Our trip to see the FREE shows at the Einstein Planetarium in the Air & Space Museum

We went to the National Air & Space Museum in DC just this past Friday in the hopes of catching a FREE show at the Einstein Planetarium. For those of you who don't know, for 3 people, 2 and up, a regular show can run you about $25- YIKES! Maybe on a special occasion, but generally our budget only allows us 1-2 splurges of this caliber per month.

Well, long story short, we had a tiny bit of car trouble, then we got turned around once we got there so we missed it. What we did instead: made lemonade, as the expression goes, but more on that later. I was totally disappointed in the lack of adequate directions on how to get there via Metro online and vowed to do a write-up asap to guide other moms/visitors there.

In my experience, DC is notorious for confusing, misleading, or absent signs and this trip was no different. Good signage wouldn't be so important if DC had nothing to offer, but on the contrary, there are so many (hidden) gems in DC that it's important to be able to find where you're going to take advantage of all the goodies it has to offer. I'm here to help;^)

The Big Bird and Elmo Sesame Street show we were trying to catch is shown FREE in the Einstein Planetarium every Friday at 10:30am, which means we have to be out of here insanely early since taking the train makes for a longer trip- but, for all its benefits, I hardly mind. 

(The images and info below were taken from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum website.)

One World, One Sky

One World, One Sky: Big Bird's Adventure follows Sesame Street's Big Bird and Elmo as they explore the night sky with Hu Hu Zhu, a Muppet from Zhima Jie, the Chinese co-production of Sesame Street. (20 min.)

FREE Admission 
Please note: tickets available free at Planetarium box office. Tickets may be ordered by phone at 202-633-4629 or 1-877-932-4629 (toll free), however $2.00 per ticket fee applies for phone orders.

Another FREE show is called The Stars Tonight, and is shown Tues, Thurs and Sat at 10:30am.

The Stars Tonight Journey through the stars, constellations and celestial highlights of the current night sky with a Museum staff member using the Albert Einstein Planetarium projector. FREE Admission  Please note: tickets available free at Planetarium box office. Tickets may be ordered by phone at 202-633-4629 or 1-877-932-4629 (toll free), however $2.00 per ticket fee applies for phone orders.

Metro is my preferred way to travel as it gives the kids the experience of riding the train, learning how to read maps and take the train, interacting with other people, and learning how trains work. For me, it alleviates the stress and worry of traffic, driving and parking (i.e. getting tickets or towed!), I get to catch up on some pleasure reading, and I usually get my exercise in without even trying on these glorious field trip days.

Tips on visiting the Air & Space Museum and How I got there via Metro