Would you like to see a bonsai tree that survived a nuclear bomb? Would you like to find trees representing each state? Do you like giant koi? Do you think that seeing hundreds of bees is cool? Would you like to see the original columns to the US Capitol building? Do you like hikes? Are wildflowers your thing? Would you like to go on a secret agent mission?
If you said yes to any of those questions then the National Arboretum is for you. It has all of those things and much more to enjoy.
The National Arboretum was established by an Act of Congress in 1927 and has entrances in DC on New York Avenue and R Street NE. With over 446 acres and 9.5 miles of roadway, you won’t be able to see everything in one visit but once you go, you will see why it is worth a return visit. We downloaded the Agents of Discovery app before our visit and had it loaded up so that was ready to go when we got to the park. Mac Mom takes tons of photos so we found it easier to use the app on dad’s phone so that mom could take her photos. The app was a great way to see the Arboretum and to learn about the nature living in the park. We highly recommend it. Next time, we will download the app to check out the state trees.
Our visit started at Administration building. It is closed to the public but there were some cool water areas around it and they housed some giant fish. Definitely stop by and say hello to them. We also walked through the herb garden on our way to the start of the game. It was simply amazing. We also walked through the original Capitol columns. This is a great photo op and the water fountain running through it captured the attention of every child that was there.
We the started the app. The first thing to do was to create a code name. There cannot be any spaces or special characters in the code name. This was something that we didn’t read at first and caused us to take extra time to complete. The we started the app. It was super cool. We answered questions about bird sounds, shapes of leaves, and what sense you don’t want to use in nature. There was no prize at the end but we walked away with new facts.
Once we finished the app, we spent some time in the youth garden. It was really cool. There were many different kinds of produce growing that we eat often. If you have a kid that doesn’t know how their food grows, this is the perfect place for them.
We then headed over to the bonsai museum. It is amazing. There are hundreds of very old and very tiny trees. There were a lot of questions. The one of “can we do one at home” was a quick no. This is a very tranquil place and had a calming effect on all of us.
We will definitely head back again to the National Arboretum. It is open from 8-5 every day except for December 25. This place is super cool but they also have a lot of rules. Certain places don’t allow dogs, others don’t allow bikes, and there is only one place to have a picnic. It is recommended that you read over the rules before you go.
We hope you enjoy the Arboretum as much as we did.
