2005 CoSN K-12 School Networking Conference - Beyond Boxes and Wires: Using Technology for Transformation

Hotel & Travel

Visit Washington, DC

Packed with dozens of free, kid-friendly attractions, Washington, DC is an ideal destination for a fun, educational family vacation. While the array of historical sights, cultural attractions, fabulous restaurants and exciting nightlife are always popular with adults, the city offers an amazing variety of activities for younger family members as well. FamilyFun magazine readers have named Washington, DC their top choice in the southeast for family travel.

During your visit, be sure to see:

The National Cherry Blossom Festival

Washington’s famous National Cherry Blossom Festival opens Saturday, March 26, 2005 (the weekend after CoSN’s conference) with a ceremony at the new Mandarin Oriental hotel and an afternoon of music, dance, and martial arts performances at the Tidal Basin, a prime location to view the blossoms. The 2005 festival marks the 93rd celebration of the original gift of 3,000 cherry trees from the city of Tokyo to the people of Washington, DC in 1912. The festival runs through April 11, 2005. For a listing of all National Cherry Blossom Festival events, see www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org.

Washington’s Monuments

Washington, DC is known as a city of monuments. On or adjacent to the National Mall sit the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial, three of the most recognized public monuments in the world. However, the area is filled with other monuments you may not have visited: the dramatic Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which includes a tribute to the women who served; the affecting Korean War Veterans Memorial, which features statues of soldiers striding through a field; the moving and informative FDR Memorial, which makes effective use of water features to dramatize the stages of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s life and work; and the recently opened World War II Memorial, which stands between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. The Jefferson Memorial is located on the Tidal Basin, home to many of DC’s famous cherry trees that blossom in a riot of pink and white each spring. The monuments make a beautiful walk on a bright spring day, and a dramatic focal point for the city after dark.

Smithsonian Institution

Washington, DC is home to the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum complex. Most people are familiar with the vista down the National Mall, including the Air and Space Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the American History Museum. However, the Smithsonian also comprises several art museums and galleries focusing on African and African-American art, portraiture, Asian art, and folk art, as well as the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, which contain excellent collections of modern and contemporary art.

The Smithsonian recently opened its newest facility, the National Museum of the American Indian, which features art and artifacts of native peoples. The Smithsonian includes the National Zoological Park, home to giant pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. The Smithsonian boasts IMAX theaters at the Air and Space and Natural History museums, as well as the Einstein Planetarium at Air and Space.

Visits to all facilities of the Smithsonian are free (other than the IMAX theaters, which require tickets), and the Smithsonian is open from 10:00 AM. – 5:30 PM. every day of the year (other than Christmas Day). For more information about Smithsonian Institution programming or to plan your visit, see www.si.edu. To find out what will be on exhibit at particular Smithsonian facilities during your stay, see www.si.edu/visit/sampler.pdf or www.si.edu/visit/whatsnew/.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Located at the west end of Washington, DC, and overlooking the Potomac River and Rock Creek Park, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is the nation’s busiest arts facility, presenting more than 3000 performances each year. Home to the National Symphony Orchestra and the highly regarded Washington National Opera under the guidance of General Director Placido Domingo, the Kennedy Center also features the KC Jazz Club, chamber music, ballet, modern dance and theater, and the Millennium Stage, with no-tickets-required, free musical performances every day at 6:00 PM.

The Kennedy Center offers free tours, an extensive arts education program (including lecture series), and two on-site restaurants. The Kennedy Center can be reach by free shuttle departing from the Foggy Bottom Metro stop (orange/blue lines) every 10-15 minutes. For more information about the Kennedy Center, including schedule of events, see www.kennedy-center.org.

Nightlife and Around Town

Ask people to describe DC in one word, and “nightlife” usually isn’t it. However, DC has a long and distinguished musical history. Many famous musicians have called DC home over the years, among them Duke Ellington, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Roberta Flack, Nap Turner, Chuck Brown, Jelly Roll Morton, Pearl Bailey, Tori Amos, Shirley Horn, Marvin Gaye, Fugazi and Ginuwine. The wide range of musical styles represented by this list can still be found around town nightly.

