Felicity's 4th of July in Washington, DC

Where else can you see the actual Declaration of Independence on America’s birthday?

Is there a better place to celebrate the Fourth of July than Washington, DC? I don’t think so, especially not after the awesome day I had yesterday! Washington in the summer is hot, crowded, and often plagued by metro problems (although that’s definitely not just a summer problem), but if you can make it down to the nation’s capital for the Fourth? I think it’s worth it. 

Why? Well, I’ve got some cool programs to tell you about.

The star of the show was undoubtedly the National Archives. At 10, they had a huge celebration and ceremony for the Declaration of Independence, including live music and reenactors portraying historical figures like John and Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, Ben Franklin, and George Washington, along with a few other faces that are a little less iconic for most non history buffs. The reenactors read the Declaration aloud to the public in front of the Archives on the Constitution Avenue side, and the crowd was encouraged to loudly cheer or boo different parts of the document. It was a lot of fun, and definitely one of the best oral renditions of the Declaration I’ve ever seen, including a reading at Williamsburg.

The National Archives is also host to a lot of fun, family friendly programming inside their museum. The one downside? Everyone is down on Constitution Avenue waiting to see the parade, or wanting to go inside the Archives museum to get a look at the Declaration. On the plus side, NARA’s staff is very good at crowd control and manage to keep the museum from feeling too crowded. The downside of this means that when it’s really, really crowded, the line gets super long and they stop letting people into the building. You can be standing in the direct sunlight for upwards of forty-five minutes, which needless to say is pretty unpleasant. 

But once you’re inside, I would highly recommend heading up to the Boeing Learning Center to participate in the activities they’ve got set up! The Learning Center is the one place in the National Archives’ building where you can take pictures, and I was told this program is pretty similar year after year.

I was given a booklet with information about each of the historical figures represented by a reenactor and spaces for them to sign. Kids (and any adults who wanted to play along) were encouraged to collect signatures from the reenactors, and could take photos with them as well. I was especially excited to see John and Abigail Adams, as they’re my favorite historical figures from the Revolutionary period and I’ve never had an opportunity to chat with people portraying them before. 

I also made sure to get Felicity a picture with fellow Virginian from Williamsburg Thomas Jefferson. Both he and Mrs. Adams said they thought my blog sounded like a great idea, which made me feel a little like a kid meeting Mickey Mouse for the first time and having him tell me I’m good at drawing, if you know what I mean. 

All of the reenactors were very true to character, very knowledgeable, and great with kids of all ages who went to talk to them. I saw some students from UVA who were very excited to meet Jefferson and take their picture with him, and multiple people said it was like being at Historical Disneyland.

In addition to these meet and greets, you could listen to the Founders tell stories throughout the day, or participate in a number of other Revolutionary inspired activities. You could set your name in type like you would if you were using a printing press, make a colonial wig out of a paper bag (super cool activity!), dress up in colonial clothes, write with a quill pen, and even sign the Declaration of Independence!

The Boeing Learning Center in general is a great place to bring kids to learn more about what the Archives does, and hosts other great programs throughout the year. I know most people think to go into the Rotunda to see the Declaration and Constitution and then pop out to rush off to a Smithsonian, but if you’ve got younger family members, definitely pop in and see what programs they’ve got going on. The staff is friendly and eager to teach future historians and archivists about the role of the National Archives in DC and around the country. 

After you’re done at the Archives, you’re likely going to be hungry and tired. As much as I like the Archives’ museum and the Learning Center, I can’t in good faith recommend the café at NARA. If you’re in DC for the Fourth, I would recommend heading across the street onto the National Mall and supporting the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The Festival is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, something I’m going to talk about more in detail later. 

It’s always hosted for two weeks with the Fourth smooshed in the center and there are vendors stationed along the Mall selling tasty treats you can enjoy at picnic tables under the trees. My friend Jenna and I stopped at the vendor selling Irish pub grub and got fish and chips, which was super tasty and totally hit the spot.

We popped by the National Museum of American History next. Jenna and I (as well as a lot of our classmates) have spent a lot of time at NMAH over the last year, and we finally got to take a walk through the three new exhibitions that just opened. If you’ve got any interest in the history of democracy, immigration and religion in the United States, you definitely need to check these out. Even if you don’t feel like you have any interest in it, they’re still worth seeing. 

Plus, they have Indiana Jones’s hat and whip on display while they work on conserving the ruby slippers, so that’s pretty awesome too.

Interestingly, NMAH didn’t seem to have any obvious Fourth of July programming like the National Archives did. We weren’t sure if this was because they’ve had a busy month promoting their new exhibitions or not, but they do have extended hours in the summer, so if you’re going to stay for the fireworks, it’s a good place to visit before they start. 

Speaking of fireworks, people start tailgating for the fireworks pretty darn early. Grabbing a prime piece of real estate on the Mall definitely seems like a high priority for Washingtonians and tourists a lot. 

Luckily for my friends and I, we had a hook up this year!

Jenna is working for the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum this summer, and they open their rooftop to any employees or interns and their friends and family looking for a good place to watch the fireworks. I’ve never been to the DAR Museum before, but I’ve heard a lot about it from Jenna, so it was a lot of fun getting a private tour of the building before the fireworks started. 

The museum itself is under construction right now and will be reopened soon, but their period rooms and library are available for the public to see. Each state chapter of the DAR can sponsor a room in the building, and many of them are furnished to represent a wealthy household in that state at a specific moment in time. My two favorite rooms were Virginia and New Hampshire: a dining room and an attic, complete with lots of children’s toys. 

The DAR Museum might be a little off the beaten path for most visitors to DC, but it’s definitely worth a peek inside. And their roof is a pretty unmatched spot to view the fireworks!

Which, by the way, were pretty incredible. I’m a little snobby about fireworks thanks to Disney, but these were a lot of fun to watch and definitely worth the wait. 

So if you’re willing to brave the crowds and the heat, I think I can very safely say that there is no better place to visit on the Fourth of July than Washington, DC. Hope you can join us down here next year!

Hope you had a happy and safe holiday wherever you celebrated!