3001 Connecticut Ave NW
Unlike many around the nation, entrance to the National Zoo is free. The zoo itself is a short walk from Cleveland park, but should you drive, arrive early for a limited spot in the zoo’s parking lot or enter on Connecticut Avenue. Visit the giant panda and elephant exhibits first, which tend to get crowded. The pandas are symbolic diplomatic gifts to the U.S. from China and recently welcomed a new baby panda to the world named Bao Bao. Plenty of food and drink concessions are available, but visitors are welcome to bring their own picnic. Lay it out on a grassy area by the Big Cats Exhibit, where you may hear roars, or on a table by the Think Tank, where you can observe orangutans while you eat. Hundreds of conservation volunteers stand by all year to help you learn and enjoy the 163-acre, 400-species park.
Throughout Woodley Park and Cleveland Park
Rock Creek Park spans 1,752 acres from Georgetown up into Maryland. With 30 picnic areas, hiking trails and paved bicycle paths along memorials, wooden areas and streams, there’s always something to do here. There is also a summer concert venue in the woods (Carter Barron Amphitheater), a world-class tennis facility (William H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis Stadium), Rock Creek Golf Course, a horse barn and the Rock Creek Nature Center (complete with planetarium!). Evening star gazing sessions with the National Capital Astronomers run during the summer and fall, and there are regular astronomy shows for children on weekends.
3426 Connecticut Ave NW
The single, concave screen in this movie theatre, which opened in 1936, is about 2,800 square feet and one of the biggest in the area. The theater is located near the Cleveland Park metro and across from a strip of local eateries. On opening nights for new blockbusters, expect lines out the door and possibly down the street. Once inside, grab a plush red seat on the mezzanine so you can comfortably watch the action without kinking your neck.