National Museum of the American Indian

My husband and I have been making a list of stuff we want to do in the D.C. area before we move (that is if we move, we'll be here for sure until May 2012 but after that who knows).  It seams like we keep on doing the same things over and over again and it's not that they aren't great things it's just there is so much to see and do we might as well see it all.  The first thing we did on our To Do List was the National Museum of the American Indian.  I must say I was quite surprised how interesting and kid friendly this museum was.  Both my husband and I thought the museum was about US American Indians but were were pleasantly surprised to find out it was about Native Peoples of the Americans not just the United States.

All of the exhibits were really well done.  The 3 main permanent exhibits are: Our Universes: Traditional Knowledge Shapes Our World, Our Peoples: Giving Voice to Our Histories, and Our Lives: Contemporary Life and Identities are all very interesting and give insights into Native life.  The best part of these exhibits is that the museum recruited curators from the different tribes and bands so the depictions of these People are told from their own perspective.

There were lots of hands on activities and movies for Tavish to play with so I'm sure he enjoyed himself.  Callen slept though most of exhibits so I'm not sure he got much out of it.  One of the highlights of the museum is its fantastic restaurant. Unlike the American History Museum which has terrible food and the Air and Space Museum which has McDonalds, the American Indian Museum has themed food.  The food court is split into different areas each which showcases traditional Native foods (there are hamburgers and chicken fingers for the picky eaters).  Even if your not planning on checking out the museum, it's a great place for lunch if you are in the area.

In the world of D.C. museums this is a great one to go see if you have time or are very interested in Native People.  I would recommend the American History (but not for lunch), Natural History, and Air and Space Museums over this one.  But if you have the time I'd would check it out, especially if they have an interesting live demonstration on, which they usually do (we missed out on the chocolate festival they were having a few weeks ago and I 'm kinda sad about that).

 "Cheese"

Kyle with his hands full, admiring a snow machine 

 Tavish taking a boat for a ride

 Tavish love the Rainbow

 Statue of an American Indian

 Tavish having fun walking on the wall outside the musuem

 Now time to rock climb (that's my boy)

Callen not too sure about what his brother is doing