Is 8 a good age for Washington dc?

Great age! Make sure to hit the museums (especially the spy museum), national zoo, and Mt. Vernon, too!
 
I took my 8 year old this summer. He didn't really get everything and it's purpose, but we still had fun and he still learned. The Air and Space and Natural History museums were a hit.
 
You are never too young or too old for DC IMO:).
It's an easy trip for us so we go frequently. It's also the only place on the planet where we can spend a full day at museums and the man doesn't make that "Gosh, I'm bored" look. Understand that he will tell anyone with great pride that he's nevah stepped foot in the Guggenheim and he lived across the park from it for over 40 years; so spayshul;).
Probably the youngest any of my kiddos was when we visited was 3 years old but school age really is the best time.
Visited there this past Memorial Day week with my 90+ y/o mother and then 11 y/o DGD. Stayed at the Hay-Adams which faces Lafayette Park and the WH and is a few blocks from the Mall which is were most of the museums are located. Great location if you want to avoid taxi or mass transit costs (although there are several Metro stops nearby) which we did this trip since we wanted to be able to scoot back to the hotel if Mom got tired. Contacted the concierge prior to our arrival and he arranged for the rental of a motorised scooter and tickets to the African-American Museum, all of which was waiting for us upon check-in.

DGD, is fascinated with the medieval period (we go to the Cloisters about once a month) so she enjoyed seeing the Della Robbia exhibit @ the National Gallery of Arts. She found a new love @ Air and Space: astronomy and exploration of the stars so we went back twice Yes, yes someone is getting a telescope in December, LOL. I was amazed to see the photos of WWI caves occupied by various combatants. One had a huge stove in it to serve the troops. Lots of graffiti written by the soldiers and it was sad to see how similar it was whether written in French, English or German. They are still located in northern France but are on private land so the photographer had to win the trust of various owners and cannot divulge the locations. Mother took a fancy to seeing the National Museum of the American Indian and there was something for all of us. I finally entered the Lincoln Memorial for the first time and it's much grander than any postcard can make it. Next trip I'll make a concerted effort to see the Jefferson Memorial, another been missing it for decades spot.
We didn't make it to the National Zoo, a real children of all ages locale or visit Dumbarton Oaks, (a great exploration into how the other half used to live) with it's amazing collection of pre-Columbian art, this trip but there's always the next time. Spent 5 days in DC and still regrets on places missed.
 
Perfect time. He will always have this experience to think upon as he continues to learn history and government.

FBI bldg is cool for that age. Spy museum is fun, but pricey. So many free museums its hard for me to pay for one.

Eat at Teds Bulletin restaurant. My kids loved it. Huge portions, fun meals (hamburger with bacon and peanut butter was a hit for us) and home made pop tarts for dessert.

our experience on a Big Bus tour was horrible. If you do a hop on/hop off bus tour make sure they go where you want to go and have enough busses running that you are not waiting forever for the next one to come by.

Our kids want to go back and we were just there early last fall.
 


$100 for cabs? Someone way overpaid for getting around DC.

I think it is a great age to visit DC. Especially if he has interests that align with some of the sites you can visit.
 
Great age for visiting D.C., and a great opportunity to foster his current interest in the government!
 
Fun. We missed those museums. Have to go back, lol. DH *thinks* he is done.

Ha. My husband also thinks we are done but there's so much left to do. So many places, so little $$$$. We took my father and his wife to Washington two springs ago and it was amazing for them to finally see so much and they were blown away. Newseum should be near the top of everyone's list, IMO.

My father is in his 80's and we've taken him to China, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Boston, LA, Toronto, Grand Canyon, Sedona, Las Vegas, etc. We are taking them to London and Edinburgh in May for two weeks. God help us because it ain't easy travelling with old folks set in their ways, exact times eating schedules, etc. On top of that, my husband and I eat entirely plant based, and they think they will die of protein deficiency from one meal of no meat so finding food for all of us in the same restaurant is quite a headache. And of course every meal must be a sit down, three course meal. No drive throughs for the Royals. Sorry, that was off topic but I swear after our last trip with them two years ago I was done. Never again I said. I'm a sucker for my father.
 


We went when my son was 9, he loved it! We drove from CT, and stayed in National Harbor, which we loved. We did Air and Space downtown, as well as Udvar-Hazy (which I highly recommend!). Natural History. Spy Museum (son's favorite). Newseum (my favorite, son loved it as well). Capitol tour. Saw the White House, and the monuments. We got him a 'passport' (National Parks one) and he loved getting it stamped everywhere.

We skipped the Holocaust Museum. We felt ds could handle it, however, my paternal grandmother and great grandmothers were survivors, and this is a very emotionally charged topic for me. I have been before, and I was concerned he wouldn't be yet able to handle MY emotion. We decided a separate weekend trip just for this would be best.

And note that at Newseum there are some very graphic portrayals of some of the most horrific things of the past few decades. It's an AMAZING museum, but brings forth lots of discussion, so just be prepared for that.

We had a car with us. We tried the shuttle to the Metro, and taking the Metro in but my dh wasn't a fan of all the waiting. So after the first couple days we drove in, using Parking Panda to find a garage affordable for each day near what we were doing. That worked great, dh was happier. I would have been fine with the Metro, though the shuttle waiting was a bit of a PITA. If you're staying in the city this isn't an issue.

