Fun things to do and see in Northern Virginia near Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax County and Falls Church. Includes parks, shopping, sightseeing, recreation and events.
The Newseum located in the heart of DC claims itself to be the most interactive museum in D.C. It is found on 555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC 20001 and is kid friendly. The newseum is a great place for younger audiences to interact with local and national headlines. It offers a balcony flaunting an excellent view of the capitol (pictured below).
View of the Capitol from the Newseum Balcony
A first Amendment Tablet made of marble is located on the front of the museum. The exhibits include a Great Hall of News, a Pulitzer Prize Photography Gallery, a 4-D film adventure theater, a Berlin Wall Gallery, a Documentary Theater, and a Sports theater. Special sites include a September (9-11) gallery of the news coverage of this landmark event and an archive of major news headlines ranging from the presidential impeachments to technological achievements.
The museum is very visitor oriented; there is even a broadcast studio that guests can report the news themselves. It features a green screen and teleprompter that guests can read off of. Options even include a weather reporting station.
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The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History is a timeless classic site that visitors and Virginians alike should frequently visit. The free museum, with the help of professional curators, has made this national exhibit a great place for historians, children, and just the general public to enjoy themselves.
The first floor presents an accomplished array of first impressions. Upon entering the museum, you will be greeted by the famous African Elephant (pictured below). Other exhibits include “Orchids- A View from the East”, The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef, “African Voices”, The David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins, The Dinosaurs/Hall of Paleobiology, The Fossilab, and The Sant Ocean Hall. A kid friendly place for younger visitors is the Discovery Room where museum instructors allow the public to discover history using interactive objects and hands on activities. This personal empiricism is great for learning through self-guidance and pacing.
The Second floor of the museum includes the Hope Diamond, an exhibit on Cyprus, the Butterfly House, The Carmen Lucia Ruby, The Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals, the Korea Gallery, the Osteology Hall of Bones, an exhibit on Reptiles and Amphibians, and the The O. Orkin Insect Zoo.
The museum is located at the intersection of 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW in Washington DC. It is open 364 days a year from 10 AM to 5:30 PM normally.
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The Smithsonian National Zoological Park is a great activity to do on the weekend for animal lovers and tourists alike. For those living in Arlington, Virginia, the zoo is a nice local place to visit due to its proximity to home. Open 364 days a year and home to 2,000 animals and over 400 different species, the National Zoo is a nice free place to visit any time of the year. The park is 163 acres and set in the center of Washington, DC.
Animals include cheetahs, elephants, anteaters, clouded leopards, gorillas, monkeys, foxes, tigers, and giant pandas. There are also bird houses with hundreds of beautifully colored and ornamented feather creatures. The park features several reptiles and amphibian houses and also has an extravagant collection of marine animals including the cow of the sea, the manatee.
Perhaps the most famous of all inhabitants of the Zoo are the giant pandas Mei Xiang and baby Tian Tian. They are housed under a Giant Panda Cooperative Research and Breeding Agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association. They will be at the Smithsonian Zoo until at least 2015 and are the focus of research regarding conservation, breeding, and preservation of these lovable furry bears.
The Zoo is located at 3001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008 and is accessible by the Red Line Metro at the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan stop. Parking is $15 for the first three hours and $20 for the next three. For more information: nationalzoo.si.edu
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Located on 9404-A Main Street Fairfax, Va 22031, Petland is a quaint and cozy pet store great for children and people of all ages. The store serves as a both a place to purchase and adopt puppies and kittens of all sizes. The store is also a clinic for animals to get spayed or neutered.
What makes Petland inherently different from other pet supply stores is that is specializes in puppy sales. All sorts of breeds including Border Collies, Basset Hounds, American Eskimos, Malteses, Miniature Schnauzers, Chihuahuas, and Shih-Tzus from all sorts of countries world wide are for sale at Petland. Any store visitor over 18 with proper identification can reserve a play room to interact and meet the puppies before actually taking one home.
The store sells rabbits, rats, mice, fish, puppies, and chinchillas. Petland has a large variety of products ranging from pet leashes to animal medications and is a kid-friendly environment.
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Splashdown Water Park is a great place for recreation and fun for those living around Northern Virginia. This local water park is located in Prince William County at an official county park known as Ben Lomond Park. The park has facilities catered to a younger audience and is a great place for parents to relax.
