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Tired of government? Seen enough monuments? Been to all 17 Smithsonian museums—and the zoo?
There are many more interesting places to visit in D.C.
◀ There’s the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It’s the country’s official memorial to our 35th president. It has three theaters, an opera house, a concert hall, and a movie house. Flags from more than 100 countries hang in the Hall of Nations. And the Hall of States has flags from all 50 states.
The Organization of American States (OAS) is based in Washington. It was founded in 1948 to foster peace and cooperation between the countries of North and South America. Banana, coffee, rubber, and papaya trees grow in the building’s courtyard. ▶
◀ The International Spy Museum has a huge collection of spy stuff. In a 1777 letter from George Washington, he okays setting up a spy network. There’s also a car just like the one James Bond drove in the movie Goldfinger.
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum presents the history of the Holocaust. That’s what we call the persecution and murder of millions of Jews and others by the Nazis. They ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945. ▶
◀ The Smithsonian’s Discovery Theater offers classic stories and folktales. These are told through puppet shows, dancers, musicians, and mimes.
▲ Where in the world is Explorer’s Hall? It’s inside the National Geographic Society Building. You can touch a tornado there. You can also learn about Earth and its people on an interactive computer display.
▼ You could pedal a paddleboat on the Tidal Basin. Or take a mule-drawn barge ride on the C&O Canal. You could see parts of Rock Creek Park, 1,750 acres that wind through Washington.
History comes alive at Ford’s Theatre. That’s where John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln on the night of April 14, 1865. Lincoln died the next day. The theater went out of business. About a century later, in 1968, it was fixed up and reopened. You can see a play there and look at things Lincoln owned and used. ▶
