What activities would be suitable for a family with 7 & 14 year old children in and around Washington D.C.?

7 and 14 are good ages and close enuff for them to play a game together maybe a scavenger hunt, or a game with the monuments

check out the National Zoo, Smithsonian Air and Space and Natural History Museum and (believe it or not) the FBI building.

Let them collect the shell casings from the latest drive-by shooting or maybe rustle the wild cattle that broke loose from the overturned truck on the interstate.

There's lots of great stuff for families to do in DC--and most of it is free. If you're kids don't mind walking I'd take them to the national lawn and check out the memorials and reflecting pond. I don't know if it's open now, but going up in the Washington monument is always fun. Then of course the Smithsonian Insts. are great. Natural Science will probably have a good mix for both of them, though Air and Space is great too. As for beaches, Assateague Island is amazing. It's relatively quite, and very out of the way. There are even wild horses! Though it's a good 3 hours from DC, so that might be too much of a drive.

I think this question really depends upon the gender of the kids. A lot of males love going to the national air and space museum whereas girls might prefer going to one of the large malls near by. the FBI museum is great also for boys whereas a lot of girls like the reflecting pool and the lawn

I grew up in the DC area and would say definately go downtown to the Mall and see all the Smithsonian Museums - History, Air and Space, Natural History is my favorite. The zoo is great too. The best part is that it's all free! Take the metro, parking is hard to come by.

Um... I liked the Spy museum a lot! And I went there when I was like 12 so I think that would be nice. Um... as far as beaches there aren't many but paddle boating on the Potomac is very fun. There's also duck boats and um... Mt. Vernon is a fun place as well although it is pretty busy. As far as not many people Old Town Alexandria is my favorite place to visit!

the monuments, all the museums of the Smithsonian are interesting, the zoo . . . there are lots of things to do the Metro can get you anywhere easily I think the closest ocean beaches are the Maryland/Delaware shores, like Ocean City, Rehoboth, Bethany beach, etc., all about 2 hours away; otherwise there are bay beaches that are closer

The bottom line is you can't go wrong - there is so much to see. While the Vietnam Memorial and the Holocaust Museum may not be of major interest to your children, a brief visit would give their parents an opportunity to explain their significance in the context of U.S. and world history. There are no beaches in the immediate D.C area. There is no swimming in the Potomac River but there are some good tourist boat rides.