Inspired by Famous Places thread..

[C.Ann]

Have you ever been to the Smithsonian Institute? And if so, what can you tell me about it?

I'd really, really like to go there sometime..

 

[SeattleRedBear]

The Smithosonian is actually a whole series of museums (and the National Zoo). They also publish at least a half-dozen magazines and many books.

I lived in Washington for 4 years and would frequently take advantage of one museum or another. An excellent, excellent organization. Info at smithsonian.org

 

[grinningghost]

Well, since I haven't been to DC...

But I REALLY want to go there too.

 

[C.Ann]

The Smithosonian is actually a whole series of museums (and the National Zoo). They also publish at least a half-dozen magazines and many books.

I lived in Washington for 4 years and would frequently take advantage of one museum or another. An excellent, excellent organization. Info at smithsonian.org

--------------------

Thanks! Where do people normally stay when they travel there? And what do they do about transportation? Are the museums and zoo all within walking distance of each other?

 

[C.Ann]

But I REALLY want to go there too.

-------------------------

Okay.. Let's go!

 

[JoyG]

The musueums are all together in the plaza in a long row near the Washington Monument. They are all within walking distance but they are all so big you really can't see more than one or two in a day.

I really like the Dinosaurs at the Natural History Musuem.

I love the Air and Space Musuem too.

 

[HOGFAN]

we love the American History one most of all.
Howdy Doody,Edith Bunkers chair,George Washingtons Valley Forge uniform,Benjamins Franklins glasses,a revolutionary war boat(intact), I could go on and on.

I was really surprised at how much we enjoyed the Art Museum. alot of originals.

Air and Space. nice but ALWAYS crowded.

Natural History. very nice if you are into dinosaurs or the Hope Diamond.

Holocaust Museum. not a smithsonian but everyone over the age of 12 must see.

 

[Virgo10]

I've been to Washington several times. If I ever get back, I think I'll spend the entire time at the SI. It's got that much to see in it. Don't forget to check out the Hope Diamond.

 

[perdidobay]

I walked to the museums one day while DH was in meetings and never made it past the American History museum that day. I was there for 5 hours... and needed more time! But then I love museums.

 

[tkd lisa]

When we lived in MD, I took many day trips to the Smithsonians with my kids and my scouts.

I think they're all fairly easy to get to from the Metro. Most of them are at the Smithsonian stop (seems right, huh?) but some are more accessible from other stops, so look at a metro map before you just get off at Smithsonian station. I think Federal Triangle and National Archives are two of the close stations. I've put my estimates for a reasonable length of time to see most of the individual museums. This isn't a detailed visit, just hitting the high points of each building, and as always, your mileage may vary!

The newest one is the Native American Museum. It's NOT on the Smithsonian stop, but I can't remember which stop it is off the top of my head. I took both boy scouts and girl scouts there, and it was a really nice museum. I'd say this is about a 4 hour visit, especially if you see the movie.

The National Zoo is also a Smithsonian. It's accessible off the red line, from Woodley Park/Zoo or Cleveland Park metro stops. An insider tip is to go to the Cleveland Park stop in the morning, and walk downhill to the zoo. Then in the evening, keep walking downhill to the Woodley Park/Zoo station. The zoo is about 1/2 way between the two, but at least you're downhill the whole way! They've done a lot of work on the zoo lately. My favorite place there is Amazonia. And the kids like the bug house. I personally hate the gorilla house. I always feel sad when we leave there! But I like seeing the gorillas in their outdoor exhibit. You can easily spend the full day here.

Most of the other museums are clustered around the national mall. Natural History and American History are next door to each other. Natural History has: dinosaur exhibit, bug exhibit, mineral exhibit (including the Hope diamond), a fairly decent section on planets, and other stuff I'm forgetting. This museum (in my opinion), has the most for younger kids. There's more interactive type things there. I chaperoned my sons 2nd grade class there, and they all had fun! I think this is a full day museum too, or at least 4-6 hours.

American History is what most people think of when you mention the Smithsonian. It's got Fonzie's jacket, Archie Bunker's chair, Dorothy's shoes, etc. It's also got the First Ladie's gowns, and a nice section on political campaigns. I remember the kids being able to do a political speech in front of a blue screen, and watching themself. 4 hours would do it for me.

There are several art museums. I'm not big into that type of thing, but here's what I remember. I chaperoned the same son's 5th grade field trip there. Not nearly as much fun for 10 year old boys! There's one gallery that's traditional art, one that's modern art, I think there's a portrait gallery (haven't been there), and an outdoor sculpture gallery. Frankly, the people visiting there were too stuffy for me. I had 4 boys with me, and they were being fairly good, but they were squeaking their shoes a bit. One lady got all huffy and said something pretty nasty to us. For me, 2 hours was enough in any of those buildings, but like I said, I'm not an art lover. We spent about 4 1/2 hours total, and that included a minor lunch break.

Anyway, moving right along. As others have said, Air and Space is a very popular museum. It's all the way at the end of the mall (near the Supreme Court as I recall). There's several airplanes hanging from the ceiling, and a section of rockets. They've got a simulated flight deck from an aircraft carrier, complete with ready room. There's a section of flight test (check out the stuff on Patuxent River, which was where I worked up there). And there's a section on space exploration, complete with a moon rock that you can touch. This is typically a full day museum, but I would break it up since it gets really crowded here! There's also an annex for this museum out near Dulles Airport. I think there's bus transportation out there, but that annex will take a full day to see, just by itself.

