All Day

2023 Bull Run Festival of Lights

Bull Run Regional Park 7700 Bull Run Drive, Centreville

(VA) (NOVA Parks) Enjoy a 2.5 mile drive-through of festive light displays, walk-through a Christmas Village and Carnival. The show is open nightly from November 11, 2022 through January 8, 2023. Times vary on weekday and weekends. PLEASE NOTE: YOU ONLY NEED TO BUY ONE TICKET PER VEHICLE.

$30 – $75

2023 Meadowlark’s Winter Walk of Lights

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens 9750 Meadowlark Gardens, Vienna

(VA) (NOVA Parks) Enjoy even more lights this year as Meadowlark Botanical Gardens sparkles with displays of flowers, animals, trees, and holiday scenes along the Winter Walk of Lights .6-mile trail. Times and prices vary by weekday or weekend. See website for all details.

$18 – $22

2023 Ice & Lights: The Winter Village at Cameron Run

Cameron Run Regional Park 4001 Eisenhower Ave, Alexandria

(VA) (NOVA Parks) Ice & Lights offers a fun, outdoor family experience to see unique light displays, take family pictures or selfies with a variety of displays, and take a spin on the outdoor ice rink.  Tickets are available for the Village or Village and Ice Skating daily through January 1st.  Prices and times vary from weekdays to weekends.

$8 – $20
Ongoing

Garden of Lights at Brookside

Brookside Gardens 1800 Glenallan Ave, Wheaton

(MD) (Montgomery Parks) The Garden of Lights display transforms Brookside Gardens into a magical winter wonderland. Stroll through the one-half mile, outdoor, walk-through exhibit and enjoy the twinkling lights and glimmering one-of-a-kind displays adorning the flowerbeds and grounds throughout the 50-acre horticultural gem in Wheaton. Shop for unique seasonal items at the Gift Shop. Hot chocolate and light snacks will ...

$10

US Botanic Garden Holiday and Trains

U.S. Botanic Garden 100 Maryland Ave SW, Washington DC

(DC) (US Botanic Garden) The annual holiday display “Season’s Greenings” will feature model trains in the gated outdoor gardens, festive lights throughout the Garden, and the Conservatory will feature poinsettias, holiday decor, and D.C. landmarks made from plants. G-gauge model trains will circulate through displays of pollinators made from plant parts in the outdoor gardens. These scenes will range from ...

Free

US Botanic Garden Holiday and Trains

U.S. Botanic Garden 100 Maryland Ave SW, Washington DC

(DC) (US Botanic Garden) The annual holiday display “Season’s Greenings” will feature model trains in the gated outdoor gardens, festive lights throughout the Garden, and the Conservatory will feature poinsettias, holiday decor, and D.C. landmarks made from plants. G-gauge model trains will circulate through displays of pollinators made from plant parts in the outdoor gardens. These scenes will range from ...

Free

Exploring Color with Rocks & Minerals

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History 1000 Madison Drive NW, Washington

(DC) (Smithsonian) Join us on Tuesdays for special family play dates with museum educators! During the month of December, we will be exploring color! Each week, families will explore color through different natural history themes. Come play, make art, and make up-close observations of colorful specimens! Tuesday, December 5: Rocks and Minerals Tuesday, December 12: Insects Tuesday, December 19: Colorful ...

Free

Exhibit: To Live and Breathe

Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum 1901 Fort Pl, SE, Washington

(DC) (Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum) Women have led the environmental justice movement. This exhibition explores how local women of color draw on a long history of activism and advance environmental justice efforts not only in D.C., but across the country and beyond. Visitors will be inspired as they learn why women have become leaders in the environmental justice movement, which ...

Free

Exhibit: Forces of Nature

National Portrait Gallery 800 G St NW, Washington

(DC) (National Portrait Gallery) “Forces of Nature: Voices that Shaped Environmentalism” presents some of the key people—scientists, politicians, activists, writers and artists—whose work has influenced attitudes toward the environment in the United States from the late 19th century until today. The exhibition traces a history of the movement from turn-of-the-20th-century conservationism to mid-20th-century environmentalism and its backlash. It also addresses ...

Free
Capital Nature