Foogli - web for 'fun'

Educational Foogli Events:

Museums

	Air and Space museum
	There are two Air and Space Museums, and both are really worth it. The one on the Mall is free, as is the one near Dulles (Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia), however you will have to pay $12 for parking at the Dulles one. If you are even remotely interested in planes, you'll enjoy both so it's well worth the trip. The one in Chantilly has more planes and other flying machines on display (basically it's a history of flyingincluding a full section on space travel. IMAX movies (approximately $8.50), both regular and 3D are available at both official website

	National gallery of art
	If you love art, the National Gallery always has some great collections, and some good variety - paintings, photography, sculpture. So check their website and you can see what special collections they have showing along with their regular exhibits. official website

	National Portrait Gallery
	Must love portraits to go here! But it's great if you do. They have a room of American Presidents that's fantastic, and then the rest of the portraits are gathered into relevant collections like Colonial portraits and American Revolution portraits, which is great if you're like me and need to do this museum in a few trips! This museum is also right next to the Spy Museum and in the middle of Chinatown, so you can break up your day with some different activities. official website

	Spy Museum
	This is a fantastic museum with something for almost eveyone (I say 'almost' because I'm sure there is someone out there that doesn't love James Bond, but I haven't met them yet!).There is a lot to see here, and also some fun interactive aspects to the exhibit. General admission is $18. official website

	Holocast Memorial museum
	This is a hands down one of the best memorial museums that I've been to. Because of that it is somewhat depressing, but just in the right way because it makes us remember. The way the museum is organised and all the exhibits are truely a fantastic memorial to everyone who lost their lives during the holocast and also to those who tried to help the Jews during WWII. I think this is an important museum to visit, and possibly a life changing experience for children of a certain age to be exposed to, but of course you should be conscious of the purpose of this museum before taking your children. official website

	National Aquarium
	Located near the White house on 14th Street in The Commerce Building, the aquarium is easy to get to and a fun field trip. They do daily animal feedings and aquarist talks at 2pm. General admission is $7, but note they do not take credit cards. official website

	George Washington Masonic Temple
	Built in the 1920's by more than two million American Freemasons, this memorial, museum, library, performing arts center, and concert hall is open to the public, seven days a week. With it's prime location on a hill overlooking Old town Alexandria, it has one of the best views of the town and the Potomac. 10am -4pm. Guided tower tours daily at 10am, 11:30am, 1:30pm and 3pm. Masonic Tours on the first and third Wednesday of each month.

Activities - outdoor

	jazz in the sculpture garden - National gallery of art
	Bring a picnic, blanket and your friends to enjoy live jazz every friday evening. This is only in the summer and will start up again May 22, 2009. Get there early to get a good parking spot and grass location, it's VERY popular. They do have a cafe there where you can purchase food and drinks, but the lines are somewhat unbarable, as is the line to the restrooms, so for the best experience, try to come prepared and in need of nothing other than the desire to have a good time with your friends and listen to jazz! official website

	Washington Monument tour
	Tours of the Washington Monument are free but if you want to plan ahead you can purchase them online for $1.50. You can just go down there and see if there are tickets but then of coures you run the risk of having to wait for a later tour or not getting a ticket at all depending on how popular it is that day. There are loads of museums to spend time in while you wait, so so long as you are not in a hurryThe tour takes approximately 30 minutes, but you can stay up at the top for as long as you want. However, the windows you look out of are quite small so you can't hog them for long! official website

	Mount Vernon
	George Washington's country home Mount Vernon of course offers all the educational tours and experiences that you'd expect, but it is also a fantastically beautiful place to just walk around. From the beautiful views of the Potomac from vast lawns behind the house, to the gardens and country roads that you can take to look around the rest of the large property, you can choose whether you just wander around yourself or take the guided tours. If you have seen the Nicolas Cage movie you might enjoy the National Treasure Tour that includes areas of the house usually not open to the public. Also note that for a few dollars over the admission price you can get a years pass - well worth it if you even think you might come back. General Admission $15, various other prices for kids, seniors etc. official website

	Duck tours
	Whether you've lived in DC for longer than you can remember, or just have friends visiting, you should give the DC Ducks tour a try, just for fun! It really is an unusual feeling when you drive into the water in one of the original WWII DUKW amphibious vehicles. A 90 minute tour is around $30 and well worth it we think, you might learn something new about DC in the process! official website

Activities - indoor

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court offers a variety of visitor entertainment and that will be a completely different kind of fun if you are at all interested in the judicial system! As far as listening in on oral arguments of a current case, you will have to A) show up on a day that they are having oral arguments (10am start, lines start up to 2 hours earlier depending on interest of case) and B) wait in one of two lines to get in. The first line will allow you to sit in on the whole argument (or for as long as you want) the second line is a 3 minute line, that (obviously!) allows you only three minutes in there, but if you are in a hurry or get there too later for the first line, it's a great alternative so that you don't feel like you missed it completely!

This link shows you which actual cases are going to be in-session for which day. This link will give you an overview of the next year or so of in-session days (with no case description) in a downloadable pdf so you can plan ahead if you want. NOTE that although for instance it might say "October 2008" that actually is the calendar from that time forward, so that would be what you'd want to review for the months AFTER that date. Here are the next few dates for 2009 when they will be in session: FEB, 23,24,25, MARCH, 2,3,4,23,24,25,30,31, APRIL, 1, 20,21,22,27,28,29. But as always check information in case it changes!
official website

	Old Post office Tower
	On the corner of 12th and Pennsylvania Ave, there are not many places you can get a better view of the mall from once you make it up to the tower. It's free and not something that every tourist will know about, so there tends to be less people there. Check their website for opening hours official website

	Cooking Classes
	Learn anything from the basics to classes for more experienced 'chefs' and everything inbetween, the DC area has several places you can enjoy being the star of your own Food Network show (in your head). It's a fun way to spend a few hours in the evening or on the weekend, and also a great way to meet new people!Here are a few locations: Sur La Table, Arlington, ($70+) Culinaerie, Logan Circle, (approx $85 per class), HIlls Kitchen, Capitol Hill, ($?)

	Brew your own beer
	Have you always dreamed of having your own beer? Well now you can (kind of). This brewing company will give you a bunch of recipes to choose from and you do the brewing and bottling. Brewing a single batch of beer will take around three hours, and then you have to come back to bottle another day. It will take 3-12 weeks for your beer to be ready, and there is an extra cost if you want to personaize your beer with your own label, but they allow you to either pick from one of their templates or provide them with your own design, so you really can end up with a case (or more) of beers with your own label on it! We only found one place that does this in the DC area. Prices range from $192.50 to $342.50. Go alone or go with friends! a website

	The White House
	So of course you can walk around the outside on a nice day and take your photos, but you can also take a tour of the inside, if you have the patience and the forethought to organise it! You need to make the request through your member of Congress (find your elected officials). Requests are accepted up to six months in advance.

	Glass Blowing
	This is defintiely a unique experience (for most of us!) Whether you want to watch a demonstration or are brave enough to give it a shot yourself, you can do this at DC glassworks, which is just outside of DC in Maryland. Other than their multipul classes, they offer a one time class for between $45 and $75 (depending on the item you want to make). They also offer open houses (which are free, and include a glass blowing demo) group party events, along with other things, so check out their website for more information.

NOTE: All prices were accurate at time of posting. Please double check the cost of activities if price is an issue. Recommended sites and their
companies are NOT Foogli sponsors or affiliated to Foogli in any way, they are just suggested places to retrieve more information.