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Museums and Educational Attractions in Washington DC
Explore›Washington DC›Museums and Educational Attractions

A day out that teaches something.

Museums and Educational Attractions in Washington DC

Looking for museums and educational attractions in Washington DC? Here are 24 of them, with the details parents check first: price, opening hours and the right age range. Admission runs $5 to $18, based on the 12 here that publish a price.

24 museums and educational attractions in the Washington DC area

Find a museum in Washington DC

24 museums and educational attractions in the Washington DC area.

Sorted by distance from Washington DC, nearest first. Straight-line miles, so every drive is longer.

24 places

The Phillips Collection

The Phillips Collection

Museums
Closed today · Admission from $10
Accepts NARM

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…

0.6 mi View place
National Museum of Women in the Arts

National Museum of Women in the Arts

Museums
Closed today · Admission $13
Accepts NARM

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…

0.6 mi View place
International Arts & Artists Hillyer Arts Space

International Arts & Artists Hillyer Arts Space

Museums
Closed today · No price listed
Accepts NARM

Hillyer Arts Space is a contemporary art gallery in Washington, DC, run by the nonprofit International Arts & Artists. It hosts rotating solo and group exhibitions…

0.7 mi View place
The George Washington University Museum and Textile Museum

The George Washington University Museum and Textile Museum

Museums
Closed today · Free admission
Accepts ROAMAccepts NARM

A museum on the George Washington University campus in downtown Washington, D.C., displaying textile art and artefacts from around the world and throughout…

0.8 mi View place
German-American Heritage Museum

German-American Heritage Museum

Museums
Closed today · No price listed
Accepts ROAM

The German-American Heritage Museum occupies a restored 19th-century townhouse called Hockemeyer Hall in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, DC. It traces…

1.1 mi View place
National Building Museum – Play, Work, Build

National Building Museum – Play, Work, Build

Museums · Ages 1–5
No hours listed · No price listed

National Building Museum's Play, Work, Build exhibit invites families in Washington DC to explore construction and design through hands-on activity. Children and…

1.2 mi View place
National Building Museum

National Building Museum

Museums · Ages 3–9
Today 10am–5pm · Admission $15.95
Accepts ROAMAccepts NARM

National Building Museum's Play, Work, Build exhibit invites families in Washington DC to explore construction and design through hands-on activity. Children and…

1.2 mi View place
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Museums · Ages 1–16
Today 10am–5:30pm · No price listed

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History serves as a premier children’s museum located in Washington, District of Columbia. This institution offers an…

RestroomsFood availableParking
1.2 mi View place
National Gallery of Art

National Gallery of Art

Museums · Ages 6–16
Today 10am–5pm · No price listed
Accepts ROAM

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…

1.4 mi View place
Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

Museums · Ages 10–16
Closed today · Admission $5
Accepts AHS Garden NetworkAccepts ROAMAccepts NARM

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…

2.7 mi View place
The Kreeger Museum

The Kreeger Museum

Museums
Closed today · Admission $10
Accepts NARM

An art museum in Washington, DC, with a permanent collection spanning from the 1850s onwards. Visitors see paintings by Impressionist masters like Monet, Renoir…

3 mi View place
The American University Museum

The American University Museum

Museums
Closed today · No price listed
Accepts NARM
3.5 mi View place
Junior playland

Junior playland

Museums · Ages 1–9
Today 9am–7pm · Admission from $16

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…

ParkingWheelchair accessible
4.4 mi View place
Pyramid Atlantic Art Center

Pyramid Atlantic Art Center

Museums
Closed today · No price listed
Accepts NARM
6 mi View place
KID Museum Bethesda Metro Center

KID Museum Bethesda Metro Center

Museums · Ages 6–12
Closed today · Admission $15

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…

Playground on siteRestroomsFood available
6.2 mi View place
College Park Aviation Museum

College Park Aviation Museum

Museums
Closed today · No price listed
7.9 mi View place
Good Knight Child Empowerment Network

Good Knight Child Empowerment Network

Museums · Ages 3–9
Today 10am–3pm · No price listed

Good Knight Child Empowerment Network operates as a children's museum located at 11001 Rhode Island Ave, Beltsville, Maryland. This engaging facility focuses on…

