FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY
The Folger Shakespeare Library, located on Capitol Hill, is a world-class research center on Shakespeare and on the early modern age in the West. It is home to the world’s largest and finest collection of Shakespeare materials and to major collections of other rare Renaissance books (some 256,000 books, 116,000 of which are pre-1801), manuscripts, and works of art. The Folger is known for its wide array of scholarly and public programs. These include plays, concerts, literary readings, family activities, and exhibitions, as well as numerous K-12 and college programs for students and teachers. Advanced scholars participate in a variety of Folger Institute seminars and colloquia. The building itself has a marble facade decorated with nine bas-relief scenes from Shakespeare's plays; it is a striking example of Art Deco classicism. A statue of Puck stands in the west garden. An Elizabethan garden on the east side of the building is planted with flowers and herbs of the period.
Metro: Capitol South. Hours: Open Mon-Sat, 10am to 4pm; hours vary for performances. Admission: Free for touring; tickets required for lectures, poetry readings, and performances. See website for additional details.

JOHN F. KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Opened in 1971, the Kennedy Center is both the national performing arts center and a memorial to John F. Kennedy. Set on 17 acres overlooking the Potomac, the striking facility, designed by noted architect Edward Durell Stone, encompasses an opera house, a concert hall, two stage theaters, a theater lab, and as of late 2005, a theater devoted exclusively to family productions. The best way to experience the Kennedy Center is to attend a performance. Check the website or call (202) 467-4600 and request the current issue of Kennedy Center News Magazine, a free publication that describes all Kennedy Center happenings and prices. The Center also offers free 50-minute guided tours, which include some restricted areas. You'll tour the Hall of Nations, which displays the flags of all nations diplomatically recognized by the United States. Throughout the center you'll see gifts frommore than 40 nations, including all the marble used in thebuilding (3,700 tons), which Italy donated.First stop is the Grand Foyer, scene of many free concerts and programs and the reception area for all threetheaters on the main level; the 18 crystal chandeliers are a gift from Sweden. You'll also visit the Israeli Lounge (where 40 painted and gilded panels depict scenes from the OldTestament); the ConcertHall, home of the National Symphony Orchestra; the newly remodeled Opera House; the African Room (decorated with beautiful tapestries from African nations); the Eisenhower Theater; the Hall of States, where flags of the 50 states and four territories are hung in the order they joined the Union; the Performing Arts Library; and the Terrace Theater, a bicentennial gift from Japan.
Metro: Foggy Bottom-GWU. Hours: Open daily, 10am to midnight. Admission: Free for touring, free performances daily at 6pm; tickets required for most other performances. See website for additional details.

NATIONAL AQUARIUM IN WASHINGTON, DC
Journey across the U.S. to unique and protected areas in our National Marine Sanctuaries Gallery. Explore colorful fish and get close to the alligators of the Florida Everglades. The National Aquarium is the nation's first public aquarium. The 70 tanks house sea turtles, American alligators, sharks, piranha and 1,200 other specimens of marine life. Animal feedings each day at 2pm. This historic and unique aquarium is located in the Department of Commerce Building.
Metro: Federal Triangle. Hours: Open daily, 9am to 5pm. Admission: $5 adults, $4 seniors, $2.50 children. No credit cards accepted.

NATIONAL THEATRE
For 165 years the National Theatre has been a part of United States history. Having operated longer than any other major touring house in the United States, this historic playhouse has seen Pennsylvania Avenue grow from the muddy main street of a fledgling capital, to the ceremonial avenue of a great world power. Subsequent to its opening on December 7, 1835, the building was destroyed by fire and rebuilt during the 1800's. Part of the original foundation can still be seen in the basement of the present structure, which was rebuilt in the 1920's. The National Theatre features national tours of Broadway favorites, pre-Broadway shows and American premieres
Metro: Metro Center. Hours: Open Mon-Fri for tours, 11am to 3pm; hours vary for performances. Admission: Free for touring; tickets required for performances.

NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK
Established in 1889, the National Zoo is home to about 500 species of some 2,700 animals, many of them rare and/or endangered, including giant pandas. A leader in the care, breeding, and exhibition of animals, it occupies 163 beautifully landscaped and wooded acres and is one of the country's most delightful zoos. You'll see cheetahs, zebras, camels, elephants, tapirs, antelopes, brown pelicans, kangaroos, hippos, rhinos, giraffes, apes, and, of course, lions, tigers, and bears. Enter the zoo at the Connecticut Avenue entrance; you'll be right by the Education Building, where you can pick up a map and find out about feeding times and any special activities. The zoo animals live in large, open enclosures (simulations of their natural habitats) along two easy-to-follow numbered paths: Olmsted Walk and the Valley Trail. Be sure to catch Amazonia, a re-creation of the world's largest rainforest. Fairly new at the zoo is the Kids' Farm, which offers children ages 3 to 8 a chance to observe farm animals up close. Ducks, chickens, goats, cows, and miniature donkeys are among the animals milling around. Recently added is the Asia Trail, which is improving the habitats of the zoo's current Asian animal population (the giant pandas, bear sloths, fishing cats, and many others), and adding exhibits for new specimens, such as the Japanese giant salamander and the clouded leopard.
Metro: Woodly Park-Zoo. Hours: Open daily, 6am to 8pm (10am to 6pm for animal buildings). Admission: Free.

WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL
A church of this magnitude -- it's the sixth largest cathedral in the world, and the second largest in the U.S. -- took a long time to build. Its principal (but not original) architect, Philip Hubert Frohman, worked on the project from 1921 until his death in 1972. The foundation stone was laid in 1907 using the mallet with which George Washington set the Capitol cornerstone. Construction was interrupted by both world wars and by periods of financial difficulty. The cathedral was completed with the placement of the final stone on the west front towers on September 29, 1990, 83 years after it was begun. English Gothic in style (with several distinctly 20th-century innovations, such as a stained-glass window commemorating the flight of Apollo 11 and containing a piece of moon rock), the cathedral is built in the shape of a cross, complete with flying buttresses and 110 gargoyles. It is, along with the Capitol and the Washington Monument, one of the dominant structures on the Washington skyline. Over the years, the cathedral has been, and continues to be, a truly historic place. Services to celebrate the end of World Wars I and II were held here. It was the scene of President Wilson's funeral (he and his wife are buried here), as well as President Eisenhower's. President Bush's National Prayer and Remembrance service on September 14, 2001, following the attacks of September 11, was held here.
Metro: Tenleytown-AU. Hours: Open Mon-Fri, 10am to 5:30pm; Sat, 10am to 4pm; Sun, 8am to 6:30pm. Admission: Donation of $3 adults, $2 seniors, $1 children.