Splashdown's motto is "It's like a day at the beach without the drive!" and the park lives up to this slogan. The park has 770 foot lazy river, a lap pool, activity pools, cannon ball slides, 4 story water slides, tropical twister water slides, lilly pad and log walks, and a huge sandy beach area with tons of sand. Prices are relatively low and parking is free.
The park hosts birthday parties and play date programs as well. There are cabana and life jacket rentals and the park even offers swimming lessons. Season passes and tickets are now available online. The park is located at 7500 Ben Lomond Park Drive, Manassas Virginia, 20109.
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Located in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Kings Dominion is a great place for families and children of all ages to enjoy a day off. The amusement park is owned by Paramount and is the only major theme park in Virginia (there is a Six Flags in Baltimore, Maryland). The park includes several roller coasters, a concert hall, and a water park is about two hours from Northern Virginia.
Kings Dominion is home to fifteen roller coasters including the Volcano, the Anaconda, the Intimidator 305, Flight of Fear, and the Dominator. The park offers an extensive collection of water attractions as well, many that are great for young children.
Paramount and the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company has partnered with the children's network Nickelodeon to provide genuine and authentic live action performances of some favorite novelty characters. Dora the Explorer, Spongebob, and Diego can all be seen at the park.
When planning a visit, be sure to purchase tickets online for a great discount. Starting in April, the park will be open on weekends and certain holidays/weeks. Season passes are now available online for the 2011 season. The park is located on 16000 Theme Park Way, Doswell, VA 23047.
A quaint golf course community, Lake Manassas is a Gainesville housing community with its own shopping center. The neighborhood offers an impressive array of golf holes and a Clubhouse with delicious food. Lake Manassas has a good compromise of upper-style living retirement homes and large roomy houses for those with young children. The landscape is also very aesthetic; the Home Owner's Association guarantees flowers year round and grass that is always green.
A unique feature of the neighborhood is a private road connecting it to the local shopping area. The shopping center includes several shops including Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Bubbles Hair Salon, and Wegmans Grocery. Other stores include Michael's Craft Store, Staples, and Dunkin Donuts.
Located twenty minutes outside of Washington D.C., McLean Virginia is home to several prominent businesses and residences. This town is cozily nestled in Fairfax County by Vienna and has been burgeoning exponentially within the past few years. McLean is perfect for those seeking D.C. living, without the D.C. chaos or traffic.
The nation’s fifth largest mall, Tysons Corner Center is located in the heart of McLean, with its sister branch Tyson's Galleria just across the street. The shopping center has over 300 shops and boutiques and a movie theater. For the more high end shopper, the Galleria offers and impressive bouquet of luxury stores including Chanel, Gucci, and Neiman Marcus.
Greenbriar Shopping Center
Greenbriar Shopping Center located in Fairfax Virginia ,13039 Lee Jackson Memorial Hwy Fairfax, VA 22033-2047, is filled with multiple stores and restaurants geared towards pleasing the needs of its customers. The distance is very reasonable on local residents and parking is never an issue with the massive parking lots that are available. Those stores and restaurants include Bone Fish, Starbucks, Giant, Marshalls, Five and Below, McDonalds, Sunoco, and Fed Ex to name a few. A popular hangout spot for teens and gatherings for adults, Greenbriar Shopping Center is always bustling with people venturing for fun, entertainment and to fulfill their shopping needs.
I can think of a number of things my children prefer to do when the weather starts to get warmer. However, since learning how to swim the first thing they ask is to go swimming. I wasn’t all that familiar with my options and the fortunate thing is that many of the subdivisions around here come with clubhouses and swimming pools. Unfortunately, even that can get old to kids. I took a friend up on a suggestion to try a local waterpark in Reston. We had several to choose from and decided to give Water Mine a try.
Upon arrival, it was surprising that in a seemingly regular neighborhood a waterpark existed. We drove down this road that looks like we were going into the woods and up popped this waterpark. Obviously with all the screaming my kids were doing, they were definitely excited. We found a place to park and were happy that even though we forgot to pack a lunch they had a concession stand that offered all types of goodies to eat. The pricing was very reasonable and it was a beautiful day to take advantage of the all-day ticket. They had several slide options and the park was arranged in to sections suitable for certain ages.
We stayed for a few hours and decided to head home. I asked my kids if they would like to come back and they were excited at just the thought of returning. Although we are still hanging on to the last remnants of Winter, it is good to know that you have options when swimsuit weather returns and you don’t have to go far to enjoy it.