Wheelchair accessible
11.2 mi View place
George Washington’s Mount Vernon

George Washington’s Mount Vernon

Museums · Ages 6–16
Today 9am–5pm · No price listed
Accepts AHS Garden NetworkAccepts ROAMAccepts NARM

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…

ParkingFree parkingWheelchair accessible
13.9 mi View place
Kids Play Gallery

Kids Play Gallery

Museums · Ages 1–9
Today 10am–4pm · Admission from $18

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…

Playground on siteRestroomsOutside food allowed
17.7 mi View place
Play Street Museum – Gaithersburg

Play Street Museum – Gaithersburg

Museums · Ages 1–9
Today 8:30am–6pm · Admission $18

Play Street Museum in Gaithersburg is an interactive children's museum offering hands-on, immersive exhibits designed for imaginative play. Children can explore a…

Playground on siteRestroomsFood available
18.6 mi View place
Fairytale Museum

Fairytale Museum

Museums · Ages 3–9
Today 10am–2pm · No price listed

Fairytale Museum in Waldorf, Maryland is a touch museum featuring interactive exhibits that represent various rooms and artifacts found in castles from the 1800s…

Playground on siteRestroomsFood available
21.9 mi View place
Play Street Museum – Ashburn

Play Street Museum – Ashburn

Museums
Today 8:30am–6pm · Admission $17

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…

Playground on siteRestroomsFood available
25.4 mi View place
Believe: Imagination Station

Believe: Imagination Station

Museums · Ages 1–9
Today 9am–1pm · Admission $5

Believe: Imagination Station is a 3,600 square foot, two-story children's museum in Warrenton, Virginia that offers hands-on imaginative play spaces with…

Playground on siteRestroomsFood available
36.3 mi View place
National Sporting Library and Museum

National Sporting Library and Museum

Museums
Closed today · Admission $8
Accepts ROAMAccepts NARM

A library and museum in Virginia's hunt country dedicated to field sports and country life. The collections cover riding, hunting, fishing, racing, shooting and…

38 mi View place
Nothing here matches that combination. Clear a filter, or browse everything in Washington DC.

5 of 24 museums and educational attractions

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.

Before you go

Quick answers for busy parents.

Look for a free day or eveningMany museums run one. It is the busiest time, but it is free.
Ask for the children’s trailMost have a backpack, a trail sheet or a hunt, and most keep them behind the desk rather than advertising them.
Check which galleries suit your childA museum can be brilliant for a nine-year-old and a long hour for a three-year-old. The website usually says which rooms are hands-on.
Bags and coatsLarger museums require a cloakroom for anything big, which is worth knowing before you carry it round.
Other things to do in Washington DC
Amusement Parks Arcades Bowling Alleys Children's Museums Climbing and Adventure Parks Family Entertainment Centers Farms and Orchards Historic Sites Ice Skating Rinks Indoor Playgrounds Laser Tag Mini Golf Nature and Gardens Outdoor Pools and Water Parks Roller Skating Rinks Trampoline Parks Zoos and Aquariums
Museums and Educational Attractions in nearby cities
Philadelphia, PA New Jersey New York, NY Westchester, NY Long Island, NY Connecticut Boston, MA Detroit, MI

Common questions about museums and educational attractions in Washington DC

How many museums and educational attractions are there in Washington DC?

We list 24 museums and educational attractions within 42 miles of Washington DC, DC. Every one is a published listing with an address we checked.

Which museums and educational attractions in Washington DC publish their prices?

13 of the 24 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 and educational attractions in Washington DC free?

Yes. One place gets you in free: The George Washington University Museum and Textile Museum.

Which museums and educational attractions in Washington DC suit a toddler?

6 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 and educational attractions?

We list every one we have within 42 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. 13 of the 24 on this page publish a price at all, so call ahead about the adult rate before you rely on it.

Do I need to book ahead?

Free museums often still ask you to reserve a slot, and special exhibitions almost always do. Where a venue publishes a booking page, the listing links straight to it.

What should I bring?

Water and a snack for outside. Many museums do not allow food in the galleries. Whatever else you need is in the notes beside the listings above.

What else is there to do with kids in Washington DC?

Washington DC has 18 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 October 5, 2026.

Explore related activities in Washington DC

Amusement Parks 13 places Arcades 7 places Bowling Alleys 6 places

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