1. Say hi to Tai Shan. The National Zoo is home to Tai Shan, only the third panda to be born and thrive in the United States.
2. Take in a concert. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts offers free concerts or performances every night at 6 p.m. on the Millennium Stage.
3. Walk around. DC by Foot offers free walking tours of the National Tuesday through Sunday. Tours cover about a mile and last about 90 minutes. Look for the guy in the baby blue shirt and check the Web site for tour times. Guides don't charge a fee, but they're happy to accept a tip.
4. Make some money. Or at least watch while the government does with a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
5. See the stars in Rock Creek Park at the only planetarium operated by the National Park Service.
6. Explore an exhibition and create a related art project to take home through the Freer & Sackler Gallery's Imaginasia family programming.
7. Take pictures with Fala, the famous presidential pooch, at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.
8. Explore the beautiful grounds of the National Cathedral, the sixth largest cathedral in the world, and then take a Gargoyle Tour ($5 fee for anyone age 10 and older), and see how these whimsical creatures reflect history in stone. There's even one fashioned after Darth Vader.
9. Play pilot in a mock cockpit at America by Air, an exhibition on permanent display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
10. Walk among living butterflies at the National Museum of Natural History's Butterfly Pavilion (only free on Tuesdays and timed-entry tickets are required. Get them at the Butterfly Pavilion box office beginning at 10 a.m. each Tuesday.
11. Learn about history at the newly renovated National Museum of American History. The redesigned attraction offers visitors a look at the original "Star-Spangled Banner," the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the national anthem.
12. Go fly a kite next to the Washington Monument for a great family photo.
