Smithsonian Museums In DC?

[Rael]

Anyone been there? We are looking at going soon, but we only have a day and there are many museums to see. Any recommendations which ones are the best?

[nate895]

A day?

I'd see the American History museum, particularly the Star Spangled banner exhibit. The exhibit on the Presidents and War is also good. Just be prepared to be moderately offended. I'd avoid Air and Space since it is the most popular, and is therefore the most dirty, most crowded, and you won't be able to see much else.

[tangent4ronpaul]

Depends what interested you the most. Air and Space was neither dirty or crowded when we went and it's totally AWESOME!

-t

[Chieppa1]

Like someone said, be prepared to be a little offended. Especially on some American history/presidential stuff. Remember, the museums are there for the school kids. The school kids that learn the cookie-cutter BS take on our history.

[nate895]

Depends what interested you the most. Air and Space was neither dirty or crowded when we went and it's totally AWESOME!

-t

I guess it does depend on when you go. But, if it's busy, in my experience, Air and Space is packed to the gills. I've been to DC five times, and my mom lives there now, and so I now go back there regularly (twice since June), and Air and Space wasn't packed to the gills one time I was around there, and that was the week after Labor Day, when there is no one in town.

[legion]

Don't waste your time with that shit. There's nothing in those buildings. The Smithsonian sucks.

[legion]

Ride the metro to Alexandria, Virginia and get a one way boat ticket to Georgetown at the water. Eat dinner in Georgetown. Bring directions to get you back to the metro.

Or. Ride the Red Line on the metro to Shady Grove and get off at any stop. You'll find something to do.

Or go ride the Tidal Basin Paddle Boats. Everything else in DC is a waste of time. Unless you like marble, granite, sandstone...

[james1906]

Is Ron Paul's Congressional office on the list?

[bwlibertyman]

Yeah the American History one was okay. I liked the animal exhibit. I guess it was called natural something. It was a block away from the American History one. But yeah the river boat would be fun. I know you can take it from George Washington's house in Mount Vernon to DC.

[jdmyprez_deo_vindice]

It really depends on what you are really into.

The American History Museum has some very interesting stuff but the information is a little dumbed down.

The Air & Space Museum also has a lot of fascinating exhibits but as someone else already expressed, it has a reputation for being very crowded and again the information provided is very dumbed down.

I would avoid "The Castle" as it has few exhibits and is mostly just a very large information kiosk.

The Air & Space museum annex at Dulles Airport is worth the trip and has some of the cooler exhibits in that category.

Museum of Natural History is fantastic if you are into the sciences (also contains some ancient civilization exhibits but it is really not that impressive) but again, the information is dumbed down.

The National Zoo is one of the best in the country and if you are into that I would suggest seeing it.

The museum of the American Indian is a total waste of time.

The National Portrait gallery is great if you are into the arts but again the information is really dumbed down.

National Postal Museum (across from Union Station) is part of the Smithsonian and admission is free here as well. Some really interesting displays (not just postage stamps) and well worth the visit.

American Art Museum again has interesting stuff but dumbed down information. Not worth it unless you are really, really into the arts.

National Archives is pretty interesting but again, very dumbed down.

Some of the better museums in D.C. have little or any connection with the Smithsonian Institution such as:

The spy museum (really awesome stuff and especially great if you have kids with you)

The Museum of Military Medicine (a.k.a National Museum of Health & Medicine) is a hidden gem which is on the Walter Reed Army Hospital Military Reservation on Georgia Avenue. The building is behind the hospital and when you approach the gate, hand the MP your ID and tell them you want to see the museum and they will show you the way. Some really phenomenal exhibits in there. The best part is that admission is free.

Holocaust Museum is basically just a guilt trip and a lot of the displays are reproductions and not worth the time.

Newseum is one I have driven by many times but never actually gone into but I hear it is really quite something. It is on Pennsylvania Ave (very close to the mass grouping of Smithsonian buildings).

