Ecplore the Japanese garden at Hillwood Estate. Photo by author Rebecca Singer

Best Hidden-Gem Museums for Kids in Washington, DC

1. Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

Full disclosure—I’ve been working at Hillwood for more than 18 years, so obviously I’m a bit biased when I say this is one of my favorite museums in the city. But, I wholeheartedly recommend it as a family-friendly destination. Pack a picnic and enjoy exploring the gardens. The Japanese-style garden is always a favorite, with its waterfall and stepping stones. The best time to visit with kids is during family events, including weekday-morning preschool programs during fall and spring. My daughter also loves the art projects, with so many enticing supplies you can’t help feeling inspired.

2. Planet Word

This is currently one of our family’s favorite museums, and it’s one that’s especially enjoyable for older kids, tweens, and teens. We love the magic library with its secret door, hidden pictures, and books that come to life. The talking word wall, which shares how the English language developed and continues to evolve, is a favorite with many visitors, and the karaoke-style Unlock the Music exhibit is always fun.

3. National Postal Museum

Though it’s not quite as well known as some of the other Smithsonian museums, the National Postal Museum is lots of fun for families. The museum’s atrium is eye-catching with an airmail plane suspended from the ceiling, a mail truck you can pretend to drive, and a train car you can walk inside. My daughter especially enjoys the stamp gallery on the second floor, where you can sort through a selection of canceled stamps to start your own stamp collection.

4. National Building Museum

The great hall of the National Building Museum is a wonderfully large, open space that’s fun for kids to explore, and the museum frequently holds storytime and other family programs. The Building Stories exhibit is specifically geared for children and explores themes like architecture and design through classic children’s books. Brick City (through spring 2025) is another great exhibit for families with iconic landmarks, like the Empire State Building, built entirely from LEGO bricks and an area where visitors can design their own LEGO creations.

5. The Phillips Collection

The Phillips Plays is a program for families with children of all ages that explores a variety of themes through the museum’s art. Each program includes a family-friendly tour and an opportunity to create art and enjoy books, games, and toys in the museum’s play area. The Family Gallery on the museum’s second floor is specially designed for children with paintings displayed at their eye level and kid-friendly labels with conversation prompts on the walls.

6. United States Botanic Garden

The US Botanic Garden describes itself as a living plant museum. The outdoor Children’s Garden is open seasonally and includes a climbing structure and a planting station where kids use child-sized garden tools to dig, water, and care for plants. The winter holiday display with model trains, festive lights, and DC landmarks made from plant material is always fun to visit as well.

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Dive into various activities at KID Museum. Photo by Adam Fagen via Flickr 2.0

Best Hidden-Gem Museums for Kids in Maryland

7. KID Museum — Bethesda

KID Museum is more maker space than traditional museum. There are no exhibits or artifacts on display. Instead, this museum is focused on interactive experiences that encourage creativity and experimentation with activities like coding, robotics, and crafting. Families can visit during public hours on Sundays. During the week the museum offers after-school programs and other group activities. Our family enjoyed a visit years ago to the museum’s former location, and my daughter still has a toy turtle she made there.

8. Gaithersburg Community Museum — Gaithersburg

This small museum has plenty to entertain families with young children. Almost everything in the museum is hands-on, including a general store where kids can play store clerk or customer and a one-room school with games and classroom activities from the past. On the plaza outside the museum’s main building there are historic train cars with books, games, and activities. The museum also frequently hosts storytime and other activities for kids.

9. College Park Aviation Museum — College Park

Sure, the National Air and Space Museum is a great place to visit with kids, but when you’re looking for something smaller, more manageable, and a lot less crowded, check out this fascinating museum that offers plenty of hands-on fun. There’s a play space with pilot outfits for dress-up, books, toys, and coloring pages. Visitors can even climb inside one of the historic planes and operate the controls. The museum also regularly hosts family programs with storytime, crafts, and more.

