Great Inexpensive Teen Activities for Spring Break

Posted on March 17, 2016

Once again, spring break is quickly closing in on me. My children are 13 and 15 years old and have lots of friends from the neighborhood and church. We are usually the parents who take other people’s kids places with us, which makes the visits easier since our kids have someone to run around with.

This year, I looked for fun and inexpensive activities that were in Washington, DC to ensure we could use public transportation. Also, with the kids being older, I can now send them on their way with their cell phones and instructions to meet me at certain times and locations. This gives them freedom to walk around and it gives me the peace to enjoy the places we visit.

This is list is not complete but it should get you started with some ideas.

The U.S. Capitol – My teens were actually interested when I told them we would be visiting the U.S. Capitol. We visited years ago when we were homeschooling but they don’t really remember it.
The White House – We visited the White House a few years ago at Christmas time. We couldn’t really enjoy it since there were so many people going through at one time. We are hoping the tours will be less crowded. You have to fill out the application months in advance of your visit, so do it now.
The National Mall – There are so many museums situated around the National Mall that you could literally spend a day or two visiting. Even though my kids are teenagers, they still like the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of American History.
Washington Wizards game – Kudos to the husband for volunteering to take our son and three of his friends to a Wizards game on a weekday. Since the kids will be out of school, we don’t have to worry about it being a late night.
Segway Tour – My teens have been begging to go on a Segway tour. I did some research and I just may oblige them since the tours are done in small groups.
Picnic at Reagan National Airport – Ever since my son was a young child, he was fascinated with airplanes. I plan to pack a picnic and load up our bikes on my bike rack, for a day at the airport. The planes take off rather frequently and they fly directly overhead as they land. I love that we can ride our bikes through Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC. I think I am more excited about this than they are.
Volunteer at the Cherry Blossom Ten-Mile Run – I am a runner but this year, I decided I will volunteer at races instead of running them. I signed my kids and myself up to work a water station at this race. This allows us to serve others and I get to cheer on some of my friends as they run this race.

What are other fun spring break activities to do with teenagers in the Washington, DC area?

Tanya Barnett

Tanya Barnett is a speaker, author and the “Real” Wife Coach. She is the author of Being a Wife Just Got Real: Things I Wish I Knew, Before I Said, I Do”. She founded the Real Wife Movement™, where she equips single and married women with tools to create strong marriages and families. She is also the founder of Forever Free Books, a mobile literacy nonprofit, which delivers free books and story time to low income children in their neighborhoods and communities. She is a marathoner, triathlete and a serious book lover. She and her husband, Don, have 3 awesome kids.