We skipped the Holocaust Museum for the same reason. I didn't think my kids could handle it even though they've learned so much about the Holocaust in school and at home. They were extremely sensitive kids at that age and after some of the reviews I thought it might be too much. I don't regret that decision.

On the other hand, they were perfectly fine with the Newseum.
 
$100 for cabs? Someone way overpaid for getting around DC.

I think it is a great age to visit DC. Especially if he has interests that align with some of the sites you can visit.

I was TIRED and I could not walk to each place OK LOL? We used cabs to save time.
 
Ha. My husband also thinks we are done but there's so much left to do. So many places, so little $$$$. We took my father and his wife to Washington two springs ago and it was amazing for them to finally see so much and they were blown away. Newseum should be near the top of everyone's list, IMO.

My father is in his 80's and we've taken him to China, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Boston, LA, Toronto, Grand Canyon, Sedona, Las Vegas, etc. We are taking them to London and Edinburgh in May for two weeks. God help us because it ain't easy travelling with old folks set in their ways, exact times eating schedules, etc. On top of that, my husband and I eat entirely plant based, and they think they will die of protein deficiency from one meal of no meat so finding food for all of us in the same restaurant is quite a headache. And of course every meal must be a sit down, three course meal. No drive throughs for the Royals. Sorry, that was off topic but I swear after our last trip with them two years ago I was done. Never again I said. I'm a sucker for my father.
My mother tried to run me over with her scooter. I guess I was moving too slowly...:lmao:
I solved the food issue by ordering room service for the 2 days we were alone. The waiter was suitably charmed by her squeals of glee every time he removed a metal cover to plate the food and I tipped him well for his performance;).
 
If your son is already interested, I'd say go with it.
 
My mother tried to run me over with her scooter. I guess I was moving too slowly...:lmao:
I solved the food issue by ordering room service for the 2 days we were alone. The waiter was suitably charmed by her squeals of glee every time he removed a metal cover to plate the food and I tipped him well for his performance;).

LOL I though only step mothers did that .
 
^^^^^
She's pretty much my last connection to the past and future sooo gets a bit of latitude but pays for it with behind the scene giggling, eye rolling convos between my sisters and I (we don't let ANY thing bypass us, LOL) .
When she leaves this world I'll be a orphan and a true family elder and I'm not looking forward to assuming that role :).

As for fairy tales.....we nicknamed her the Empress long ago and accept our roles as Queens in our immediate families yet assume our places as Cinderellas to her; it works only for her (sometimes; occasionally empresses get crazed) and we ( well most of us) are "fierce" for the rest of our world;).
 
My grandson just got back from a field trip with his class and he had a wonderful time! He is 10. My DS went with him and said he just grinned from ear to ear the whole trip.
 
Thank you all, you have been so helpful. I have already been looking things up. He has a winter break week off in February where i think we may go or wait until the summer. Talking to some other people made me realize that i will need more than a long weekend.
 
There are so many things to do and see. Just choose the museums and sites that appeal to him. We took our kids when they were 10 & 5. They both enjoyed different things, but the Natural History and Air & Space Museums were hits. Mount Vernon was a great day trip. We are going back this summer. The 5 year old will be 18 and we are doing the Spy Museum, the Holocaust Museum, both Air and Space Museums, and what ever else we can.
 
@ leeshunelense
Here are some of the places the Picayune Princess (AKA DGD) enjoyed eating at outside of the hotel (I'm bringing her up to think being Eloise is a lifetime goal;)):

Taoism- she's a major tea drinker (so is much of her paternal family), enjoys trying different types and they have nicely made sandwiches.
Whole Foods- hitting the breakfast buffet for takeout was our go to in the morning during our early day run/walk.
Georgia Brown's- nice steaks, seafood with a Southern slant
Ebbit's- this was her nearby fave. She loves seafood!
We also had some great Chinese food and bbq but I don't recall the names of the places..just vague ideas of locales.
 
We have been there twice in the past 4 months. My kids are DD16 and DS10. We stayed for a week in June, my daughter was invited to a National Security conference. We then went back for a long Columbus Day weekend.
We have done:
White House tour
All monuments
Natural History Museum
American History Museum (they love anything about the Presidents so those areas were favorites)
Spy Museum
National Georgrahic Museum (not quite with the money)
National Archives
Ford's Theatre
House where Lincoln Died
White House visitors center
Pentagon memorial
My DD did the House of Representatives and DEA during her conference.

My DS10 carried around a map that was worn by the time we left. He loved getting us where we needed to be.

Any specific questions, please feel free to ask! I thought my son would get whiny there but he loved it all.
 
We skipped the Holocaust Museum for the same reason. I didn't think my kids could handle it even though they've learned so much about the Holocaust in school and at home. They were extremely sensitive kids at that age and after some of the reviews I thought it might be too much. I don't regret that decision.

On the other hand, they were perfectly fine with the Newseum.

Another we skipped the Holocaust with the grandkids. We just didn't think they were mature enough. It is a very intense experience.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!






Top