In the center of the mall is the Industry building, but I don't think that's open to the public anymore. I remember going there about 15 years ago, but there wasn't much there. Mostly things like the cotton gin and other industrial inventions.

Enjoy!

 

[SeattleRedBear]

Great description lisa. just wanted to add:

The newest one is the Native American Museum. It's NOT on the Smithsonian stop, but I can't remember which stop it is off the top of my head. I took both boy scouts and girl scouts there, and it was a really nice museum. I'd say this is about a 4 hour visit, especially if you see the movie.

Closest metro stop is probably Federal Center SW. I would HIGHLY recommend you take a tour. They offer three tours a day. The museum guides all self-identify as native american (to some degree) and they are allowed to personalize the tour to a great degree. The two tours we took were very different and we learned a lot on each (including how very very different each tribe is and what a huge deal federal recognition is). And the cafeteria is one of the better ones on the mall.

 

[CEDmom]

I love the Smithsonian Museums. They're so diverse that everyone can find something they enough. The Air & Space is really cool with lots of great hands on stuff. The American History museum has all the 1st lady dresses and lots of other bits of Americana. Last time we were down there we stayed at the Grand Hyatt near Chinatown. It was the weekend of the Cherry Blossom parade which was a lot of fun. The Metro runs right under the hotel but it was actually within easy walking distance of The Mall so we didn't use it. We got a great rate through AAA.

Next time we're going to have to get to the zoo.

 

[suzannen]

we love the American History one most of all.
Howdy Doody,Edith Bunkers chair,George Washingtons Valley Forge uniform,Benjamins Franklins glasses,a revolutionary war boat(intact), I could go on and on.

I always loved this one, too. Anyone know if they still have that fabulous and amazing doll house there? I always wanted to sneak in at night and play with it.

 

[SeattleRedBear]

Thanks! Where do people normally stay when they travel there? And what do they do about transportation? Are the museums and zoo all within walking distance of each other?

A visitor can pretty much rely on the subway (metro) to get to all the major tourist sights. It's a very easy system to navigate. In addition, the Tourmobile is a hop on/hop off shuttle bus does a loop around all the major tourist cites. You definitely don't need a car.

As for places to stay, I would always book my parents into Kalorama Guest House (a B&B on the National Zoo side of Adam's Morgan). A two-block walk to a metro station and B&B's are generally cheaper than hotels. If you're more into the budget motel, I'd suggest staying at one that's outside downtown and is located close to a metro stop as it will be very easy to take the subway into town (and the cheap motels in the district proper are generally not in real great neighborhoods). You could also consider using Priceline to get a decent hotel. I'd recommend staying around Dupont Circle or Woodley Park (by the zoo). Well-served by transit with lots of restaurants and shops. Send me a PM if you want more info.

 

[Patch'sD]

American History is excellent. Besides what has been stated they have exhbits on American Automobile, Trains, Ships and Ship Building, Communications, Computers, Manufacturing, Bicycles and so much more.

Air and Space Muesum has the Apollo Modules, Gemini, and Mercury Capsules, Lunar Lander, Sky Lab, Russian Soyuiz Apollo Link up, Kennedy Speach on going to the moon, X15 Rocket Plane, WWII Planes, Comercial Aircraft. I believe at their facility at dulles they have the Space Shuttle and a SST.

 

[C.Ann]

Thanks for all the great info! I wonder if this is something I could do when I drive back from Floirda in late March/early April?

 

[bcvgal]

American History is excellent. Besides what has been stated they have exhbits on American Automobile, Trains, Ships and Ship Building, Communications, Computers, Manufacturing, Bicycles and so much more.


The American Museum just closed for a 2 year refurb. Loved the Natural History and Air and Space

 

[SeattleRedBear]

When I lived there, one of my favorite museums was the National Gallery. Sunday morning (esp. dreary, rainy sunday mornings) I would stroll through the Impressionists, looking at paintings in real life that before then I had only seen in books.

Then I would go down to the basement cafe (not the modern cafeteria between the two buildings, but the little cafe in the basement of west building) and have some soup and listen to the fountain and watch the other visitors. The museums are one of the few things that I miss after leaving Washington.

 

[Daxx]

I love looking at the First Ladies' Inauguration ballgowns in Museum of American History. I could spend hours studying each and every one of them. DS loves to see Indiana Jones' hat. I love looking at all the things in there ... so much to see. And, the gift shop is excellent!

We all love Air & Space. My favorite is checking out all the little things that went into space w/them ... toothpaste, the special lid thing they had so they could drink soda, the different equipment, etc. However, the creepy freeze-dried monkey freaks me out. I don't like him!!!!!

We also love the Natural Science museum and I love the Nat'l. Gallery! Unfortunately, DH and DS are not Nat'l. Gallery fans, so I'm usually forced to to do that at top speed to avoid their boredom.

Last time I was there (2 yrs. ago), the dollhouse was still there. I love looking that thing over!!!!

One year when we went there, they had an exhibit of items they took from the Vietnam War memorial. Letters, dog tags, stuffed animals, momentos, etc. V. powerful.

 

[CEDmom]

Thanks for all the great info! I wonder if this is something I could do when I drive back from Floirda in late March/early April?

It's a nice time of year but just be careful about the week before/after Easter. It's a very popular spring break destination for families.