5 Unique Experiences for Kids Around Washington, DC

Updated: 6/23/2025
10 min. read
all ages

Looking for an out-of-the-ordinary experience with kids in tow around the DC metro area? Museums, playgrounds and even indoor play spaces can unfortunately become stale overtime. Here’s a listing of new or unique experiences to test out while visiting the DMV area.

Notes: Follow the links to explore more information about each venue/location described in this post.

The affiliate links featured in this blog navigate to fever.us. I earn a commission for each ticket sold. I do not get paid for reviews. These are opinions of my own or my kids.

Check back for updates! As we discover more unique experiences, we’ll add them to this list.

Unique Indoor Experiences

ARTECHOUSE DC

An immersive experience that blends art and technology! Artechouse features rotating art displays that immerse viewers through interactive displays and wondrous imagery.

Location: 1238 Maryland Ave., SW DC
- Metro Station: 5-10 minute walk from L’Enfant Plaza on the orange, silver, blue, yellow and green lines.
- Parking: There’s a garage right next door (around the circle) & street-metered
Open daily
- Hours: 10am-10pm Last session begins at 9pm
- Sessions are every 30 minutes and last for 60 minutes. Make sure to arrive on time!
General Admission: $24+/adult & $17+
- All visitors ages 4 and up need a ticket to enter the space.
- There are daily discounts for students, seniors (60+), military & first responders prior to 7:00 pm. There are also discounts for local residents of DC, Maryland and Virginia! (Available prior to 7:00 pm Monday – Thursday only. Valid ID Required)

Trip Tips:

There’s normally one large room with rotating art displays and two smaller side rooms to the left and right of the large room with interactive features.
There’s also a large staircase that leads you down to the exhibit as well as an elevator and wheelchair lift for those who need it!

Food & Gifts:

There’s the XR Bar, an extended reality bar powered by the ARTECHOUSE XR App that sells cocktails and mocktails but no food.
There’s also a small gift shop upon entering the space that features merch and gifts.

Visit ARTECHOUSE’s website for more info on their current exhibition.

Family Movie Parties at Alamo Drafthouse

Exclusive merch and activities for movie goers at a decent price; Alamo Drafthouse knows how to cater to kids. Both the DC and Crystal City, VA locations follow the same schedule for family and classic movie parties. I highly recommend trying it out at least once.

Locations:
- Washington, DC: 630 Rhode Island Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002 (across the street from Rhode Island Ave. metro station on the red line)
- Virginia: 1660 Crystal Dr, Arlington, VA 22202 (near Crystal City metro station on the blue and yellow lines)
Parking: There are garages at both locations as well as validation.
Family Movie Parties are generally held for popular, kid-friendly new releases.
- They usually occur at around 11:00 am on the Saturday following the premiere.
Tickets: ~$16 – $18 per person
- Includes activities, host intro & themed, take-home trinkets

Trip Tips:

The Alamo has seats that recline. I normally bring blankets for extra comfort 🙂
Family Movie Parties are treated as parties so if you’re looking for a quiet movie experience, this isn’t the experience for you!
If you love retro movies, they also do movie parties for older movies like Shrek and Jumanji from time to time.

Food & Gifts:

Order menu items directly from your seat and they’ll bring it to you. I suggest arriving early if ordering food.
Some movies have a themed menu too. We love the food at the Alamo and the popcorn is bottomless!
Some movies also have themed merch for purchase. The take-home trinkets included with the Family Movie Parties are normally small and related to the movie.

See upcoming Family Movie Parties at the Alamo Drafthouse in DC and Crystal City, VA

Immersive Experiences by Fever

Contains affiliate links

Fever has brought some pretty cool experiences to Washington, DC like Dinos Alive, Claude Monet: The Immersive Experience and The Art of the Brick. They also have decent discounts from time to time! I’ve partnered with Fever to provide my audience with an additional 10% off of all experiences they offer, simply use code 4DMVKIDS10 at checkout.