DC boasts three terrific venues for live jazz: Blues Alley (www.bluesalley.com), one of the best and most well-known jazz venues in the world; the restored Bohemian Caverns (www.bohemiancaverns.com), where Duke Ellington got his start; and Twins Jazz, in addition to the KC Jazz Club at the Kennedy Center.

Madam’s Organ (www.madamsorgan.com), a DC tradition “Where the Beautiful People Go to Get Ugly” in DC’s hip, multi-ethnic Adams-Morgan neighborhood, features local and national blues and bluegrass acts, a menu of Southern soul food, and ½ price beer for redheads.

For rock, hip-hop, punk, and alternative music, DC offers the Black Cat (www.blackcatdc.com) and the 9:30 Club (www.930.com), where the godfather of DC’s home-grown musical style Go-Go, Chuck Brown, performs on a regular basis.

DC is also home to a burgeoning lounge/trance/house scene at venues like Eighteenth Street Lounge, Dragonfly, Five, Red, Club Heaven and Hell, Blue Room, and Felix/the Spy Bar (more information on all can be found at www.washingtonpost.com).

Continuing on the topic of nightlife, DC also offers a vibrant local theater scene. Although the nation’s capitol doesn’t offer anything like Times Square/Broadway, (in fact, the big Broadway shows that arrive at the National (www.nationaltheatre.org) and Warner (www.warnertheatre.com) Theaters often sport traveling casts), DC has a number of top-notch theaters, with plays performed by local talent.

Washington boasts two Shakespeare troupes: the Shakespeare Theater (www.shakespearedc.org), which is a few blocks from the conference hotel, and the Washington Shakespeare Company (www.washingtonshakespeare.org), in Arlington near the Crystal City stop on Metro’s blue/yellow lines.

Over 140 years after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, Ford’s Theater (www.fordstheatre.org) is still going strong. Although you can tour the theater as historic location during the day, at night Ford’s hosts family friendly plays about American life, with Big River, a musical adaptation of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, opening mid-March.

The Studio Theater (www.studiotheater.org) is in the midst of a season of modern Russian plays and will be featuring the US premier of Afterplay, starring Helen Hayes award winner Nancy Robinette, during the CoSN conference.

For edgier fare, check out Arena Stage (www.arenastage.org), whose artistic vision tends toward new, emerging, and minority playwrights, and the Woolly Mammoth Theater Company (www.woollymammoth.net), DC’s best-known avant-garde theater group.

Finally, the Kennedy Center features plays in addition to dance, opera, the National Symphony, and jazz. The Kennedy Center, which is currently featuring the music and theater of the 1940’s, opens a production of Mister Roberts in mid-March.

Fashionable Shopping

DC has a number of terrific shopping districts. No matter what you’re looking to buy, there’s somewhere – usually near a Metro stop – you can find it.

Most people have heard of Georgetown, which is known for basic mall standards like GAP, Banana Republic, and Bennetton. However, a number of high-end boutiques have opened in Georgetown recently, including Wink (clothing), Sassanova (shoes & accessories), Sugar (clothing & accessories), Zara (clothing), Kate Spade (accessories), and Relish (clothing). Georgetown also features DC’s only MAC and Sephora stores, just in case you forgot your favorite lipstick, as well as a number of excellent antique shops. Georgetown is accessible via a nice stroll from the Foggy Bottom Metro stop on the Orange/Blue lines, via the Georgetown Connector bus (pick up on 19th Street NW just south of the Dupont Circle Metro stop on the Red line) or via a short cab ride from downtown.

For more traditional shopping, the Friendship Heights neighborhood boasts department stores ranging from the mid-priced Mid-Atlantic chain Hecht’s to Neiman Marcus (in the Mazza Gallery) and a multi-story freestanding Saks 5th Avenue (which also has a two story Men’s Store in the Mazza Gallery). Friendship Heights also hosts Chevy Chase Pavilion, which includes J. Crew, Stein Mart, Ann Taylor, and Talbot’s. All are at the Friendship Heights stop on Metro’s Red line.

