A trip to the US Capitol while visiting Washington DC is definitely a must do. The building is both architecturally & historically significant and with just a little advance planning you can make the experience a good one for both you and your kids. We put together 5 tips for visiting the Capitol with young children.

When we visited: Oct 2013

Ages of Children: 8,6,3

1. Schedule with your Senator

This is by far my number one suggestion. Of course, it also means that you have to plan ahead as most offices suggest that you submit your request at least a few weeks in advance. Mike Lee, who is one of Utah’s Senators, has an easy to navigate website with “Visit DC” right on the homepage. You fill out the online form with your available dates and which tours you’d like and one of the interns will get back with you via email or phone to set you up. In addition to the Capitol, you can also request tours for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court and the National Archives. Just note that you’ll meet your guide at the Senate Office Building, NOT at the Capitol itself.

The advantage of doing this is that your tour group is simply… you. Your guide can tailor the experience to suit your family’s needs. Ours skipped the video presentation (not enough time and we’d have to wait 20 minutes in the Visitor Center), and condensed a lot of the material so the adults still received interesting information and the kid’s attention spans weren’t maxed out.

2. Where to Park

Always a tricky question. We got lucky (although we got lucky a lot parking in downtown DC) and found spots for both us AND our friends on Constitution Avenue near 3rd St. We paid with the Park Mobile app and walked approximately .5 mile to our Senator’s office. All of the parking closer to the Senate Office Buildings and the Capitol building are permit only so plan on a bit of a walk no matter what and bring a stroller if your kids tire easily.

Alternatively, the Senate Office Buildings are only a .5 mile walk from the Capitol South metro station.

3. Ride the underground Train

Another perk of scheduling with your Senator is that you walk over to the Capitol via the underground tunnels and there is a TRAIN. What kid doesn’t love a train ride? Granted it is super short, but all the kids loved it. Our guide informed us that when Congress is in session (and debating an important piece of legislation), many of the Senators go back and forth between their office and the Capitol all day. While a train ride may seem a bit on the lazy side, walking that .5 mile over 20 times a day would definitely take its toll.

4. No Food or Drink Allowed

You can’t even take it in with you and just not eat it. If you have any food or water in your bags you’ll have to throw it out. Luckily, our Senator’s office informed us of this BEFORE we got to security. We stuffed all of our food and water into one backpack and left it with the interns at the office.

This is where parking close came in handy – once the tour was completed, dad ran to the truck and grabbed our cooler with lunch and we picnicked on the Capitol lawn.

5. Find your state’s statues

Each state was allowed to contribute 2 statues and all have done so (make your kids do the math to find the total number). Many are scattered throughout the Capitol and a fair number are located in Statuary Hall. Unfortunately, my kids weren’t as interested in a statue scavenger hunt as I hoped they’d be but they are still fun to find.

Utah has a statue of Filo T. Farnsworth (American inventor & pioneer) located in the Visitor’s Center, and also Brigham Young (Mormon prophet & pioneer who led the Saints to Utah) located in Statuary Hall.

Have you visited the United States Capitol? What was your favorite part?

Don’t stop traveling – our first trip into Washington DC

When we finally got to Virginia I felt like I deserved a few days off. I wanted to lounge around, stay in my pajamas and really just not do a whole lot. So, we did. And we got bored. REALLY bored. The kids were fighting, I was not happy, and we all kind of just moped around (with the exception of Sam who was busy trying to make up for 3 weeks of only working half time). Monday I decided that was enough and we needed to go SEE something to prove we really made it to the other side of the country. We packed a picnic dinner and headed in to the National Mall to be tourists.

I’ll admit that parking in downtown DC stresses me out. There really is no good way to do it – and to take our whole family in on the metro is cost prohibitive. Kind of a no-win. After some googling around I found out that if you park on Ohio Street it is free, and fairly close to the Lincoln Memorial, but good luck actually finding a spot. We got lucky.

Lincoln was such a great man and president. I’m sure my kids did not even begin to comprehend the important of this memorial, but it was inspiring for Sam and I. Mostly they ran around and got their wiggles out. Having young kids is one thing that makes this trip harder. I really doubt they will remember much about the things we see here. I came when I was 15 and barely remember. But, that’s why we come back right? To remember.

One thing I also learned is that the National Mall is run by the National Park Service. Totally makes sense (because who else would be better?) but it just didn’t occur to me. When I think of National Parks, I think green grass and trees, or red rock formations. They also have a really cool smart phone app with a map and lots of awesome information about each memorial, and you can also have your kids participate in the Junior Ranger Program and earn a badge. We didn’t get one this trip, but next time we are up there we’re going to grab it and get started.

We had our little picnic dinner along the reflecting pond. One of my observations is that there were runners EVERYWHERE. No joke. Maybe because we went in an evening after work, or maybe because the weather was absolutely gorgeous (ie not humid) but wow. Everyone was out for exercise.

This is the WWII Memorial. It was gorgeous. I felt it helped me get a sense of the vastness of the war and how it really did engulf the whole world. They have the battles in the Atlantic and Pacific on either end of the fountain with the countries involved in each front of the war. Mostly my kids just wanted to practice their balancing skills, but that was totally fine with me.

After almost 3 weeks of traveling it was great to finally get here and really FEEL like we were here. You know? And we weren’t in a hurry. We didn’t have to see everything in one day – we’ll be here for months after all. And our conclusion is that we have to stop traveling slowly. We went from 3 weeks of fast pace and always moving to nothing overnight. It was a crazy change of pace – one that we didn’t like. So, we’ll do better next time.

To see the full gallery, visit our travel photos here.