In the “Humanitarian Bay” the kids enjoyed searching for animal carvings among the stone carvings which helped gear them up for searching the outside of the Cathedral for the animal gargoyles.

King gave his last Sunday sermon at the Washington National Cathedral on Mashortly before his death. Next: 77 Things to Do With Kids in Washington DCĬontinuing through the Cathedral we saw statues of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and found the small statue of Martin Luther King Jr. The 10 and 12 year old girls visiting with us enjoyed looking through these and the adults liked trying to guess who each was based on the symbols and pictures on front of each. John’s Chapel, where the red embroidered kneelers are each dedicated to a famous American. Here each chair comes with an embroidered kneeler with a picture of a different animal which the kids liked looking through. Our tour of the Nave (upper level) continued with a visit to the Children’s Chapel, a small room with chairs and an altar sized for a 6 year old child. Next up was a big hit, the Space Window, with stained glass planets and stars and embedded with a real piece of moon rock brought back by the astronauts of Apollo 11. The first stop of the self guided tour was the Lewis and Clark windows which are unfortunately under renovation and not on display at this time.

My 6 and 5 year old girls were joined by out of town friends who are 10 and 12 so we were able to get a good perspective of the cathedral from both an older and younger child’s perspective. As this was our first visit we decided to follow the booklet listed above and embark on a self guided tour. Free Audio Guides and 30 minute Guided Tours leave from near the main entrance and do not require advance reservations. Families visiting the Cathedral should pick up (or download from their website before hand) the booklet titled, “Explore the Cathedral with Children.” This pamphlet gives detailed information on 7 points of interest for children in the cathedral including the Space Window and the Children’s Chapel.Ī donation of $5 per visitor is requested upon entering the Cathedral. The cathedral and grounds are open daily for self guided, audio and group tours, with limited access during worship services. Aside from being a place of worship, the National Cathedral is a great architectural and historical structure to explore.

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