National Air &
Space Museum
I
n 2007 America turned 400. And nowhere was that
SenSational Science
birthday more keenly celebrated than the coastline of the
and Shadowy SpieS
Capital Region. It was on the shore of what would become
Virginia that the first British settlers in America landed in April
Getting a child into a museum can be a tricky task, but there
should be no juvenile complaints at the range of exciting
1607. Those golden sands must have been a glorious sight after
exhibition spaces on offer in the Capital Region.
weeks at sea. Four centuries on, they still are – especially if you
l Baltimore is Maryland’s museum capital, home to such
are visiting the area as a family.
youngster-pleasing hotspots as Port Discovery, a mass of hands-
Take Virginia Beach. This seafront city sits just south of Cape
on exhibits aimed directly at kids, including a three-storey tree-
Henry, where the settlers landed, and is blessed with 35 miles
house, and Geppi’s Entertainment Museum, a journey through
of beach. Three of these miles make up the Virginia Beach
three centuries of American toys. Then there’s the Sports Legends
boardwalk, a strip of hotels, seafood restaurants and shops
Museum – a history of professional sport in Baltimore that sits
just round the corner from the birthplace of baseball legend Babe
that cater to a visitor’s every need – although the main draw is
Ruth, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum, celebrating
the beach itself, a sandy expanse that, in summer, is home to
one of the USA’s oldest railways – and the National Aquarium
surfers and kayakers, as well as those who simply want to grab
in Baltimore, with its resident dolphins, puffins and (yikes) blue
a tan. Watch carefully, and you may see dolphins splashing
poison dart frogs.
about in the waves.
l Washington, DC has the International Spy Museum,
Maryland’s seaside resort is a thrilling window onto the world of international
Ocean City, which is nestled
espionage; the Newseum, a vast interactive
on a narrow spur of land
museum of news and journalism; and the
National Air and Space Museum, a collection
just off the Delmarva Peninsula, it
of air- and space-craft that includes the Wright
stretches out for 11 picturesque miles. Here
Brothers’ original plane, as well as touchable
too, the boardwalk is dotted with excellent samples of lunar rock. DC’s latest attraction,
seafood restaurants – plus two amusement
Madame Tussauds, promises visitors the chance
parks that, with their big wheels and carousels,
to touch, see and hear a vast array of Hollywood
names, sports stars and, of course, politicians such
give a taste of old-fashioned America.
as George W Bush and Bill and Hillary Clinton.
It’s a short hop from Ocean City to Assateague
l The Science Museum Of Virginia in Richmond covers
Island, a shore-side paradise where nature lovers can
everything from dinosaurs to how to win the Tour de France, while
enjoy the silence. This narrow barrier island winds away to
the Virginia Living Museum at Newport News is a wildlife and
the south for 37 miles through Maryland and Virginia, and is science showcase that is currently home to wolf pups. Decide for
almost unpopulated. Indeed, the majority of its residents are
yourself if these creatures are as loveable as the seals you can
wild ponies, who gallop on its sands. It’s a delightful spot, best
meet at Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach.
www.capitalregionusa.org 27
CRU09 pp26-31 Family.indd 27 6/11/08 12:03:01
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