Looking for something indoors and fun to keep the kids occupied this winter? Here are four museums that are guaranteed to keep them busy for hours.
National Museum of the American Indian
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Admission: FREE
Hours: Daily, 10 am- 5:30 pm
Address: 4th St. & Independence Ave. SW, Washington D.C.
Weave a giant basket, explore different modes of transportation—like snowshoes and skateboards — sit inside a tipi and stamp your imagiNATIONS passport with a real tribal seal as you explore the imagiNATIONS Activity Center. The museum also houses one of the world’s largest and most diverse collections of its kind and gives visitors the sense and spirit of Native America. Located on the National Mall between the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum and the U.S. Capitol Building.
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
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Admission: FREE, but IMAX movie prices vary. Parking is $15
Hours: Daily, 10 am- 5:30 pm
Address: 14390 Air and Space Museum Pkwy, Chantilly, Va.
A companion facility to the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall, The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is located near Dulles Airport and provides enough space to display thousands of aviation and space artifacts that do not fit on the Mall. Included in the collection are the space shuttle Discovery, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest jet in the world. There is also an observation tower for plane watching, flight simulators, an IMAX Theater and more.
Maryland Science Center
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Admission: adults: $26.95, children (ages 3-12): $20.95, senior (62+): $25.95; IMAX: $5 extra
Hours: Wednesday- Friday: 10 am-4pm, Saturday- Sunday 10 am- 5pm, Closed Mondays & Tuesdays
Address: 601 Light St., Baltimore
Meet a T. rex face to face in the Dinosaur Mysteries exhibit. Check out real time global seismic activity in TerraLink. Take a walk in a beating heart chamber in Your Body: The Inside Story and much more. There is also a kids’ room for those 8 and younger with hands-on learning through water play, pneumatic messaging and more. If there’s still time, catch an IMAX movie, not included with admission. Museum admission
Calvert Marine Museum
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Admission: adults: $11, children (ages 5-12): $6, senior (55+): $9
Hours: Daily, 10 am- 5pm, closed for holidays
Address: 14200 Solomons Island Road, Solomons, MD 20688
Explore marine life from the comfort of the indoors at the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons. In the Discovery Room, kids can touch terrapins, sea stars, prickly sea urchins and horseshoe crabs in a touch tank and search for and identify real fossils. Check out the octopus and explore the River to Bay exhibit.
Kids can also pretend to sail a skiff in the museum boat shop and man a model Cove Point Lighthouse. They also offer fun activities like toy boat building and the fossil field experience. Check the museum calendar for family and youth programs days/times. The Calvert Marine Museum is on State Route 2 in Solomons, Md.
Updated January 2023
By Betsy Stein
Find more awesome museum to explore with kids:
5 Totally Cool and Unusual Maryland Museums