Museums in Washington DC

Woodrow Wilson House

Historic Site

The Woodrow Wilson House was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964. It was the home of the 28th President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson after he left office until 1924 when he passed away in an upstairs bedroom. The House is shown by guided tour of the hour; tours take approximately one hour.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Woodrow Wilson House .

• Helen Zughaib: Migrations
• Art at Wilson House: Wilson and the World
• The Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $10 per person
• 📍 2340 S St NW, Washington, DC 20008

White House

Historic Site

The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Public tours include the Blue Room, Red Room and Green Room; the State Dining Room; the China Room; and a view of the White House Rose Garden. Touring the White House takes some advanced planning. All public tour requests must be submitted through one’s Member of Congress up to three months in advance and no less than 21 days prior to your visit.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at White House.

• State Dining Room
• Green Room
• Red Room

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Specialty Museum

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is located adjacent to the National Mall. The USHMM is dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history. The main exhibit spans three floors and offers a chronological narrative of the Holocaust through historical artifacts, photographs, and film footage.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

• Permanent Exhibition: The Holocaust
• Americans and the Holocaust
• American Witnesses

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 100 Raoul Wallenberg Pl SW, Washington, DC 20024

National Museum of the US Navy

Specialty Museum

The National Museum of the United States Navy is located in the former Breech Mechanism Shop of the old Naval Gun Factory on the grounds of the Washington Navy Yard. The museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving, displaying, and interpreting historic naval artifacts and artwork.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at National Museum of the US Navy.

• Dive! Dive! U.S. Navy Submarines
• The American Revolution and the French Alliance
• The Forgotten Wars of the Nineteenth Century

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 736 Sicard St SE, Washington, DC 20374

The Wilderness Society Gallery

Specialty Museum

The Wilderness Society Gallery, located on the first floor of The Wilderness Society’s national headquarters building in Washington DC, is home to an in-depth collection of Ansel Adams photographs. Ansel Adams, the world-famous landscape Photographer, was a Wilderness Society council member.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Wilderness Society Gallery.

• The Ansel Adams Collection

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 1615 M Street NW Washington, D.C.

Textile Museum

Specialty Museum

The Textile Museum is located within George Washington University. The museum's collection includes more than 19,000 objects and spans 5,000 years, dating from 3,000 B.C.E. to the present. They have one of the most important research collections of Oriental carpets in the world.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Textile Museum.

• Woven Interiors: Furnishing Early Medieval Egypt
• Fast Fashion/Slow Art
• Textiles 101

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $8 per person
• 📍 701 21st St NW, Washington, DC 20052

Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument

Historic Site

The Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument is a historic house and museum located in the Capitol Hill. It was built in 1800. In the 20th century, the house became the headquarters of the National Woman’s Party, a political movement that fought for equal rights for women. The monument is named after suffragists and National Woman's Party leaders Alva Belmont and Alice Paul.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument.

• Bust of NWP co-founder Alice Paul
• Susan B. Anthony’s desk

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 144 Constitution Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002

Saint John Paul II National Shrine

Historic Site

The Saint John Paul II National Shrine is a place of prayer for Catholics and welcomes people of all faiths. The Shrine houses a permanent exhibit called "A Gift of Love: the Life of Saint John Paul II" which highlights significant events in the life of Pope John Paul II and his momentous influence. The shrine is also home to the Redemptor Hominis Church and Luminous Mysteries Chapel, both of which are decorated with mosaic art.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Saint John Paul II National Shrine.

• A Gift of Love: the Life of Saint John Paul II
• Relic of St. John Paul II’s blood
• Mosaic Art

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 3900 Harewood Rd NE, Washington, DC 20017

Renwick Gallery

Art Museum

The Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The Gallery is located just steps from the White House in the heart of historic federal Washington, DC. Its collection and exhibitions focus on American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to the 21st century.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Renwick Gallery.

• Ginny Ruffner: Reforestation of the Imagination
• Michael Sherrill Retrospective
• Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 1661 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20006

The Phillips Collection

Art Museum

The Phillips Collection was founded in 1921 as the Phillips Memorial Gallery. It is located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, DC. The museum's permanent collection consists of 3,000 works by American and European impressionist and modern artists.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Phillips Collection.

• Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
• The Repentant St. Peter by El Greco
• Time and Timelessness (The Spirit of Creation) by Augustus Vincent Tack

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $12 per person
• 📍 1600 21st St NW, Washington, DC 20009

O Street Museum

Private Museum

The O Street Museum focuses on exploring the creative process. The museum is made up of five interconnected townhouses that include over 100 rooms and 32 secret doors. The collection contains 15,000 pieces of art, 20,000 books, architecture, manuscripts, music, and memorabilia.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at O Street Museum.

