Things to Do in Reston

Originally the residence of U.S. Capitol architect Edward Clark, O Street Museum’s five interconnected townhouses today enfold a private club, luxury hotel, conference center, and museum. The O Street Museum explores the creative process with more than 1,500 ever-changing exhibits, including handwritten manuscripts, animation stills, and autographed items from such musicians as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. Shedding the restraints of a standard museum, O Street grants guests the freedom to leaf through collections of photographs and letters from visual artists or gently cradle sleeping sculptures in their bare hands.

Themed tours for groups or individuals unveil the subtleties of the museum’s elegant space, adorned with original, hand-painted ceilings and Tiffany stained-glass windows. Immersive special events include the Raw and Exposed program, which draws from the museum’s vast archives as it presents rare recordings from artists such as Janis Joplin and The Beatles. Amateur and seasoned musicians unite on stage during weekly jam sessions, and the SRO concert series fills the museum’s intimate space with one-of-a-kind gospel performances, drag shows, and sock-puppet reenactments of the Revolutionary War.

The rambunctious Brew Crew amasses its legions of beer connoisseurs to carouse from bar to bar and celebrate the end of the school year. Participants receive discounts and can sip or shower in local breweries' choicest beers while mingling with other revelers. Each attendee also receives a complimentary T-shirt that commemorates the night.

The Lincoln and Washington monuments stand out against the setting sun. Cherry trees rustle in the breeze, and the Potomac River ripples as the evening air cools. Aboard the Boomerang Pirate Ship, crew members work the galley as they ply passengers with custom cocktails, wine, and beer during lively afternoon, evening, and nighttime sails. A professional sound system operated by highly-trained parrots provides the beats for the dance floor, while an upper deck offers panoramic views of the Capitol's historic structures. In addition to river trips, Boomerang's guides operate a fleet of party buses that embark on seasonal countryside vineyard and tubing tours, and explore D.C.'s nightlife scene with bar-hopping tours.

Not many events can combine puzzles, obstacle races, and charitable giving-all while filling the downtown area with people in gorilla suits. Gorilla Challenge accomplishes all of these things in a single afternoon. With annual events held across the country, it is quickly becoming the premier event for raising fun and social responsibility. Several of the event's clues are designed to bring awareness to topics such as literacy, poverty, environmental concerns, animal welfare, and elder care. Amid these consciousness-raising events, the company's gorilla-suit-clad staffers make surprise appearances to award participants prizes and collect bribes in the form of fresh bananas or sign-language-speaking kittens.

For more than five years, Washington, DC Legend Tours, operated by Jerusalem D.C. Tour and Transportation, has shuttled passengers around the Nation’s Capitol on entertaining and educational tours. Captained by Yohannes Zeleke, PhD, founder and current research collaborator at the National Museum of Natural History, the company’s guides exude passion while sowing the seeds of history in different languages, including English and Russian. They lead four-hour treks through surrounding neighborhoods and past notable monuments, such as the US Capitol building, as well as helm comprehensive eight-hour tours that delve deeper into iconic sites such as the Arlington Cemetery. When not on a tour, the company uses its fleet to bus customers to and from area airports—a safer alternative than trying to inconspicuously squeeze a moped into the president’s motorcade.