DC Metro Kids Weekend Events: Jan. 21-23
Bundle up! This weekend we’re exploring the great outdoors! Learn to use a map and compass in an orienteering workshop for kids 8 & up, go on a dino hunt with your tiny tot at Claude Moore Park or observe the night sky at a free event hosted by the National Air & Space Museum. Want to avoid the elements? The Washington Auto Show is in town for ten days and DC’s American Girl Store is hosting a cake decorating class. Read on for more outdoor adventures and indoor activities.
photo: Annie Spratt via Unsplash
Outdoor Adventures
An Epic Treasure Hunt
Geocaching is a fun way to get outside and explore. With the help of a Park Naturalist, participants will hike Wheaton Regional Park looking for and finding caches. All attendees must register and pay. Make sure to dress for the weather and for natural surface trail conditions. Face coverings and physical distancing are mandatory. Intended for ages 8 & up Sat. Event details.
Explore Animal Skulls with a Ranger
Bones have stories to tell, and none have more than the skulls of our local forest animals. With the help of rangers from Patuxent Research Refuge, learn to see the clues hidden in the anatomy of our local animal skulls. Participants will interact with real and plastic skulls. This program is best for kids 7 & up. Sat. Event details.
The Great Dino Hunt
An invisible dino is loose in Claude Moore Park! Help a park naturalist find it by following its trail. Dig for dinosaurs and bring home your own dino friend! After your adventure warm up by the fire and toast some marshmallows. Sat. Event details.
Orienteering Workshop
Orienteering is the sport of navigation with map and compass. It’s easy to learn, but always challenging. Participants learn how to use a compass, read a topographic map and navigate orienteering courses. A compass is required for this course held at Burke Lake Park. Sun. Event details.
Woodpecker Hike
Take a hike with a naturalist to look and listen for winter woodpeckers. Learn about the important role these beautiful birds play while exploring in Ellanor C. Lawrence Park. Sun. Event details.
Stargaze at the Observatory
Stargaze for free at the Phoebe Waterman Haas Public Observatory ; staff will be there to help you use the telescopes and answer your questions about the Moon, planets, stars, and more. Fri. Event details.
Indoor Activities
Meet Barry and Beverly
Enjoy nature story time with Barry Bat and Beverly Beaver as they read you a story about their family, and then join them and a naturalist as they led you through a nature-themed craft! Your little ones will play, laugh, and dance with their puppet pals while they work on social skills, early literacy development, listening, communication, fine motor skills, attention span, and creativity! Masks are required for indoor programming. Fri. Event details.
Washington Auto Show
Designated as one of the nation’s top five auto shows by the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, The Washington, D.C. Auto Show is a world class event that continues to wow audiences with its cutting-edge exhibits, latest model cars, and displays of historic vehicles. Fri.-Sun. Event details.
Decorate a Cake with American Girls
Your girl will enjoy this extra-sweet Girl of the Year–inspired cake-decorating class in our store. After learning the basics of this tasty craft, girls can take their creative masterpiece home to admire—and eat with family! Each class will have an on-trend cake-decorating theme as well as two facilitators to help girls with any decorating questions they may have. Girls will leave with their personalized cake, plus each girl will receive a goody bag containing the American Girl Baking Cookbook, a Girl of the Year poster and activity booklet. Fri. Event details.
—Meghan Yudes Meyers