Star Wars-related things in Washington DC + Mount Vernon?

December 13, 2016 9:46 AM

I am planning a 2-day field trip to Washington, DC for 17 fifth-graders on March 3-5, 2017. Do you know of anything Star Wars-related that would be worth a visit? Lastly, any suggestions on which tours to do at Mount Vernon?

The kids are part of a program called Young Astronauts and we will be spending most of our time at the National Air and Space Museum and the Udvar-Hazy center. This year the YA theme is '40 years of Star Wars', and so if there's anything Star Wars-related you think would be appropriate for fifth-graders, I'd love to hear about it. Lots of parents are coming along, so we'll have a group of about 35.

The Star Wars costume exhibition will not be in DC at that time, but is anyone aware of any others? I know about the Darth Vader gargoyle at the National Cathedral, which is very cool, but probably not worth a specific trip.

Also, we are thinking about visiting Mount Vernon on our last day. I've never been; what do you recommend doing there with 17 kids? The website lists a bunch of tours - any recommendations for the best ones? One that I thought would be interesting was the National Secrets: Book of Treasures tour - we could watch the movie beforehand and I think the kids would enjoy touring a place they'd seen in the movie. If anyone has any experiences / suggestions / input I'd appreciate it!

posted by widdershins to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (4 answers total)

1. The Pioneer Farm at Mount Vernon will, I suspect, be interesting to kids this age. Their breeding program for rare livestock that would have been known and used in Washington's era is particularly fascinating.

2. Longshot, but if you're looking for a side trip, the great DC Youth Orchestra will be performing on the 17th at the University of the District of Columbia (Van Ness) and will be playing at least one piece from the original "Star Wars" soundtrack.
posted by ryanshepard at 10:09 AM on December 13, 2016

Mt. Vernon recently built a huge new vistors' center with plenty of multimedia (e.g., the 4-D Revolutionary War Theater), so you might not need a special tour. But especially with a group that large, you should call Mt. Vernon well in advance both for advice and to make reservations; it gets pretty crowded in the spring. One important question for them is how to limit wait times.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 10:24 AM on December 13, 2016

R2-D2 mailbox. The link goes to the Postal Museum, but it sounds like the mailbox is at Udvar Hazy, so look for it when you're there. Udvar Hazy also has a few action figures.
posted by exogenous at 10:45 AM on December 13, 2016

I think the kids might most enjoy doing the Mount Vernon house tour, then getting some unstructured time. It's a huge estate and everything from the gardens and animals to the blacksmith's hut is cool, but there's simply too much to experience enjoyably in one day.
posted by mattamatic at 11:01 AM on December 13, 2016