18 miles from the middle of Washington DC and 2 with a published admission price.
Planning a visit
These run from 1 to 34 miles out from the middle of Washington DC. Hours move with the season and with school holidays, so check the listing before you set off. If you run one of the places on this page, you can claim it for free and keep its hours and prices right.
Before you go
Grip socks. Almost every venue requires them for children and several require them for adults. Most sell them at the door for a few dollars. Bringing your own is cheaper and means you are not buying a fourth pair.
Check whether adults pay. It runs from free to full price and it changes the cost of a visit by a lot when there are two of you.
Weekday mornings are the toddler rush. If you want space, aim for after two on a school day. Weekend mornings are the busiest hours of the week almost everywhere.
Ninety minutes is the realistic ceiling for most children under five. There is rarely a gradual wind down. Leaving with time left on the clock is not wasted money, it is a better afternoon.
Call ahead in school holidays. Several of these venues run camps and private events that close open play with no notice on the website.
Looking somewhere else in the metro? Browse every kid-friendly place in Washington DC.
Other things to do in Washington DC
Museums & Educational Attractions in nearby cities
Common questions about museums & educational attractions in Washington DC
How many museums & educational attractions are there in Washington DC?
We list 23 museums & educational attractions within 35 miles of Washington DC, DC. Every one is a published listing with an address we checked.
Which museums & educational attractions in Washington DC publish their prices?
14 of the 23 here do, and each price was checked word for word against the venue's own page before we published it. The rest do not publish one, so their card says no price listed rather than carrying a guess.
Are any museums & educational attractions in Washington DC free?
Yes. One place gets you in free: The George Washington University Museum and Textile Museum.
Which museums & educational attractions in Washington DC suit a toddler?
7 of them list an age range starting at two or under. Check the age line on each card, because a place that suits a six-year-old does not always suit a two-year-old.
How did Mini Navigators choose these museums & educational attractions?
We list every one we have within 35 miles of the center of Washington DC. Each is a published place with an address we geocoded and checked, and the business can claim its listing to keep the hours and prices current.
Do adults have to pay?
It varies more than you would expect, from free to full price, and it changes the cost of a visit by a lot when there are two of you. The price on each card is what it costs to get a child in. Where a venue publishes an adult price it is on the listing, and where it does not we have left it out rather than assume.
Do I need to book ahead?
Usually not for open play, but several venues cap capacity at weekends and during school holidays, and some close open play entirely for private events. Where a venue has its own booking page, the listing links straight to it.
What should I bring?
Grip socks, a water bottle, a change of clothes for anyone under four, and a plan for leaving before the meltdown rather than after it.
What else is there to do with kids in Washington DC?
Washington DC has 9 categories of kid-friendly places on Mini Navigators, from playgrounds and museums to splash pads and zoos. The Washington DC hub lists all of them.
Listings last checked August 21, 2026.