10. National Capital Trolley Museum — Colesville

I remember visiting this museum when I was a kid, and I love that as a grown-up I can return with my daughter to share this experience with her. We visited when she was preschool age, which is an ideal time to enjoy this museum. While the museum is small, its transportation theme is a great fit for young kids, and a highlight of visiting is getting to take a ride through the surrounding woods on a real trolley.

11. Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center — Lusby

The Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center is a unique, whimsical museum about a 90-minute drive south of DC. A great time to visit is during the annual Fairy & Gnome Home Festival in the spring or Artfest in the fall, when you can enjoy performances, food vendors, games, and all sorts of entertainment. No matter when you visit children will enjoy the Fairy Lolly, a nature play space, and the artLAB where they can make their own creations from a variety of fun materials.

12. King Barn Dairy MOOseum — Boyds

Located in a historic dairy barn, this museum shares the story of dairy farming in Montgomery County, Maryland. Artifacts and memorabilia on display include life-sized cow replicas, a restored milk truck, and a horse-drawn milk wagon. You can even try hand-milking an electronic cow model, affectionately named Bessie. There is a children’s play room with hands-on activities and a craft room with cow-themed art projects.

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Learn about interesting inventions and the people behind them. Photo courtesy of the National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum

Best Hidden-Gem Museums for Kids in Northern Virginia

13. National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum — Alexandria

Located on the campus of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, this small museum celebrates innovation and creativity with interesting, interactive displays. Kids enjoy climbing inside an old Ford Mustang in the exhibit about automotive design and technology.

14. Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum — Sterling

There’s plenty of interactive fun at this museum, with exhibits including a “pick your own” wall where children gather toy produce and a sensory garden with a balance beam and tire tunnel. Regularly scheduled seasonal events such as a fall apple festival and a Halloween trick-or-treat program provide even more engaging activities for families.

15. National Museum of the Marine Corps — Triangle

This museum has exhibits to interest children of all ages from toddlers to teens. If you’re visiting with kids 10 and under, check out the Children’s Gallery with uniforms for dress-up and other hands-on activities. There are various interactive experiences throughout the rest of the exhibits as well, including a laser-simulated rifle range, appropriate for ages 5 and up, in the Making Marines gallery. Families also enjoy the outdoor playground by the parking lot.

16. National Museum of the United States Army — Fort Belvoir

This museum’s Experiential Learning Center includes interactive experiences for all ages that simulate the work of army soldiers related to science, technology, and engineering, such as using sonar to detect a threat, building and repairing bridges, and operating an unmanned aerial vehicle. In Fort Discover, a play area for children 8 and under, visitors can climb a tower, use a radio to call friends, drive a Jeep, try on uniforms, and more. There is also a weekly Tiny Troops Storytime.

17. George Mason's Gunston Hall — Lorton

Visiting Mount Vernon is a must for DC-area families, but it’s not the only founding father’s home near the nation’s capital. Gunston Hall was the home of George Mason, the primary author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights. You must take a guided tour to see the mansion, but you can enjoy the grounds at your own pace and explore the kitchen yard, schoolhouse, hiking trails, and picnic spots.

18. Friendship Firehouse Museum — Alexandria

Kids will love seeing historic firefighting equipment and fire trucks at this small museum. Its annual August festival features live music and local vendors.

19. Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum

This historic apothecary operated from 1792-1933, when it was preserved as a museum. Today visitors can see over 15,000 objects including herbs, hand-blown glass bottles, and medical equipment, either on their own or as part of a guided tour. Harry Potter fans will especially love seeing ingredients that were used to make potions in the films, such as dragon's blood and castor oil.

20. Gadsby’s Tavern Museum

This little museum consists of two buildings: a tavern built around 1785 and the 1792 City Tavern and Hotel. Named after John Gadsby, who operated them from 1796-1808, the businesses were frequented by George and Martha Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other notable people. Visitors can explore the dining rooms, ballroom, sleeping rooms, and more. Kids will love playing old-fashioned games, putting on a puppet show, and seeing a replica of a tavern menu from that time. Students in grades 4-6 can join the summer Junior Docent program.