• Paintings by Kurt Wenner
• Signed scripts of the Academy Award winning trilogy Lord of the Rings
• Letters and drawings by John Lennon

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0+ per person
• 📍 2016 O St NW, Washington, DC 20036

National Postal Museum

Specialty Museum

The National Postal Museum is located in the historic City Post Office Building. The building was constructed in 1914 and served as the Washington, DC post office from 1914 to 1986. The museum’s galleries display America’s postal history from Colonial times to the present. The museum's collections contain prestigious U.S. and international postal issues and specialized collections, archival postal documents and 3-D objects.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at National Postal Museum.

• Moving the Mail
• The William H. Gross Stamp Gallery
• Systems at Work

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 2 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002

National Museum of Women in the Arts

Art Museum

The National Museum of Women in the Arts is "the only major museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts." The museum hosts diverse temporary exhibitions and is home to a collection of 4,500 artworks by more than 1,000 women artists.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at National Museum of Women in the Arts.

• Ulysses by Friederun Friederichs
• Fisher Woman in Profile by Anna Ancher
• Seated Woman with Hat by Isabel Bishop

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $10 per person
• 📍 1250 New York Ave NW, Washington, DC 20005

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Natural History Museum

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's collection contains over 145 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, human remains, and human cultural artifacts. The collection and exhibitions both "tell the history of the planet and are a record of human interaction with the environment and one another."

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

• African Bush Elephant
• Butterfly Pavilion
• David H. Koch Hall of Fossils - Deep Time

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 10th St. & Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20560

National Museum of American History

History Museum

The National Museum of American History "is home to more than 1.8 million objects and more than three shelf-miles of archival collections" regarding the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and military history. The museum is part of the Smithsonian Institution and located on the National Mall.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at National Museum of American History.

• Original Star-Spangled Banner
• Abraham Lincoln’s top hat
• First artificial heart

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 1300 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20560

National Museum of African American History and Culture

History Museum

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall. It is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. About 3,500 items are currently on display to the public from the museum's large collection of over 40,000 objects.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at National Museum of African American History and Culture.

• Items from the São José Paquete Africa
• Items owned by Harriet Tubman
• Feet and wrist manacles

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 1400 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20560

National Geographic Museum

Private Museum

The National Geographic Museum showcases rotating exhibitions featuring the work of their explorers, photographers, and scientists, as well as, exhibitions on natural history, culture, history, and society. The museum's collection and exhibitions include iconic photography, world-famous artifacts, interactive learning stations, and behind-the-scenes stories.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at National Geographic Museum.

• National Geographic: Exploration Starts Here
• Women: A Century of Change
• Pottery that Jacques Cousteau recovered from a shipwreck

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $15 per person
• 📍 1145 17th St NW, Washington, DC 20036

National Building Museum

Specialty Museum

The National Building Museum is dedicated to educating the public on the impact of architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning. The museum offers exhibitions, educational programs, and special events for all ages.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at National Building Museum.

• Animals, Collected
• Flickering Treasures
• House & Home

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $10 per person
• 📍 401 F St NW, Washington, DC 20001

National Archives Museum

History Museum

The National Archives Building is located north of the National Mall. It houses the original copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. You'll find these documents and more in the main chamber of the National Archives, the Rotunda.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at National Archives Museum .

• Declaration of Independence
• Constitution
• Bill of Rights

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 700 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20408

Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site

Historic Site

The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site is located in Northwest Washington, DC. Mary McLeod Bethune was a world-renowned educator, civil rights champion, leader of women, and presidential adviser. She was the first African American woman to hold so high an office in the federal government. Today the house museum features permanent and changing exhibits interpreting her life and black women's history. It is open to the public for tours on Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site.

• A three-story Victorian townhouse
• A two-story carriage house

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 1318 Vermont Ave NW, Washington, DC 20005

Lincoln Memorial

Historic Site

The Lincoln Memorial is located on the western end of the National Mall across from the Washington Monument. The interior is divided into three chambers (north, south, and central). While the central chamber houses the statue of Lincoln, the north and south side chambers contain carved inscriptions of his Second Inaugural Address and Gettysburg Address.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Lincoln Memorial.

• Frieze and Cornice
• The Murals
• The Statue

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 2 Lincoln Memorial Cir NW, Washington, DC 20037

Library of Congress

Library

The Library of Congress, located in Capitol Hill, claims to be the largest library in the world. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. To get your bearings, take a free one-hour walking tour of this historic building. Its the best way to learn about its history, symbolic art and architecture and the Library’s history and work.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Library of Congress.

• Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote
• Comic Art: 120 Years of Panels and Pages
• Mapping a Growing Nation: From Independence to Statehood

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 101 Independence Ave SE, Washington, DC 20540

L. Ron Hubbard House

Historic Site

The L. Ron Hubbard House, located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C, is also known as the Original Founding Church of Scientology. Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard lived in the home from 1955 until 1959. Today, it is fully renovated and restored and displays the chronicles of L. Ron Hubbard’s life in Washington, DC. Public tours are given on a regular basis.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at L. Ron Hubbard House.

