Off Site Activities
Sites & Museums
The Capitol Mall Museum Tour – Completed in 1855, the museum was founded by British scientist James Smithson to increase and diffuse knowledge within the United States. A 24-minute video gives an overview of the many Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo. Plan your day with the interactive touch-screen information available on the display screens.
National Air and Space Museum – You can be one of 9 million people expected to visit one of the most popular museums in the world. Twenty-three galleries tell the story of aviation from the earliest human attempts at flight to our jet propelled present. Some of the museums’ historic aircraft include: the Wright 1903 Flyer, Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, and the X-1 rocket plane in which Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier.
Independence Ave. and 6th St. SW, The Mall
National Museum of American History – “Repeat after me…there’s no place like home”, and then click your heels together and head for this storehouse of America’s cultural, political, technical, and scientific past. Nicknamed “the nation’s attic”, you’ll find Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves, Judy Garland’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz, and Fonzie’s leather jacket from Happy Days.
Constitution Ave. and 14th St. NW, The Mall
National Museum of the American Indian – The newest Smithsonian, opened in 2004, covers over 10,000 years of history of the native groups living in the Western Hemisphere. Hand-hewn crafts and works of art from the America’s are included in the exhibits. 1,000 Roads, a film about the lives of contemporary Native Americans, is shown hourly in the museum’s Lelawi Theater.
Constitution Ave. and 10th St. NW, The Mall
National Museum of Natural History – Bones, fossils and other natural delights – 124 million specimens – were never so interesting. The first floor rotunda is dominated by a stuffed, 8-ton, 13-foot-tall African bull elephant, one of the largest ever found. Don’t miss the gems and minerals on the second floor; the highlight is a pair of Marie Antoinette's earrings.
Constitution Ave. and 10th St. NW, The Mall
International Spy Museum – Your mission – should you choose to accept it – is to gather as much information as possible about what makes a good spy and how they’re trained. Former officials of the CIA, FBI, and KGB are among the advisors for this intriguing museum. Secrets are revealed in the Secret History of History exhibit and Spies Among Us. Same day tickets are available for specific tour times.
800 F St. NW, East End
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum – Man's inhumanity to man is documented in this solemn tribute to the millions of Jews, Gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, political prisoners, the mentally ill, and others killed by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945. Timed- entry passes are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis at the 14th Street entrance starting at 10 a.m. or available in advance through tickets.com.
100 Raoul Wallenberg Pl. SW