US Capital and Library of Congress with Kids?!?!

Let's skip the preamble and get right to the meat of it.  A U.S. Capital tour can be a bit tough with really young kids.  If you don't have a tour reservation before going, you might have some long lines to wait in once you get there.  Even if you have a reservation, there are still lines to wait on for your tour group.  Also, be warned, there are plenty of steps and escalators--so obviously no strollers.  Some of the stairs are narrow and the crowds can be rather large--so I don't recommend letting a toddler navigate them.  If you cannot carry your small child for at least part of the tour--be ready to miss out on some parts of the experience.  But I think as parents, we are used to that aren't we?

That being said, this is an experience worth seeing with or without little kids.  I think a first grader and above would get the most out of it.  While younger kids might find the museum-like tour a bit droll, it can still be a worthwhile experience for the whole family.  There are areas even the smallest children will be impressed by--such as looking up at the huge center dome.

The basic tour meets in the main basement room--where you can find the first of many statues scattered throughout the building.  There are over a hundred statues in the Capital and at least two from each state.  The kids loved the Helen Keller statue as that was a person they recognized from learning about her in school. See the pictures below.

  

There is also a tour desk where you can get a kids activity book (see picture).

 We didn't use the book as an "activity" the way it was meant to be used, instead to keep the kids engaged during the tour we turned it into a "treasure hunt".  The activity book had several statues listed in it and column types.  We checked off each one as we went through the building.  The kids loved searching for the statues and other pictures in the book.  They loved finding statues of recognizable people.  Two of their favorites are shown here, George Washington and Rosa Parks.






Another favorite of the kids was the short movie at the beginning of the tour.  During the movie they explain the meaning and context of the U.S. Capital building as well as the Freedom Statue.   It made for some fun trivia later when we later exited the building and asked the kids questions about what the movie explained just a short while earlier: 'What is Freedom holding in her hands?  What is she wearing on her head?'.

After the tour you can comfortably eat at the cafeteria in the U.S. Capital.  They have everything kids love--even picky ones.  From milk and yogurt to pizza and chicken fingers and fries, you can find something.  They have pretty decent adult food as well--upscale deli sandwiches and an impressive salad bar (as well as the usual burgers, fries and pastas).  They have plenty of seating and checkout lines so I would consider this cafeteria family-friendly.

When you are done, slowly ramble over to the Library of Congress through the underground passage.  You need to exit the cafeteria, go up an escalator and pass the gift store.  The underground passage is long, but the kids likened it to the endless hallway loop Thor was imprisoned in during the Ragnarok movie and the monotony of this endless hallway became very funny.

The Library of Congress was a bit less interesting for the kids.  Aside from the impressive main room (see picture above) the rest of the building is basically a museum.  We did manage to corral the kids through almost all of it, but were not able to read through the bulk of the displays.

Of all the displays, the Gutenberg Bible display did generate some interesting conversations.  We talked to the kids about printing presses and how books were hand copied prior to the invention of the printing press.  They were pretty impressed by that.  But I suppose any child of this modern tech era would be.



To conclude, the basic tour is very doable with young kids.  I am not too picky, just clean bathrooms and a cafeteria and I am pretty much sold.  And let's not forget the free tour part!