Theater & shows made for kids in DC
Children’s theaters and family shows around DC — ages per program, seasons, prices where the theater prints them — plus the free Saturday morning series.
Updated Tuesday, September 22, 2026 · real listings, pulled from 130+ sources and reviewed by a person.
- Imagination Stage — Two programs under one roof, and the split is the useful part: mainstage musicals pitched at roughly ages 3–9, and a separate early-childhood series made for ages 1–4. Box office Tue–Fri 10–2; on weekends it opens 30 minutes before curtain. A full season of each, September through July; also classes and camps · Season packages from $64 · 4908 Auburn Ave, Bethesda, MD
- The Puppet Co. — Puppet theater in Glen Echo Park, on two tracks: mainstage shows recommended for ages 4 and up (45–60 minutes), and Tiny Tots — 30-minute shows for 18 months to 4 years with the lights up, the doors open and no sudden loud noises. Free parking in the public lot on Oxford Rd next to the Clara Barton House. Box office Wed–Fri 9–2, Sat & Sun 9:30–3:30. KidFriendly DC's 'most Sat & Sun' for Tiny Tots didn't hold up — the ticketing page shows Sundays plus the odd Wednesday. New mainstage show roughly every month; Tiny Tots at 10 am on select Sundays (and some Wednesdays), about 30 minutes; The Nutcracker every late November through December · Tiny Tots $10 a person, every age needs a ticket; mainstage prices vary by show · 7300 MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo, MD
- Adventure Theatre MTC — Children’s theater in Glen Echo Park, in its 75th-anniversary season — next door to the Puppet Co. and the carousel, so it makes a day. Shows run about an hour and the theater says they’re for “ages 0–99”; 2026–27: Beatrice Likes the Dark (Oct 2–Nov 1), Frosty the Snow Man (Nov 21–Jan 3), James and the Giant Peach (Feb 5–Mar 13), If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (Apr 9–May 23), Three Little Birds (Jun 25–Aug 22). The catch: everyone needs a ticket, including a baby on your lap. Free parking, shared with the park. Box office 301-634-2270. Professional shows about an hour long; its academy in Rockville teaches kindergarten through adult · 2026–27 season, October through August · Ticketed — prices in the Tessitura box office, not on the show page · 7300 MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo, MD
- Discovery Theater (Smithsonian) — Smithsonian Associates’ children’s theater in the Ripley Center: 45-minute shows for roughly ages 3–8. This fall: Professor Wingnut Wants to Fly (Oct 27–29, ages 3–8) and Dancing Stories, Kuchipudi dance (Nov 5–6, ages 5+). The catch: every show is a weekday morning — 10 and 11:15 am — school-group hours. Fine for a toddler or a school-holiday day, useless for a weekend. Tickets by phone (202-633-8700, weekdays 10–3), online per show, or at the door. Weekday mornings, 10 and 11:15 am · Fall shows Oct 27–29 and Nov 5–6 · Ticketed — prices aren’t on the theater’s ticket page · S. Dillon Ripley Center, 1100 Jefferson Dr SW, Washington, DC 20560
- National Theatre — Saturday Morning Live — Free Saturday-morning shows for young children at the National Theatre — puppets, magic, lion dance, children's music — two Saturdays most months, September to June, 45-plus years running. Register on Eventbrite; walk-ups get in if there's room. ASL at every show; stroller parking in the lobby. Metro Center or Federal Triangle. Select Saturdays at 10 am (an 11:30 encore on Main Stage days), Sep–Jun; 2026–27: Oct 10 & 24, Nov 14 & 21, Dec 12 & 19, Jan 9 & 23, Feb 27, Mar 13 & 27, Apr 10 & 24, May 8 & 22, Jun 12 & 26 · Free · 1321 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004
- Encore Stage & Studio — Theater for kids, by kids — every role on stage and backstage is a student aged 9–18, with professional directors — sixty years running in Arlington. Some shows are built for the whole family including little ones, others for elementary and up; the site says which. Madeline's Christmas plays at Gunston Arts Center, not TJ. Complimentary tickets for families who need them — ask the box office. 2026–27: Hansel & Gretel (Oct 16–25), Madeline's Christmas (Nov 20–22 & Dec 5–13, Gunston Arts Center), The Lightning Thief (Jan 9–24), a folktale play (Feb), Enchanted Bookshop (May 15–23), Bye Bye Birdie (Jul 16–25) · Adults $16, kids $13 (Bye Bye Birdie $22 / $18); groups of 10+ from $11 · Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre, 125 S Old Glebe Rd, Arlington, VA 22204
- Creative Cauldron — Learning Theater — Creative Cauldron's Learning Theater: original bilingual adaptations of fairy tales performed by 3rd–8th graders alongside professional actors, with a 12-show public run each — the kind of show a six-year-old can sit through and a ten-year-old wants to be in. Also mainstage family shows some seasons — its season page (…/season25.html) is on the theaters guide's stale-link watch. 2026–27: Emperor's New Clothes / El Traje Nuevo del Emperador, Nov 6–22; Cinderella / La Cenicienta, Apr 2–18 — Fri 7:30, Sat 2 & 7:30, Sun 2 · Ticket prices on the box-office page · 127 E Broad St, Falls Church, VA 22046
- DC Public Library — all 26 branches — Beyond story times (listed by day below), branches run free one-off programs most weekends — puppet shows, LEGO builds, crafts, author visits. Whatever is on this weekend shows up here. Free
