Our D.C. processional...

We will be staying in Rockville, MD for our 6 days in D.C. We chose to stay outside of D.C. proper to save a little on the hotel stay. My sister-in-law, who lived in the D.C. area for a summer, suggested we do this and use the Metro to access National Mall. Our family of 4 can get 7 day unlimited Metro passes for $188 and have full access to Washington D.C. for our entire stay.
During our time in Maryland, we planned to spend most of our days in Washington D.C. with a side trip on Sunday to visit friends in Virginia. Our first thoughts were to spend our 5 allotted days all at National Mall. This is definitely doable considering the number of museums and memorials that are located there. The fact that admissions to most places are free also made that option very attractive. But once we realized the possibilities that the Metro pass offered, we looked for other options.
We debated visiting Arlington National Cemetery. It is such an impressive sight, very awe inspiring. It would also be a chance to really give our kids an idea of how many men and women have died in service to our county, our rights, and our freedoms. A friend suggested that it is much more impressionable if you find a person from your own family history that is buried there. Arlington National Cemetery is just a short distance from National Mall and has a Metro station nearby.
We talked about going to The Pentagon. Friends told us that the 9/11 Memorial is something to see. Part of the memorial can be view from the outside, but there is another part that can only be seen when touring the inside of The Pentagon. By the time we were thinking of doing the tour, all of the reservations for the entire time we were in D.C. were gone. If you plan on doing this tour, try to make your reservations as soon as you can.
We did decide that we needed to visit the National Zoo. We believe it will be a fun break for the kids to see living things for a day. The National Zoo is run by the Smithsonian Institute, so like most of their facilities, admission is free. If you are choosing to dive your own car, there is a parking fee. If you are using the Metro, there is a station located just outside the entrance.
We also decided that we wanted to see all or most of the memorials located at National Mall. When I mentioned this to a friend, she suggested that we see some of them at night. Most of the memorials have 24/7 access. However, Rangers are only on duty from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. for questions and if your kids are like mine, they like to ask people questions. Another important tidbit is that if you plan to go to the top of the Washington Monument you must have tickets. Admission is free, but you must have a ticket in order to reserve your time. Tickets can be obtained online for a small processing fee. Order these as soon as you know you are going to reserve your spot or they might sell out.