In the mood for something trendy (or looking for a gift for a teenage son or daughter)? Head to DC’s hip Adams-Morgan neighborhood for Shake Your Booty shoes, All About Jane or Daisy for clothes for your teenage daughter, or Kobos Afrikan Clothiers for dashikis, African artifacts and statuary. The Brass Knob, full of interesting architectural salvage items, could provide the perfect vintage knobs for your modern furniture. Miss Pixie’s sells mid-20th century furniture and tchotchkes, while Skynear is devoted to modern, clean lined furniture and home accessories. Be sure to stop for a drink at one of Adams-Morgan’s many fun and funky bars with your shopping bags.

The 14th Street corridor is home furnishings and accessories central in DC. Options include antiques at Maison 14, modern Asian-influenced items at Vastu, one-of-a kind finds at Reincarnations, plants from Garden District, Latin American home accessories at Go Mama Go, and unusual stationery, cards, and gift books at Pulp.

If it’s art you’re looking for, you can’t go wrong in the Gallery Place neighborhood, steps from the Renaissance Washington DC Hotel. Although the neighborhood has gone upscale in the last several years (which means there are fewer galleries than there used to be), you can still find paintings, photographs, and sculptures by local and national artists along 7th Street NW. Georgetown features a number of excellent galleries as well, in the blocks between the Potomac River and M Street.

DC is also home to a number of flea and farmer’s markets. The most well-known is the flea and farmer’s market at Eastern Market every weekend. Two blocks from the eponymous Metro stop on the Orange/Blue lines, the inside market includes excellent butchers and bakers, plus several produce stands, a top-notch dairy vendor, and a flower stand. Eastern Market also features the Market Lunch, where you can queue up for pancakes and hand-made sandwiches with Capitol Hill residents. On weekends, the market expands outdoors to include local craftspeople, artists, and furniture makers, a flea market, and a full farmer’s market including produce, plants, and baked goods. DC is also home to Fresh Farm Markets, producer-only, all-organic farmers markets that take place every weekend at various locations around the city.

Some DC shopping links:

Great restaurants near the Renaissance Washington Hotel

Although long viewed as the last bastion of the expense account steakhouse, DC has experienced a serious revolution in dining in the last decade.

