Zoos, aquariums and nature centers with kids around Washington DC
Animals with kids in DC start at the free National Zoo: giant pandas, elephants, sea lion feedings and a Kids' Farm with animals to touch, all strung along one big hill that a stroller can handle. Farther out, Baltimore has one of the East Coast's best aquariums and an old zoo with penguins and giraffe feeding, and Northern Virginia has a safari you drive through.
The 2-year-old version: pandas and the Kids' Farm at the National Zoo, or the Meadowside raptor aviary in Rockville, where owls and hawks sit a few feet away for free. The big-kid version: the spiral ramp through sharks and a rainforest at the National Aquarium, the penguins and children's zoo at the Maryland Zoo, and rolling down the window to feed zebras and camels at NOVA Wild in Vienna. On a rainy day, Robinson Nature Center in Columbia has live turtles and snakes indoors and a small planetarium.
- 6 places
- 2 free
- 6 stroller-friendly
- closest is 10 min away
6 places
Drive times from Rockville
Meadowside Nature Center raptor aviary
5.0Rockville · 10 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free nature center lot
Smithsonian National Zoo
5.0Washington · 25 min drive
3.5 h · stroller-friendly · reservation needed
Free · Parking: Zoo lots $30/car and often full; Metro Red Line to Woodley Park or Cleveland Park and a 10-minute walk (downhill from Cleveland Park)
NOVA Wild (formerly Reston Zoo)
5.0Vienna · 30 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Free lot; the walk-through zoo and drive-through Safari are priced separately, about $15–25 per person each (check the website)
Robinson Nature Center
5.0Columbia · 35 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Free lot; admission about $5 adults, about $3 ages 3–17, planetarium extra
Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
5.0Baltimore · 55 min drive
3.5 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Free lot; admission about $25–30 adults, about $20 ages 2–11, cheaper online
National Aquarium (Baltimore)
5.0Baltimore · 60 min drive
3.5 h · stroller-friendly · reservation needed
$$$ · Parking: Inner Harbor garages $20–30; admission about $50 adults, about $40 ages 3–11, free under 3, discounted online
💡 Good to know
- The National Zoo is free but needs a timed pass booked ahead; parking is $30 and often full, and walking in from the Cleveland Park station is downhill.
- The aquarium, Port Discovery and the B&O Railroad Museum are all around Baltimore's Inner Harbor, but one per day is plenty.