No matter how little you think you care about science and technology, there's something amazing about walking right up to stuff that's actually been to the moon and back. At the National Air and Space Museum you can do that and plenty more. This extremely popular museum has got rocket ships, it's got jet planes, it's got enough to keep most children and plenty of adults busy for hours.

The museum gets extremely crowded on weekends, and sometimes there's a line to get in. If you can go during a weekday, when it's just you and some school groups, you'll have a much better experience — and get to spend more quality time with the moon rocks.

Tip: If all those "what the astronauts ate in space" exhibits start to make you hungry, walk across the street to the cafeteria at National Museum of the American Indian, which has far and away the best food of any of the DC museums.

Getting there

The closest Metro station is Smithsonian.

Contact information

Web site: www.nasm.si.edu