Weekend picks in and around Washington, DC

This week we published our summer camp guide which is always a favorite among readers. Hopefully you find a camp that fits your Bambinos interests. Registrations for most have already started so don’t delay.

There are plenty of ways to spend the weekend outdoors (albeit, dress extremely warm in order for the experience to be a pleasant one). Ice rinks are open, the slopes have snow and typical hikes are more beautiful with a layer of white fluff on the branches. Sounds kind of crazy but our family loves to head to the beach in the winter and see the landscape in a different season. Our area has many beaches and state parks near us as well as marshes and gardens that are fun to walk through in the winter. It is Restaurant Week in DC through Sunday and many places have take-out options.

All weekend:
Washington Auto Show is at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center through Sunday, January 30. The Washington, D.C. Auto Show is also the largest public show in the nation’s capital. Test-drive an all-electric vehicle like Toyota’s RAV4 Hybrid, the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, a Polestar 2, and a Nissan Leaf on the streets of D.C. at the Washington, D.C. Auto Show! See the Exotic Car Display at the 2022 Washington Auto Show in Hall B on the lower level. Visit the Subaru Loves Pets exhibit in Hall A of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center during the times below, and you’ll be able to meet, play with, and even adopt one of the shelter dogs provided by the Humane Rescue Alliance.

Smithsonian FUTURES is part exhibition, part festival!. FUTURES presents nearly 32,000 square feet of new immersive site-specific art installations, interactives, working experiments, inventions, speculative designs, and “artifacts of the future,” as well as historic objects and discoveries from 23 of the Smithsonian’s museums, major initiatives, and research centers. Of the nearly 150 objects on view, several are making their public debut: an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven rover from Alphabet’s X that could transform agriculture; a Planetary Society space sail for deep space travel; a Loon internet balloon; the first full-scale Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome built in North America; the world’s first controlled thermonuclear fusion device; and more.

ARTECHOUSE has a new exhibit– Transient: Impermanent Paintings. Experience an immersive journey into artistic process, inspired by music and traditional painting techniques. This groundbreaking exhibition, originally composed as a live performance, presents a series of audiovisual paintings created by the artist in concert with generative algorithms. The exhibition employs technology as a lens to explore music for the 21st-century audience and rethink the traditional artistic techniques in the context of human-machine relationship.

Eliana’s Light invites you and your family members, friends, and/or colleagues to participate in “Spreading Kindness”, their 7^th Annual community service program in advance of Valentine’s Day. Due to the pandemic, this year’s program will again be virtual, and you can participate where you are. They welcome photos of homemade cards, poems, printable artwork for coloring pages, and songs that give uplift, hope and encouragement to children with serious illnesses and complex medical conditions. Please email items to Eliana’s Light before Feb. 10th. They also welcome donations to purchase art supplies for these families in financial need. Please make a financial donation by clicking here. Questions? Please email!

REACH Lanterns glows again with the return of Winter Lanterns, a free display of approximately 100 stunning lanterns made up of 10,000 colored LED lights, all crafted by Chinese artisans. Offering a whimsical experience for visitors, the Winter Lanterns display includes six outdoor installations: the Butterfly Garden, Flamingo Lagoon, Coral Reef, Panda Grove, Mushroom Forest, and Flower Path. REACH Winter Lanterns PLUS, January 27–30 and February 3–6, will add excitement and interactive outdoor activities to the evenings. The first week, which will highlight Chinese culture, offers photo opportunities with Tiger and Panda characters; writing and sending letters to former National Zoo pandas Bao Bao, Tai Shan, and Bei Bei, who are now in China; Lunar New Year freebies, and more. The second week of the celebration spotlightsKorean arts and culture and includes activities such as a traditional Korean costume display at the River Pavilion; photo opportunities with Korean mascot characters, along with further Lunar NewYear giveaways. Both weekends will include food truck offerings on the REACH plaza.

Monster Jam is at Capital One Area Saturday & Sunday. Washington, DC fans will witness heated rivalries, high-flying stunts and fierce head-to-head battles for the Event Championship.  Engineered to perfection, the 12,000-pound Monster Jam trucks push all limits in Freestyle, Skills, Donuts and Racing competitions.  The Arena Series East Champion will receive a highly coveted automatic bid to the prestigious Monster Jam World Finals^® to compete for the title of World Champion. 

Thomas & Friends™: Explore the Rails! is at National Children’s Museum through May 15. Step into the world of Thomas & Friends™ in our new exhibit, which features favorite engines and destinations from the popular children’s series alongside playful STEAM learning experiences. As Dreamers help Thomas and his engine friends Percy and Victor solve a variety of challenges, they’ll build foundational STEAM skills, like thinking mathematically and creatively, making comparisons, experimenting to solve problems, and reflecting on actions and results. Recommended for children ages 2-7, the exhibit features text in both English and Spanish.

Plan ahead:
Get tickets to see Balloonacy at Imagination Stage February 5-20. A beautiful, movement-based show that revisits the classic film “The Red Balloon.” Nothing can go right for the character of the old man, whose days are gray and dreary–until he is visited by a friendly red balloon. In the playful physical style of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, the old man–an adult version of the boy in the film–regains his youthful spirit, with the help of the red balloon! Best for ages 1-11. 

DCPL’s Winter Challenge continues through the end of March. The DC Public Library and the Washington Wizards invite children and teens (ages 3 – 19) to stay active and engaged this winter season by participating. It’s easy! Register for Winter Challenge and pick up your Winter Challenge game board at your Neighborhood Library or sign up online. If you have participated in past reading programs, you can log in to your account with your username and password. Make sure your email is up to date as that is how the library and the Wizards will notify you about prizes.