Your visit begins in the Visitor's Center where you will learn about the Brandywine Valley and how the DuPont family got their start in amunitions. The second floor is an interactive exhibit demonstrating the brilliance behind the DuPont company. The kids really enjoyed exploring this exhibit where they could play scientist and pretend to be an astronaut.

The grounds feature several buildings and is set up like a living history museum with demonstraions and information of life when the factory was working. The grounds are quite extensive so wear comfy shoes! They also have a bus that will transport you to key exhibit spots.

The machine shop offered up a demonstration of how the machines of those days worked, we were able to see the mills in operation and how they mixed the black powder and they even had a black powder demonstration, and in the school room/church we were able to use quill pens to write our alphabet. There was an interpreter in the forman's house to give us a tour and the kids got to try out an old fashioned laundry press. The main house offers a guided tour and the views from up there are beautiful. Staff throughout was very friendly and answered a lot of questions.

On site is an organic cafe which offers up a nice menu of items and makes for a perfect place to grab a bite to eat. There were also picnic tables located off the parking lot if you'd like to bring your own lunch.

Plan on spending a day here. We arrived a little after 11am and stayed until closing at 4:30pm and found we could have used a little more time.

We didn't visit every gallery or every piece of artwork but rather chose what was of interest to us. We enjoyed the Champions exhibt on the third floor displaying some of the countries best athletes. My husband enjoyed the Presidents Hall and the display of Matthew Brady's Civil War photos. I enjoyed the gallery depicting Amelia Earhardt's life. We all enjoyed the modern art gallery. The staff at the information desk were friendly and helpful and were happy to point you in the right direction of what you were looking for.

Be sure to pick up a list of special exhibits and programs for the day. We were there during Spring Break and they had fun programs for the kids. They got to learn about print making and create a print of their own. The lady running this program was extremely friendly and helpful and we all enjoyed this activity. When she heard my daughter and I talking about Brownies, she was sure to point us in the direction of where we could find Juliette Gorden Low's portrait.

Let me just start off by saying, if you can be part of a group tour, this is the way to get in. Otherwise you will be waiting on line outside the building for a very long time. We waited for over 2 hours. Be sure to bring some snacks and activities to keep the kiddos occupied during the wait. Once inside, you will have to pass through security but then you have free access to the building.

The Rotunda is where you will find the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Being able to see these documents in person is amazing. This is one of those experiences that make me proud to be an American where my government is open and allows me to have access to such historical significance. Depending on the crowds, you may have to wait a while to enter the rotunda and it will take a little while to make your way around.

The exhibit hall offers a look a world war II history and so much more. It is worth the time to take the walk through. There is a brief movie discussing the importance of historical documents. There is also a special exhibit hall with rotating exhibits. During our visit, there is a 1970's photography exhibit. The guard in this exhibit was very friendly and chatted up my kids.

On the bottom level there is a cafe offering up premade sandwhiches or made to order salads, sandwhiches, soups and other goodies.

We love exposing our kids to history so we found the visit to be worth it, despite the long wait to get in. Just know that young kids may not see the significance of it and will not find it "fun".

The zoo is easily accessible from the metro station a few blocks away which is how we got there. Admission is free which always makes for a great family outing in my opinion :)

The highlight of visiting here is the Giant Panda Bears. My 10 year old loves pandas and so this alone made our trip worthwhile.

We happened to be visiting on what they call "enrichment day" and so there were a lot of playthings in the exhibits that are not normally there. This added to some of the animal activity and enjoyment of observing them. We spent a good 20 minutes just watching the otters play because they were just fun to watch.

The zoo is a bit hilly and spread out so wear comfy shoes and bring a stroller for the little ones. We were all tired from walking by the end of the day.

There are plenty of food carts around and a few larger eating areas. I believe you can also bring in your own food.

Definitely a zoo worth the visit.

We were staying a few blocks away and looking to fill our evening so we decided to head into the downtown area and treat the kiddos to some yummy dessert. The kids thought it was cool that they'd get to have some cupcakes that they have seen on the show DC Cupcakes.

They have a board listing all the varieties available for the day and the displays are just mouth watering. It makes you want to try one of each but the price makes this a little out of reach. We found the cupcakes to be delicious and worth the $3 a piece for a vacation splurge.

It gets very crowded and there is no room to sit down inside to eat. You'll have to grab your cupcakes to go and find a place to sit outside or take them home to enjoy later.