National Museum of Crime & Punishment (In the Penn Quarter neighborhood) has some fascinating displays and does not take hours upon hours to ge through. Well worth the trip if you are into the history of penology and exhibits on famous gangsters and other criminals.

Ford's Theatre/ Petersen House is generally a waste of time unless you really want to show your appreciation for Booth.

Anderson House is one I would highly suggest (located on Massachusetts Ave,NW). It houses tons of period furnishing from the Revolutionary war and many rev war soldier artifacts. fantastic place that was once the headquarters for the Society of the Cincinnati.

D.C. has tons of other little museums so if you can spend more than a day looking around than do it. If you are interested in seeing some of the awesome stuff outside of the city than let me know as there is some amazing stuff near the Chesapeake Bay, Northern Virginia and if you are really adventerous, near the Richmond and Fredricksburg areas.

[JohnEngland]

Personally, I prefered the National Archives, Capitol tour and Library of Congress.

However, out of the Smithsonian museums, the most interesting for me was probably the American History one - since I'd seen a lot of the same stuff in the Natural History and Air and Space museums before, in London.

[Bman]

If you like Religious sites there is also the Franciscan Monastery and the National Cathedral in D.C.

Air and Space, and Natural History are probably the two most popular/ most attended Smithsonian's.

[eqcitizen]

I always loved the National Art Gallery. I used to go their quite often when i lived in DC just to hang out and enjoy the architecture. The gallery is also the prettiest of all the buildings on the mall. They also boast having a da vinci, a few monets, manets and van goghs. But if you get the chance, definitely visit Mount Vernon; the site is a privately owned and operated museum and the grounds are beautiful.

[MelissaWV]

I enjoyed visiting the Cathedral the first time I was in the DC area, and not just from a "religious" viewpoint. It's simply a beautiful building. The trouble was that we took the bus part of the way there and... well... yeah. People on the bus are less than pleasant.

The Smithsonian is crap? Boy, it must be grand to stick your nose up in the air at everything, especially when you're recommending Georgetown or Shady Grove as exciting alternatives. A lot of the things the Smithsonian has are really interesting, but it just depends what your interests are. A hint in the OP is that they are considering a museum, therefore they probably aren't bored by museums.

Anyhow, as to the OP itself, I would pin down what date you will be there, and what hours, and try to figure out what exhibits are going on. That's going to be more fruitful than just picking based on the general theme of the museum in question, because special exhibits or events can take up a large amount of the prime viewing space. They can also make a museum incredibly overcrowded.

http://www.si.edu/museums/ is the best place to start for this.

The last thing I'll note is that the zoo did not impress me. Maybe it's because I grew up going to Sea World and Busch Gardens a lot, but the National Zoo looked more like a regular city park with a few animals who seemed a little embarrassed to be there. It also seemed a bit unnatural a climate for some of them, and it showed; they were uncomfortable and sluggish when I went there during a fairly cool day.

[legion]

I enjoyed visiting the Cathedral the first time I was in the DC area, and not just from a "religious" viewpoint. It's simply a beautiful building. The trouble was that we took the bus part of the way there and... well... yeah. People on the bus are less than pleasant.




The Smithsonian is crap? Boy, it must be grand to stick your nose up in the air at everything, especially when you're recommending Georgetown or Shady Grove as exciting alternatives. A lot of the things the Smithsonian has are really interesting, but it just depends what your interests are. A hint in the OP is that they are considering a museum, therefore they probably aren't bored by museums.

Anyhow, as to the OP itself, I would pin down what date you will be there, and what hours, and try to figure out what exhibits are going on. That's going to be more fruitful than just picking based on the general theme of the museum in question, because special exhibits or events can take up a large amount of the prime viewing space. They can also make a museum incredibly overcrowded.

http://www.si.edu/museums/ is the best place to start for this.