Burma Restaurant (740 6th Street NW) – Don’t be fooled by the drab décor. Burma, on the second story over a video store, is Chinatown’s only Burmese restaurant. The food is subtly spicy, with Indian, Chinese and Thai influences, it’s very inexpensive, and the service is speedy.
Café Mozart (1331 H Street NW) – Most people think of German food as consisting of breaded meat, cabbage, and not much else. Café Mozart dispels that notion in a charming deli/market atmosphere (with a bar and sit down dining in the rear). While you can get any kind of wurst you can think of, Mozart also features fresh German salads, delicious pastries, and excellent deals on draft German beers each night during happy hour.
DC Coast (1401 K Street NW) – Executive chef and DC wunderkind Jeff Tunks serves Cajun-influenced seafood in a dramatic, two-story dining space. Ask for a seat in the mezzanine area for excellent people watching to go with your perfectly prepared seafood.
Eat First (609 H Street NW) – As urban renewal follows in the wake of the MCI Center, DC’s Chinatown doesn’t boast nearly the quantity or quality of Chinese restaurants it once did. Eat First is a happy exception. Most of the staff speaks only enough English to take your order, and the dining room is strictly no-frills, but Eat First features not only very good American-Chinese dishes like sweet & sour shrimp, lo mein, and orange eggplant, but an authentic Chinese menu for the adventurous (tripe, jellyfish, bitter melon). Be sure to check out the specials taped to the mirror.
Five Guys (808 H Street NW) – If you’re looking for a quick burger, bypass Fuddrucker’s and head to Five Guys, a small, local chain and perennial winner of Best Burgers in DC. Other than cheese and bacon, all extras are included, and burgers top out at about $4. Be sure to get fries (also touted as the Best in DC by many) and take advantage of the handy shakers of malt vinegar.
Jaleo (480 7th Street NW) – Jaleo is a tapas restaurant, a Spanish style of eating which consists of little plates of tantalizing food, which makes it a great place for group dining, particularly if your group includes vegetarians. Ordering 2-3 dishes per person allows everyone to sample many of the flavors of traditional Spanish cooking. As my mother always says, “The first bite is the best.” Jaleo also features an extensive list of Spanish wines and delicious sangria. Don’t miss the Flamenco dancing demonstration on Wednesday nights!
Marrakesh (617 New York Avenue NW) – Another great place for a group, Marrakesh is not only dinner, it’s an evening’s entertainment. $35 a person gets you a decadent, seven course Moroccan meal and live performances by skilled belly dancers.
Matchbox (713 H Street NW) – It’s surprisingly difficult to find a good pizza in DC. Fortunately, we have Matchbox. The tiny space fills up nightly with Washingtonians craving brick oven fired pizzas with creative toppings. Be sure to start with the bite-sized burgers and enjoy one of the many draft beers while waiting for your pie to arrive, bubbly and crisp, from the fire.
Nick & Stef’s (601 F Street NW) – Although DC dining is no longer only about steaks, you can still get a good one at Nick & Stef’s. The restaurant is one of the few non-chain temples to dry aged beef in DC, and it features a modern, light interior and an excellent wine list. Arrive early and enjoy a well-shaken cocktail at the hip bar.
Ortanique (730 11th Street NW) – Chef Cindy Hutson’s DC outpost (she also has Ortanique restaurants in Florida and Las Vegas) serves Caribbean influenced cuisine in a dramatically beautiful space. Best bets include the vegetarian dishes and fish. Lovers of spicy foods will likely be disappointed by the “jerk” options, but be sure to save room for one of the many desserts which feature tropical ingredients.
Ristorante Tosca (1112 F Street NW) – Tosca is not the place to go for a quick bite. At Tosca (named for the chef’s daughter, not the Puccini opera), top notch northern Italian food is served in an elegant atmosphere. The list of Italian wines is extensive, with many available by the glass, and the excellent wait staff will see that your dinner proceeds at a stately pace. True to form, pork and rabbit dishes shine, as do the pastas.
Rosa Mexicano (575 7th Street NW) – Prepare for a wait at Rosa Mexicano. But there are worse fates than enjoying a “clasica” margarita made with your choice from a truly impressive list of tequilas at the hopping bar while you wait for a table. Be sure to start with guacamole, made table-side. Stick with the meat dishes – duck, beef, and pork entrées are all excellent – or the many vegetarian entrée options.
Zaytinya (701 9th Street NW) – Zaytinya takes the Spanish concept of tapas and gives it a Middle Eastern (specifically Turkish) spin, served in one of the most breathtaking dining rooms in DC. Start with one of the specialty cocktails (a personal favorite is the Orange Blossom) while you peruse the extensive list of mezze options. Do not miss the apricot and carrot fritters or the fresh sardines. Zaytinya also features well-chosen Greek wines to compliment the food and some of the most deliciously unusual desserts in town.

Great dining information links:

Washington Post Entertainment Guide
www.washingtonpost.com/.../entertainmentguide/: Click on the “Restaurants” tab for a searchable database of restaurant reviews for nearly 600 Washington DC restaurants. All listings include hours of operation, addresses and phone numbers, and many allow you to make reservations online through Open Table.
(site requires free registration)
Washingtonian Magazine - 100 Best Restaurants www.washingtonian.com/dining/04vbcontents.html Washingtonian Magazine - 100 Best Cheap Eats www.washingtonian.com/dining/100bbindex.html: Washingtonian Magazine annually ranks the 100 Best and 100 Best Cheap Eats restaurants in DC. Site allows you to search by location, type of cuisine, price, and rating.
Chowhound www.chowhound.com www.chowhound.com/midatlantic/boards/dc/dc.html: Chowhound features a discussion board specifically for DC/Baltimore, where you can read where locals are eating and what we have to say about it!