National Museum of Natural History

Kids: bust out the dinosaur fangs and your best T-Rex shamble. It’s time to drag mom and dad around till they drop. Don’t worry parents, you’re only joining the several other million guests who annually enter the second-most-popular museum in the Smithsonian. Say hello to the famous African elephant dominating the entrance rotunda and the nearby rotting carcass of a giant squid and get ready to explore one of the most eclectic collections of, well, stuff, anywhere. The exhibits are a bit oddly mashed up – what exactly do Javanese shadow puppets have to do with birds of northern Europe? Traipse past the Hall of Dinosaurs to the supposedly cursed Hope Diamond, Easter Island heads and a permanent insect exhibition sponsored, of course, by Orkin (a pest control company). New displays are constantly added, yet the museum manages to maintain the old-school charm that caused many a metro-area school kid (including this author) to fall in love with it back in the day. Almost 200 scientists work here, which the museum claims is the largest concentration of experts in natural history and cultures in the world. In a somewhat political statement, which is uncommon for the Smithsonian, the museum has heavily promoted its Darwin and evolution exhibits as a counter to creationism proponents. The Johnson IMAX Theater shows nature extravaganzas like Bugs! in 3D daily. Movies sell out so buy tickets as soon as you arrive, or online in advance. A fun Friday night adventure – for kids and adults – is to visit the IMAX Jazz Café. This museum has four different specialty shops, including a bottom-floor store devoted to toys, stuffed dinosaurs and East Asian–themed items (origami sets, silk purses, kimonos). Outside the Geology Hall, the gem store sells fine and costume jewelry, vases, bowls, candleholders and a variety of unpolished stones.