Washington, DC

Fifth Year Anniversary of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Family Day - This event is on Saturday, December 13, 2008, at the Udvar-Hazy Center location of the National Air & Space Museum from 10am to 3pm. This special event includes a special passport activity that if you complete you can get a small prize. Other events include Ask a Pilot featuring a pilot of the SR-71; Discovery Stations that teach about things like Principles of Flight, Inventing Flight, Air Transportation, and the Space Suite; book signings; activities such as identifying parts of a plane, things invented for space that are now part of everyday life, and space mission patch art activity; and a story time.

Second Saturday Arts and the Ocean: Dive In & Pop-Up - This event is on Saturday, December 13, 2008, from 1pm to 4pm in the Sant Ocean Hall at the National Museum of Natural History. This event includes book signings of The Pocket Paper Engineer, Volumes 1 and 2 and an activity teaching how to make your own underwater pop up.

Check out weekend sports playing in D.C. on the Sports Events Coming Up This Week post.

Art a la Cart - This event is at the Smithsonian American Art Museum on Sunday from 1pm to 4pm.

Holiday Card Workshop - This event is at the National Postal Museum on Saturday from noon to 1:30pm and 2pm to 3:30pm. It is a free event, but registration is required.

Kwanzaa Family Festival - This event is at the National Museum of African Art this Saturday from 11am to 4pm. This Kwanzaa festival includes arts and crafts, storytelling, and film.

National Museum of the American Indian Art Market - This is an indoor market at the National Museum of American Indian on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5:30pm. The market features Native American art including jewelry, ceramics, baskets, dolls, and sculpture.

SAAM I Am - Celebrate Lino Tagliapietra - This event is at the Smithsonian American Art Museum on Saturday from 1pm to 4pm. This family event is glass themed including a reading of the book called Glassigator and a glass ornament craft.

Check out weekend sports playing in D.C. on the Sports Events Coming Up This Week post.

Zoolights at the National Zoo - Zoolights is back again this holiday season. It starts tomorrow, November 28, 2008 and continues Friday through Sunday until December 14 and then daily between December 16 through 30. Each night Zoolights is going on the event is from 6pm to 8:30pm. The event includes animal light displays, keeper talks, live entertainment, and dancing trees.

Check out weekend sports playing in D.C. on the Sports Events Coming Up This Week post.

Grand Reopening of National Museum of American History - This weekend the National Museum of American History reopens after about two years of being closed for renovations. As part of the reopening there is a variety of special events going on at the museum this Friday, November 21, Saturday, November 22, and Sunday, November 23. See my more in depth post about the grand reopening events here.

Mystery Crates Revealed - This is a special event at the National Postal Museum on Sunday, November 22 from 1pm to 3pm. It sounds like a really cool and unique event. At the event they will be opening 27 crates that were sealed in a Smithsonian storage facility 30 years and the contents are unknown.

Check out weekend sports playing in D.C. on the Sports Events Coming Up This Week post.

America By Air Family Day - This family day event is at the National Air & Space Museum’s mall location on Saturday, November 15 from 10am to 3pm. The event includes learning about life as an airline stewardess, experience what it was like to fly in a Ford Tri-Motor in the 1920s, and explore the cockpits of three airplanes.

American Indian Heritage Month Family Celebration - This Family Day Celebration is at the National Postal Museum on Saturday, November 15 from 1pm to 3pm. The websites description of the event is as follows: “Celebrate this year’s Smithsonian heritage theme “Living in Many Worlds” with stories, stamps, and activities about Sequoyah, the Cherokee man who invented writing for his people, and a Haida canoe.”

Check out weekend sports playing in D.C. on the Sports Events Coming Up This Week post.

Green Festival - Last year I enjoyed the Green Festival in D.C. I imagine it will be just as good this year or perhaps even better. There should at least be some good food samples and perhaps some cloth bag freebies. The festival is on Saturday, November 8, 2008, from 10am to 7pm and on Sunday, November 9, 2008, from 11am to 6pm.

Imaginasia Family Programs - This weekend there is two family programs at the Freer and Sackler Galleries. The Beyond Space and Time one is on Saturday, November 8, at 2pm. This one is described as “In the classroom create your own miniature diorama that combines elements from these unique paintings and your vivid imagination.” The Where the Desert Blooms one is on Sunday, November 9, at 2pm. This event is described as ” Enjoy a classroom slide show of the palace gardens at Nagaur in India, and the use an activity book to explore the exhibition Garden and Cosmos.”

SAAM I Am Thanksgiving Family Day - This event is on Saturday, November 8, 2008, from 1pm to 4pm. This event includes “a reading of A Plump and Perky Turkey by Teresa Batman” and “a Food in Art scavenger hunt to find some of your favorite holiday treats in artworks all around the museum.” Also, at the event you can make a cornucopia and decorate a turkey to take home.

Check out weekend sports playing in D.C. on the Sports Events Coming Up This Week post.

Art a la Cart Family Day - This month’s family day at the Smithsonian American Art Museum is on Sunday, November 2 from 1pm to 4pm. There are four different interactive cart activities.

Los Días de los Muertos/Day of the Dead Two-Day Celebration - This event is being held on Saturday, November 1 and Sunday, November 2 at the National Museum of the American Indian from 10:30am to 4pm each day. Events include demonstrations of paper cutting, sugar skull, paper sculpture, paper mache, tortillas, mole, and pan de muerto. The museum’s Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe will also feature the traditional foods on a special menu for the weekend. While there check out the new exhibit opening at the museum on Saturday called Indian/Not Indian.

Check out weekend sports playing in D.C. on the Sports Events Coming Up This Week post.

