We have visited the museums DC countless times, but have not been there as a family since the fall of 2019. For this three-day trip, we concentrated on seeing new installations and temporary exhibitions at the Smithsonian Museums.

It was also our first trip during the summer, so it was fun to see the National Mall and the outdoor gardens at the United States Botanic Garden in a much greener state than our previous annual Fall/Thanksgiving and Spring/Cherry Blossom Festival trips.

National Museum of African American History and Culture

The last time we were in Washington DC Alice was barely seven-years old, so on that trip I chose to visit the bulk of the NMAAHC on my own. I fully recognize that saving these talks with her comes from a place of privilege, and that other children learn much earlier in life that they may be treated unfairly based on the color of their skin. On this trip, I wanted to follow her lead with what she had learned in school for the larger conversations about the history of slavery and racist ideas.
(Note; tickets are available 30 days in advance, but will “sell out” quickly. Same-day tickets were available at 8:15am, and logging in as soon as they were available gave us options in most time slots.)

The history tour at NMAAHC includes the Slavery and Freedom Galleries, Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom Galleries, and A Changing America Galleries. The first begins with the history of the African Diaspora and slavery throughout the world. We then walked through galleries depicting the American Revolution and the institutionalization of slavery in the United States of America. Amidst the descriptions of the horrors of slavery are artifacts and stories of the enslaved people who fought against it and though held in bondage still celebrated their African identities and built new cultures unique to the African American experience.

American Museum of History

The next Smithsonian museum slated to open will be the National Museum of the American Latino. The new Presente! Exhibition in the Molina Family Latino Gallery of the American Museum of History galleries are a small introduction to what will be housed there. Just about every medium is used in the exhibition; photographs, audio recordings, clothing, sculptures, and paintings.

Much like before National Museum of African American History and Culture was built, these galleries pack so many stories into the small space, making clear the need for a comprehensive collection of the incredibly diverse American Latino history and experience.
Note: Next to the Jazz Cafe we found free lockers to store our larger bags and museum shop purchases.

United States Botanical Garden

USBG was one of the last DC museums to open after COVID. We normally visit in the winter, so this year was the first time we played (and cooled off) in the small outdoor Children’s Garden in one of the courtyards of the conservatory section. The educational focus in 2022 is agriculture, and there are interactive exhibits in each of the galleries and edible plant gardens both inside and outside the conservatory with interpretive signage.
Patrick Dougherty’s stickwork sculpture, built in late 2019, still stands in the adjacent outdoor gardens. While the conservatory sections close at 5pm, these outdoor gardens are open until 7pm in the summer. There are small pockets of dining tables and benches, making it a perfect destination for a picnic supplied by one of the many nearby food trucks.

Smithsonian Gardens

The Smithsonian Gardens can be found around the National Mall and highlight many of the collections in the museums.

A map of the gardens includes some of our favorites:
* Native Landscape at the National Museum of the American Indian
*Freer Gallery of Art: Courtyard Garden
*Mary Livingston Ripley Garden
*Urban Bird Habitat and Pollinator Gardens at the Museum of Natural History