5 Things for July 24: Dragons, Donations and Exercise Inventions

It's Hump Day! Don't fret; the weekend is in sight. But until then, here are some cool activities and things you should know in the Alexandria area for July 24.

• Donate to UCM's Back to School Drive. UCM's goal is to outfit 1,000 low-income students, grades K-12, for the 2013/14 school year. Help them reach their goal and help local students reach their full potential.
• Living in a toxic world can be tough. Get some tips on how to detoxify at a local seminar hosted by Dr. Jeffrey Brown. Find out more information about this event here.
• See West Potomac High School's Beyond the Page Theatre Company perform their student collective original play, Urban Legends.
• Were dragons real? These and other questions will be pondered over at a National Gallery of Art talk and tour at 1 p.m. titled “Dragons in Art,” looking at the gallery’s own collection. The 50-minute discussion begins in the West Building’s main floor at the rotunda. The gallery is located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th streets, NW along Constitution Avenue.
• Actress Suzanne Somers may have popularized the ThighMaster in the 1990s, but who created it? Mystery solved when you go to the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum, located in the atrium of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 600 Dulany St. in Alexandria. The current exhibit, “Exercising Ingenuity,” highlights patents, trademarks and inventions that emerged from the fitness, nutrition and exercise industries. The museum is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. It is accessible from the King Street and Eisenhower Avenue Metro stations.