Washington, D.C.’s Top 10 : Museums

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  1. National Air and Space Museum

    The
    20th century’s love affair with flight, from its intrepid beginnings to
    the mastery of space travel, is explored in this wonderful museum .




    National Air and Space Museum

  2. National Museum of American History

    Mixing
    the “America’s Attic” approach with fine contemporary interpretive
    exhibits, the museum offers a fascinating look at America’s past.

  3. National Museum of Natural History

    Must-see exhibits abound here: the Dinosaur Hall with its 87-ft (27-m) Diplodocus longus




    Dinosaur Hall, National Museum of Natural History

  4. National Museum of the American Indian

    The
    Smithsonian’s huge collection of material and artifacts related to
    Native American art, history, culture, and language moved into its first
    permanent home in Washington in 2004. Items displayed include North
    American carvings, quilled hides, feathered bonnets, pottery, and
    contemporary prints and paintings, as well as objects from Mexico, the
    Caribbean, and Central and South America .

  5. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

    An
    ingeniously symbolic building houses documents depicting the Holocaust
    in Europe before and during World War II, grimly detailing the
    surveillance and the loss of individual rights faced by Jews, political
    objectors, gypsies, homosexuals, and the handicapped. Moving eyewitness
    accounts, photographs, and artifacts tell the story, from “Nazi
    Assault,” to “Last Chapter” .




    Personal artifacts, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

  6. National Postal Museum

    Mail
    and fun don’t naturally go together, but at this wonderfully conceived
    museum, they do. The little Pony Express saddlebags, the tunnel-like
    construction representing the desolate roads faced by the earliest mail
    carriers, and the mail-sorting railroad car entertain and inform
    visitors .

  7. International Spy Museum

    This
    fascinating museum explores the role that spies have played in world
    events throughout history. The exhibitions tell the stories of
    individuals, reveal their missions and techniques, and display their
    equipment.

  8. National Archives

    The
    Rotunda of the National Archives has recently been reorganized, but
    still proudly displays the foundation documents of American independence
    and government: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of
    the United States, and the Bill of Rights. The museum features exciting
    interactive activities in the Public Vaults .




    Bill of Rights, National Archives

  9. Dumbarton Oaks

    The
    collections of Byzantine and Pre-Columbian art Dumbarton Oaks are among
    the most important in the world. The elegant Federal-style house was
    the site of the 1944 meetings that led to the founding of the United
    Nations .




    Dumbarton Oaks

  10. Textile Museum

    Founded
    in 1925, the Textile Museum is one of the world’s foremost specialized
    museums. It holds over 17,000 objects, spanning 5,000 years, and one of
    the finest collections of Pre-Columbian, Peruvian, Islamic, and Coptic
    textiles and Oriental carpets.

    • 421 7th St, NW

    • Open 10am–5pm Mon–Sat, 1–5pm Sun

    • 202 667 041

    • Adm