Air and Scare - This event is being held at the National Air and Space Museum Udvar Hazy Center location. It is on Saturday, October 26, 2008, from 4pm to 8pm. Activities include trick-or-treating, Trick-or-Truth information stations about mysteries like Area 51, Discovery Stations with Halloween science experiments, Spook-tivity Stations with Halloween hands on activities such as crafts, Teen and Tween Zone with things like robot demonstrations, Tot Zone with dress up costumes, take a photo with a Star Wars character, face painting, and a showing of The Jetsons in the IMAX theater.

Boo at the Zoo - This is the special trick-or-treating event at the National Zoo. It is being held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night from 5:30pm to 8:30pm on each night. The Saturday night tickets are already sold out, though. Also, parking passes for every night are also sold out. It is geared towards kids ages 2 to 12. It includes 40 treat stations, animal encounters, keeper talks, and Halloween decorations to enjoy.

Ghosts of a Chance - This is a special Halloween themed scavenger hunt in the Luce Foundation Center. It goes from noon to 5pm on Saturday. The hunt includes several quests to save the museum from mischievous spirits. The first 50 people to complete all the quests it get a Ghost of a Chance t-shirt.

Imaginasia Family Programs - This weekend the Freer/Sackler Gallery has an Imaginasia Family Program on Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. The Saturday one is called Beyond Space and Time and includes a mini diorama project. The Sunday one is called Where the Desert Blooms and includes creating a Nagaur palace garden to take home.

Check out weekend sports playing in D.C. on the Sports Events Coming Up This Week post.

Garden and Cosmos Opening Celebration 2-Day India Festival: This is a special event at the Sacler and Freer Galleries on Saturday, October 18, and Sunday, October 19, to celebrate the opening of the new exhibit Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur. Events includes performances, the galleries being open until 8pm on Saturday, Indian food available in the courtyard, and Festival of the Lights Family Program (this part is 4pm to 8pm on Saturday and 1pm to 4pm on Sunday). The Festival of the Lights part seems like a fun thing for families with younger kids, as it includes completing activity books, coloring woodblock prints, and making lanterns. See the full list of Saturday’s events here and the list of Sunday’s events here.

Check out weekend sports playing in D.C. on the Sports Events Coming Up This Week post.

Commemorative Cancels & Covers Family Day - This event is at the National Postal Museum. It is part of the ongoing celebration of the museum’s 15th anniversary. It is on Saturday, October 11 from 1pm to 3pm. Learn about commemorative cancel and covers and also mail get a special 15th anniversary cancel in the Museum store. I tried to figure out how to get this supposed cancel when I went and saw the new Alphabetilately exhibit a few weeks ago, but it was not obvious how to get it. Now I know I probably had to specifically ask for it in the store.

SAAM I Am OKeeffe and Adams Family Day - Learn about Ansel Adams and Georgia O’Keefe at this month’s Smithonsian American Art Museum’s family day. It is on Saturday from 1pm to 4pm.

Check out weekend sports playing in D.C. on the Sports Events Coming Up This Week post.

Art la Cart Family Day - This event is at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. This family day event includes four different activity carts. This month the event is on Sunday, October 5, 2008 from 1pm to 4pm.

Living and Working in Space Family Day - This family day event is at the National Air & Space Museum on Saturday, October 4, 2008 from 10am to 3pm. This family day event teaches about what life is like in space and includes hands on activities and story times.

October Festival hosted by Mt. Zion United Methodist Church - This October Festival is on Saturday, October 4, 2008 from 10am to 5:30pm.

Check out weekend sports playing in D.C. on the Sports Events Coming Up This Week post.

Grand Opening of Sant Ocean Hall - The grand opening festivities begin at 11am on Saturday, September 27, with music and dance. The Ocean Hall is then officially opened at noon. Grand Opening festivities include book signings and lectures.

National Book Festival - This year’s book festival is on Saturday, September 27. It is held on the National Mall from 10am to 5pm. Check the site for list of authors and the times they are giving presentations and signing books.

Check out weekend sports playing in D.C. on the Sports Events Coming Up This Week post.

2008 Smithsonian Trunk Show - This is a show featuring wearable art made by 30 artists juried into Smithsonian Craft Shows. It is being held at the National Building Museum. It costs $35 to go for the advance chance party from 5:30pm to 8:30pm on Friday. It costs only $5 on Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday and Sunday hours are both 10am to 5pm.

Fiesta Musical at the National Zoo - This fiesta is in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. There will be crafts to do including jewelry, sweaters, bags, finger puppets, and drums.

Check out weekend sports playing in D.C. on the Sports Events Coming Up This Week post.

Mount Vernon 18th Century Craft Fair - This is a craft fair at Mount Vernon that is set in the 18th century with wares you might find back then. It also includes some period entertainment, such as Punch and Judy, juggler, and swordswallower.

Check out weekend sports playing in D.C. on the Sports Events Coming Up This Week post.

These are just few events this weekend. If you have any that you know about in the D.C. area this weekend that you would like to share, then please let us know in a comment to this post.

2nd Annual Smithsonian Young Benefactors Cup - This Polo event will take place on the West Potomac Park Polo Field on the National Mall on Saturday, September 6. The gates open at noon. The Opening Ceremony is at 12:15pm. There are Exhibition matches between 12:30pm and 2:30pm. The Smithsonian Cup match is at 3pm.

Art la Cart Family Day - This event is at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. This family day event includes four different activity carts.

Check out weekend sports playing in D.C. on the Sports Events Coming Up This Week post.

These are just few events this weekend. If you have any that you know about in the D.C. area this weekend that you would like to share, then please let us know in a comment to this post.