After Hours and Weekend Activities
Activities will be updated when additional special events or opportunities become available. All listed activities are included in the housing and dining fee per two-week, three-week, and four-week sessions. Prices noted below apply to the students who commute to class daily and also wish to participate in the activities.
Session 1 - Sunday, June 17
• 12-4pm Students fly into DCA or train into Union Station
• 3-5pm Students living on campus check in and tour AU’s campus
• Dinner at Z-Burger
Welcome to American University! Students living on campus arrive today. Those needing a ride from Reagan National Airport should arrive between 12:00 noon and 4:00 p.m. The Teaching Assistants will meet you at the gate! (We must have flight arrival information in advance.) After arrival, check into Hughes Hall. Then take a tour of the campus, meet other students and eat dinner at Z-Burger.
Monday, June 18
• 8:30am Welcome Reception in MGC for morning classes
• 12:30pm Welcome reception in MGC for afternoon classes
• EagleBucks dinner, National Cathedral & Ice Cream Social
Students and parents are welcome to join us for the welcome reception on the first day of classes to meet their professors and teaching assistants. After classes are over, students will visit the National Cathedral, an aesthetically beautiful building, located in Northwest Washington, and just a short walk from the American University campus.
Tuesday, June 19
• EagleBucks dinner
• Old Post Office Pavilion & Washington Monuments Tour
Head downtown for the highest view of the city besides the Washington Monument at the Old Post Office Pavilion where you can shop for souvenirs, eat some snacks and tour the clock tower. Walk from the Post Office Pavilion to the National Mall where you can view the Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, World War II Memorial and more!
Wednesday, June 20
• Dinner at famous Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street
• Walk around Meridian Hill Park with fountains and statues
Ben's Chili Bowl is a DC staple known for its famous home-cooked chili. You can also get burgers, hot dogs, and vegetarian options. Previous customers include Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Martin Luther King Jr.! Bill Cosby dated his wife there and still visits whenever he's in town. It is right across from the U Street metro stop on the yellow and green lines in the Shaw neighborhood. After Ben’s, enjoy twelve acres of landscaped grounds maintained by the National Park Service, complete with a cascade fountain, gardens and historic statues.
Thursday, June 21
• Dinner at famous Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street
• Walk around Meridian Hill Park with fountains and statues
Enjoy a warm summer evening at the beautiful, new Nationals Stadium at Navy Yard. Cheer on the players, snack on a hotdog or nachos with your friends and sing karaoke with the presidents! Celebrate a Nats win with fireworks at the end of the game.
Friday, June 22
• EagleBucks dinner
• Shop and see a movie in Georgetown, a high-end section of DC on the waterfront
Saturday, June 23
• Smithsonian Folk Life Festival on the National Mall with parades, food, concerts and culture
• Visit the Newseum, DC’s most interactive museum with a view of the Capitol
At the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival, you will find many exemplary practitioners of diverse, authentic, living traditions - both old and new. The goal of the Festival is to strengthen and preserve these traditions by presenting them on the National Mall. The Newseum is DC’s most interactive museum on all things news and media related. The museum features the front pages of local, national and international newspapers, a Pulitzer Prize winning photography exhibit, a 9/11 exhibit and part of the Berlin Wall.
Sunday, June 24
• 12-4pm 16mm Film students fly into DCA or train into Union
• 3-5pm New students living on campus check in
• Visit Eastern Market, just south of the Capitol for a flea market with food, art and souvenirs
• Mystics Basketball Game at the Verizon Center
Welcome to American University! Students living on campus arrive today. Those needing a ride from Reagan National Airport should arrive between 12:00 noon and 4:00 p.m. The Teaching Assistants will meet you at the gate! (We must have flight arrival information in advance.) After moving into Hughes Hall, new students will join the group for a night out at the Mystics game.
Monday, June 25
• EagleBucks dinner
• AU Admissions Info Session
• Play games and watch a movie on campus
After a busy first week and a full weekend students get some time to relax on campus. Take advantage of Jacobs Fitness center to use the gym or the pool, get a game of frisbee started on the quad, or watch a movie on the big screen in Weschler Theater.
Tuesday, June 26
• EagleBucks dinner
• Go to Artomatic, a multimedia art event at the Washington Navy Yard
Held regularly since 1999, Artomatic is the Washington, D.C. area's one-of-a-kind multimedia event. It involves hundreds of regional artists, performers and volunteers. The free event is an arts extravaganza, featuring paintings, sculpture, photography, music, theater, poetry, dance, workshops, and more!
Wednesday, June 27
• EagleBucks dinner
• Outdoor Concert at Fort Reno Park in Tenleytown
Local Tenleytown Park Hosts an outdoor concert series every Monday and Thursday throughout the summer. Enjoy a picnic dinner under the stars with live music and dancing if you’re up for it!
Thursday, June 28
• EagleBucks dinner
• Kickball and NSLC Correspondence Ball with DJ
Time to revisit your favorite gym class game… KICKBALL!!! That's right - we’ll be organizing a program-wide kickball game on an official NCAA-size baseball field. he winners of the kickball game will get to brag about the big win at one of the biggest events of the program: The NSLC Correspondence Ball. With a DJ pumping tunes and everyone on the dance floor having a great time, this will certainly be a memorable night.
Friday, June 29
• 9am Presentations & Screenings (Families Welcome)
• 12pm Session 1 students check out and depart
• Remaining students eat an EagleBucks dinner and head downtown for Jazz in the sculpture garden
Today is the day we have all been waiting for, the showcase of all your work! Students, friends and families are invited to join us on campus at American University at 9am to hear presentations, watch student films, view photography and share experiences from session one of Discover the World of Communication.
Saturday, June 30
• Tour the Capitol at the Capitol Visitor’s Center
• Shop and eat at Union Station
Tour our Nation’s Capitol, the building where all the political action takes place. Just a short walk from the Capitol is Union Station—definitely not just a train station anymore! It now holds plenty of shops to browse and restaurants to dine at.
