Planning an exciting activity with your toddler is always fun. But fun doesn’t always mean games and a lot of playing. There is also fun in learning new things and visiting new places. Here are some places you can visit and fun activities you can do at Williamsburg, VA with your toddlers or kids.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Explore kid rides around the park. They have thrills for even the youngest guests throughout the park from rides made just for kids to child-sized versions of larger attractions. Kids will love steering bumper cars, flying high on the swings and gliding through the sky on an airplane.

Historic Jamestown

History Is Fun at Jamestown Settlement -Jamestown was America’s first permanent English colony. Today, families can visit Jamestown Settlement to learn the story of 17th-century Virginia. Jamestown comes to life through film, gallery exhibits and outdoor living history. Children will enjoy climbing aboard re-creations of the three ships that sailed from England to Virginia in 1607, depositing the colonists at Jamestown. Costumed historical interpreters demonstrate daily life in early 17th century Jamestown so visitors feel as though they’ve stepped back in time.

Families can also explore life-size re-creations of the colonists’ fort and a Native American Powhatan village. Kids who have seen Disney’s Pocahontas movie will love a temporary exhibit dedicated to this Native American legend. Here they can get a taste of Pocahontas’ life as a little girl in a Powhatan Indian village. They can also try their hand at weaving on a frame and decorating clay pots on a chalkboard wall.

–Want the Travel Diva to setup your next VA/Washington DC trip? Email us or check out our travel booking website—

African American History Museum Washington DC

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is located at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW on the National Mall. The four-level museum opened on Sept. 24, 2016, becoming the only national museum solely dedicated to the documentation of African American life, history and culture. This Smithsonian Institution museum is an architectural marvel that features numerous interactive exhibits.

There are also fun activities that kids can do. If the kids are interested in sports, head to the “Leveling the Playing Field” exhibit where you will learn how sports became one of the earliest public arenas to accept African Americans on terms of relative equality.

If they like music, go to the Musical Crossroads exhibit and see how African-American musical creativity has transformed music forms from blues to rock and roll. The kids will love Chuck Berry’s red Eldorado!

The fashionistas will enjoy seeing how African Americans used clothing and hairstyles to re-define fashion. Junior foodies will love learning about the important role African Americans have played in our evolving food culture. (Check out the museum’s Sweet Home Cafe where traditional Southern foods like fried chicken, slow-cooked collards, shrimp and grits, skillet cornbread and sweet potato pie are served. You’ll also find kid favorites like burgers, chicken tenders and fries.)

Fredrick Douglas House Washington DC

Another must see place when visiting Williamsburg is going to  Fredrick Douglas’ House. They have an activity called the Junior Ranger Program. Becoming a Junior Ranger is easy and fun! Ask a ranger for a Junior Ranger booklet at the visitor center, complete at least eight activities, and then turn your booklet back into the visitor center. The ranger will review your work, swear you in as a Junior Ranger, and issue you a Junior Ranger badge..

Civil War to Civil Rights Trading Cards – These trading cards reveal more about the role that Frederick Douglass and his comrades played in helping to end slavery and expand civil rights. Ask a ranger about the cards during your visit.

White House Tour Washington DC

The White House is a must-see when visiting Washington, D.C. with kids. Families who want to take a public tour of the White House need to first submit a letter of request to their Member of Congress. Include the names, addresses, social security numbers, dates of birth and contact information for all guests in the request, as well as the dates that you plan to visit Washington, D.C.

Requests must be submitted at least 21 days in advance, but no more than six months in advance of your planned visit. Families are urged to write to their Member of Congress as soon as possible in conjunction with their trip. Visit the House of Representatives website to find your state’s Member of Congress and their contact information.

What To Bring

All ages are welcome to tour the White House. Adults and children 18 years and older are required to present a valid, government-issued photo ID before touring the White House. Valid photo IDs include driver’s licenses, military IDs and passports. Though the White House website does not state these requirements, we suggest that children under the age of 18 bring a school-issued ID, passport or copy of their birth certificate as valid forms of identification, just to be safe.

Junior Ranger Guide

Chances are your kids will be handed a Junior Ranger Guide before you even have a chance to ask for one, but make sure they get one. The guide is chock full of  interesting tidbits about what you see as you make your way through the White House room by room.

What You’ll See

Your visit to the White House if a self-guided tour. It’s pretty self-explanatory, but there are guards everywhere if you have questions. The tour is limited to a small number of rooms, but entertaining. There is a great photo collection featuring everything from famous happenings at the White House to pictures of presidential pets. Did you know President Coolidge and his wife had a pet raccoon? Look for the picture of Rebecca the raccoon snuggling up on the First Lady’s lap. With every First Lady comes a new china pattern. Look for your favorite design and the Steinway piano played by many presidents and famous musicians, including Richard Nixon and Stevie Wonder.

These are just some of the activities you can enjoy while visiting Williamsburg, VA with your kids.  

Have you ever been to Williamsburg, VA or Washington, DC with your kids? What were some fun things you did???