Current & Upcoming Exhibitions:
- Dopamine Land: A Multisensory Experience – Explore 10 playful rooms that will surprise your senses and awaken the imagination of your inner child.
  - Location: 5333 Wisconsin Ave NW DC
  - Metro Station: short walk from Friendship Heights on the red line
  - Parking: There’s a bunch of street parking nearby and garages. When parking on the street, make sure to read the signs!
  - Open on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays through July 13, 2025
  - Tickets: ~$15 – $27 per person
- Bubble Planet: An Immersive Experience – Discover all kinds of bubbles, interact with them, and immerse yourself in a dreamy environment!
  - Location: 524 Rhode Island Ave NE DC
  - Metro Station: short walk from Rhode Island Ave. on the red line
  - Parking: There’s a parking lot and underground parking garage on-site. Parking validation is included.
  - Open daily except Tuesdays through January 2026
  - Tickets: ~$20 – $32/person
- Machu Picchu: Journey to the Lost City – Journey to the Lost City, featuring Terry Crews, transports you back 450 years ago to the heart of the ancient Inca Empire in stunning virtual reality.
  - Location: 926 F St NW DC
  - Metro Station: Gallery Place Chinatown on the red, yellow & green lines
  - Parking: There’s a bunch of street parking nearby and garages. When parking on the street, make sure to read the signs!
  - Open daily except Tuesdays through September 2025
  - Tickets: ~$29 – $37/person
  - Ages: 8+

Trip Tips:

Most exhibitions take 40 minutes – 1 hour to get through depending on how crowded it is!
These exhibitions are temporary and rotate out every few months. There are usually discount admission days right before they close for good.
Don’t forget to use code 4DMVKIDS10 for an extra 10% off!

Food & Gifts:

Normally, towards the end of Fever sponsored exhibitions, there’s a gift shop with VR, coloring and other themed activities. This gift shop may also have snacks and other small bites to eat/drink.

See more offerings by Fever in the Washington, DC area.

Unique Outdoor Experiences

Tea Around Town

Contains affiliate links

This experience reminded me of tea time on the Netflix show, Bridgerton. The ride includes plenty of photo ops, small bites to eat like scones and lobster rolls + a sight-seeing tour of downtown DC. Our host was very informative (even sang a few songs) and detailed the history behind some of the historic buildings we rode past. We were also lucky to have a friendly crowd on the bus. The only thing I had an issue with was some of the food items seemed to have been sitting out for a while and were a bit stale. Make sure to inform the hosts, if you have the same issue. We received three rounds of tea to taste in a take home sippy cup.

Pick-up/Drop-off Location: 790 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (between 9th St. and 7th St.)
Metro Station: Archives- Navy Memorial- Penn Quarter on the green and yellow lines
Parking: There’s a bunch of street parking nearby and garages. When parking on the street, make sure to read the signs!
Tickets: $75+ or $109+ per person depending on the menu you choose.
- Use code 4DMVKIDS5 for 5% tickets now through May 2026.

Trip Tips:

There’s no dress code but it may be a good excuse to throw on your Sunday best!
The small bites didn’t fill us up but we also didn’t eat it all. You’ll receive a take-home box towards the end of the trip for the treats you don’t eat.
The bus ride was smooth for the most part but there are a couple of turns that shift the bus a bit. Make sure to secure your drinks.

Food & Gifts:

There are two menu options to choose from.
- The Petite menu includes scones, sweet & savory bites to eat, and a souvenir tumbler for the hot tea samples.
- The Luxe menu includes all of the offerings of the petite menu plus enhanced menu items like “prestigious pearls of caviar” & the “nautical splendor lobster roll”. There’s also non-alcoholic rose and priority boarding for luxe menu holders.
There are more vegetarian than vegan options & all drinks are non-alcoholic.

Visit Tea Around Town’s website for more info on this experience.

Nova Wild

Ethical zoo with a drive-through safari. The walkable petting/traditional zoo is included with admission. There’s also a butterfly experience that’s included with admission and up-close experiences with animals that costs an additional fee.

Location: 1228 Hunter Mill Rd, Vienna VA 22182
Parking: The parking lot can get tight (& dangerous)! Please make sure to watch out for cars as you unload/reload the car. It’s free to use and located on-site.
Open daily from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
General Admission: $20/adult & $15/child
- Children under 2 are free!
- Military & Senior discount admission available
- Feed buckets are $20 extra!

Trip Tips:

The drive through can take up to 30 minutes! I suggest (if you can) have an adult (or older kid) sit in the back seat to assist younger kids with feeding animals outside of their window.
You’re also given a list of rules to follow upon entry like drive 5 miles per hour throughout.
Feed buckets can be used for both the drive-through portion & the traditional petting zoo.
The walk-through zoo can take up to an hour to explore.

Food & Gifts:

The Zootique (Gift Shop) sells snacks (chips, granola bars, fruit snacks, etc.) and drinks (soda, juices, and waters).
From Memorial Day – Labor Day, they have daily food on-site provided by Whit’s Concessions that includes funnel cakes, fresh-squeezed lemonade, french fries, sandwiches, and more!
You’re welcome to bring in your own food but clean up after yourself!

Visit Nova Wild’s website for more info on this experience.

Thank you for reading this blog! I hope you found it helpful. As we visit more unique experiences, I’ll add them here.

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