The last thing I'll note is that the zoo did not impress me. Maybe it's because I grew up going to Sea World and Busch Gardens a lot, but the National Zoo looked more like a regular city park with a few animals who seemed a little embarrassed to be there. It also seemed a bit unnatural a climate for some of them, and it showed; they were uncomfortable and sluggish when I went there during a fairly cool day.

Well, I don't appreciate seeing overrated wastes of my tax dollars in gory detail.

I didn't say go to Georgetown. I said ride the water taxi from Alexandria up the Potomac to Georgetown. If you do this make sure to bring printed directions back to the GWU metro station.

I didn't say go to Shady Grove. I said get off on one of the stations to Shady Grove... Like Adams-Morgan or Dupont Circle. You know--- the fun places.

The Eastern Market and Chinatown are fun too.

The only thing remotely interesting to me on the mall is the Botanical Garden.

I like the paddle boats too. Paddle boats way better than actually going into the Lincoln or Jefferson Memorial. If you're feeling really adventurous you can paddle over the Temple to FDR and laugh at the morons.

[fisharmor]

Smithsonian?
The Sackler Gallery. It's a whole gallery of Asian stuff, something you wouldn't expect in the capital of a country with a 70 year old dedication to killing Asians.
Plus, nobody knows it's there, not even the people who live here.

I'll second jdmyprez_deo_vindice that there's lots to do in VA - You have Mt Vernon, Gunston Hall, about half a dozen battlefields from the war between the states... head south and you have Jamestown, Yorktown... not to mention that if you're from flyover country, there's a lot of stuff to do out on the vast expanse of blue wet stuff you're probably not used to seeing. Saltwater fishing is where the action is at!

[legion]

Smithsonian?
The Sackler Gallery. It's a whole gallery of Asian stuff, something you wouldn't expect in the capital of a country with a 70 year old dedication to killing Asians.


To the contrary, where else do you expect us to put all the plunder? :D

[MelissaWV]

Well, I don't appreciate seeing overrated wastes of my tax dollars in gory detail.

I didn't say go to Georgetown. I said ride the water taxi from Alexandria up the Potomac to Georgetown. If you do this make sure to bring printed directions back to the GWU metro station.

I didn't say go to Shady Grove. I said get off on one of the stations to Shady Grove... Like Adams-Morgan or Dupont Circle. You know--- the fun places.

The Eastern Market and Chinatown are fun too.

The only thing remotely interesting to me on the mall is the Botanical Garden.

I like the paddle boats too. Paddle boats way better than actually going into the Lincoln or Jefferson Memorial. If you're feeling really adventurous you can paddle over the Temple to FDR and laugh at the morons.

And the OP wants to go to the museums. I really do get the sense sometimes that, if I were to ask a forum member for directions to a grocery store, they'd tell me to ditch my car, go in the opposite direction, hop on one foot in a circle, and cluck like a chicken :D

I didn't find any of those areas "fun" but perhaps it was the years of living there, and the fact that my ideas of "fun" seem to differ from the bulk of folks.

As for the waste of tax dollars... one should steer clear of the DC Metro area in general, then. It's very likely that you're going to be mingling with people whose salaries you pay while riding the Metro that is not self-funding to places that were planned and built to code and as part of a centralized plan, likely going past Government housing (or at least apartment complexes where people are using all kinds of vouchers, on EBT, and probably even getting free cellphones on your dime). It's all over the place. One might as well take in a little art or something unique when not actively working to bring it all down.

[Rael]

bump

[jdmyprez_deo_vindice]

You can check out the National Aquarium in D.C. A lot of people do not even know it is there as it is hidden in the basement of the Department of Commerce.

[legion]

You can check out the National Aquarium in D.C. A lot of people do not even know it is there as it is hidden in the basement of the Department of Commerce.



Yeah man, The Smithsonian Anacostia Museum is a great place to go! The best Smithsonian there is.