February is a great month to continue the indoor exploration and check out some local, free activities in Alexandria. One of my favorite go-to spots to take my son is our local Alexandria library, and not just for books. The Alexandria library system has multiple branches that each hold enrichment events for kids. All events are free and a great spot for meeting other local families while keeping your little one entertained.
My favorite local libraries are the Kate Waller Barrett Branch Library in Old Town and the James M. Duncan Library in Del Ray. The Barrett library has a large children’s area, decorated with puzzles, toys, and stuffed animals for kids to play with while enjoying a fun reading environment. Barrett has children’s activities and story times throughout the week and a special Saturday story time with music and movement for younger kids.
The Duncan library also has some unique free offerings for families. Duncan hosts story time throughout the week, even a pajama story time in the evenings where you can bring your child in their pajamas with their favorite stuffed animal. The children’s area at Duncan has plenty of puzzles and toys for your little one to enjoy and even hosts a LEGO club on the weekends.
Dinosaur Toys in the children’s room at the Duncan Library.
Here are my indoor picks for your upcoming weekends:
February 16-18: Head to the Alexandria Black History Museum from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. for its African American Children’s Book Fair,featuring books for African American families and while you are there take a tour of the museum. On Monday, February 18, don’t miss the George Washington Birthday Parade that’s sure to have lots of music and performances. Beware the amount of candy that your kids will get during the parade, it rivals Halloween levels!
February 23: If you’re looking for something different, try the LEGO Club at the James M. Duncan Jr. Branch Library. The club meets in the children’s area in the library from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The library provides buckets of LEGOs and Duplos for the younger set and encourages creativity. My son really enjoyed building with other kids and when he was done with the activity we were able to pick up a bunch of books for him to take home.
March 2: The Alexandria St. Patrick’s Day Parade starts at 12:30 p.m. and is a great event to enjoy with the family. We are spoiled with parades in Alexandria and hopefully the weather brings us some warmth to enjoy this parade. Check out the dog show, typically before the parade, to see all the dogs dressed up in their finest.
