Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Washington, DC

There is no shortage of places in the DC Metro Area to see fish.  Especially live fish for free.  If you aren't into traveling to see the fish, you don't need to look farA local pet store, a grocery store, and online are also great places to go. 

Check out my list of best places to see the fish:

• The United Stated National Arboretum is home to more than plants.  Visit the ginormous brightly colored Japanese koi who live in the Arboretum's Aquatic Gardens located by the Administration Building and Visitor Center.  Stop in the Visitor's Center with a handful of quarters to buy food for the koi. Admission is free.

• Jessica from A Parent in Silver Spring calls the National Aquarium in Baltimore the big, beautiful homecoming queen of aquariums within driving distance.  It most certainly is!  Just be sure to buy your tickets before you go!

• Located in the basement of the Commerce building, The National Aquarium in Washington DC is a small aquarium  that is perfect for children whose little legs stop working with too much walking.  Admission is $5 for adults, $2.50 for kids 2-10 and under 2 years are free.

• When it rains, we pretend take a trip to the Brazilian rainforest.  Inside The National Zoo's Amazonia we are always mesmerized by the gigantic prehistoric looking fish who glide leisurely through the water as we stare at them through the huge picture windows.  Admission is free.

• Whether in a major mall or a strip mall, pet stores always have tanks and tanks of fish that can provide plenty of amusement before your kids want to take off and visit the hamsters, birds, and reptiles.  Admission is free but temptation, and pressure, to take a creature home is great.

• Not to be grotesque, but grocery stores are also great places to see fish.  While you generally don't see the kind that are alive and swimming around, trips to the fish counter always evoke many questions from Little Miss Techie.  She loves for me to tell her the names of all the fish she sees lying on ice and is now able to recognize some of the names on her own.  So not only are grocery store fish counters great places to see the fish but you can also turn the experience into a lesson in reading!  My favorite stores to see the fish displayed on ice are Asian markets and at Whole Foods.  The only danger in seeing fish in a grocery store is that you may take some home for dinner.

Can't make it out to visit the fish?  See them at home on the computer through PBS Kids' DragonFly online videos for kids.  Movie clips featuring fish include the following:

• California Fish- Milan and Harison rode on a research boat and threw a trap into the bay to see what sorts of fish live near the ocean bottom.

• Fish Population- Ronnie and Denise use gill nets and trap nets to catch six kinds of fish: walleyes, black crappies, white suckers, bluegills, pumpkinseeds and bullheads

• Salmon- Andy, Mason, and Marshall conduct a study to determine the health of two rivers where salmon live.  Watch as they count and weigh the salmon for their study.