• Mediterranean Revival Style architecture
• Chronicles of L. Ron Hubbard’s life in Washington, DC.
• Photographs

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 1812 19th St NW, Washington, DC 20009

International Spy Museum

Private Museum

The International Spy Museum's permanent collection traces the complete history of espionage, from the Greek and Roman empires to the present day. With more than 750 artifacts, it is the largest collection of international espionage artifacts on public display.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at International Spy Museum.

• Covers & Legends
• School for Spies
• The Secret History of History

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $25 per person
• 📍 700 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20024

Howard University Art Gallery

Art Museum

The Howard University Art Gallery was established in 1928 in order to “make revolving exhibitions of contemporary arts and crafts available for visitation and study to students.” Since then numerous purchases and gifts from friends and faculty of the University, private collectors, and art foundations have contributed to the current diverse permanent collection.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Howard University Art Gallery.

• Henry O. Tanner’s Return from the Crucifixion
• Artifacts of Alain Locke
• Renaissance and Baroque Paintings

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 2455 6th St NW, Washington, DC 20059

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Art Museum

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is part of the Smithsonian Institution. It is located in the heart of DC on the National Mall. The collection is one of the most important of postwar American and European art in the world.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

• Yoko Ono's Wish Tree for Washington, DC
• Tino Sehgal's This You
• Marcel Duchamp: The Barbara and Aaron Levine Collection

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 Independence Ave SW &, 7th St SW, Washington, DC 20560

Heurich House Museum

Historic Site

Heurich House Museum is a Gilded Age mansion in Washington DC's Dupont Circle neighborhood. The house museum preserves the legacy of historic brewer Christian Heurich. The museum offers one-hour-long tours every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 11:30am, 1:00pm, and 2:30pm. Reservations are suggested.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Heurich House Museum.

• Home/Brewed: How the Chr. Heurich Brewing Co. Witnessed DC History
• "Patriarch of Brewers" The Enduring Reputation of Christian Heurich
• A (Good) American

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $10 per person
• 📍 1307 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036

George Washington University Art Galleries

Art Museum

The Luther W. Brady Art Gallery and the Dimock Gallery make up the George Washington University Art Galleries. They display the University's permanent art collections, as well as visiting exhibitions. The collections include painting, sculpture, and photographs, ranging from rare historic pieces to Washington and Americana to modern art.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at George Washington University Art Galleries.

• IN FASHION: Selections from the GW Collection
• Icons of Contemporary Art: Selections from the Luther W. Brady Collection
• Sean Scully, Yellow Yellow Yellow Triptych, 2009

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $5 per person
• 📍 500 17th Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20006

National Deaf Life Museum at Gallaudet University

Specialty Museum

The National Deaf Life Museum at Gallaudet University hosts exhibits and programming that interpret the rich and complex deaf experience in the United States.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at National Deaf Life Museum at Gallaudet University.

• Gallaudet at 150 and Beyond
• Language, Culture, Communities: 200 Years of Impact by the American School for the Deaf
• We are Equal: The National Fraternal Society of the Deaf

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 Chapel Hall, 800 Florida Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002

Frederick Douglass National Historic Site

Historic Site

The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site is located in Anacostia, a neighborhood in Southeast Washington DC. Cedar Hill, the home where Frederick Douglass lived from 1877 until his death in 1895, is the focal point of the site. It has been restored to its 1895 appearance and is furnished with original objects that belonged to Frederick Douglass. The only way to get inside Frederick Douglass' home is to be on a guided tour. Rangers lead daily tours at scheduled times.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Frederick Douglass National Historic Site.

• Guided tours of the home

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 1411 W St SE, Washington, DC 20020

Folger Shakespeare Library

Library

The Folger Shakespeare Library is located on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. The independent research library has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare and is a primary repository for rare materials from the early modern period (1500–1750).

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Folger Shakespeare Library.

• The only extant complete copy of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus first quarto, published in 1594
• The False Folio
• The Macro Manuscript

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 201 E Capitol St SE, Washington, DC 20003

Dumbarton House

Historic Site

Located in Washington DC's Georgetown neighborhood, Dumbarton House is a Federal-style house from around 1800. The museum's collection includes 1,000+ pieces of furniture, paintings, textiles, silver, and ceramics primarily from the Federal period, 1789 to 1825, as well as, a manuscript and document collection including journals, account books, and letters that together document nearly 300 years of Nourse family life.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Dumbarton House.

• Federal period furniture
• Nourse family letters
• Federal period silver

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $10 per person
• 📍 2715 Q St NW, Washington, DC 20007

DAR Museum

Specialty Museum

The DAR Museum is run by the Daughters of the American Revolution. This art and history museum has a collection of over 30,000 objects reflecting the material culture and social history of the United States prior to 1840. It is primarily made up of decorative arts, costumes, quilts, and needlework.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at DAR Museum.

• American Period Rooms
• Fashioning The New Woman: 1890-1925
• Quilt Collection

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 1776 D St NW, Washington, DC 20006

Charles Sumner School

Historic Site

The Charles Sumner School was constructed and established in 1872. It was one of the earliest schools for African Americans in Washington, D.C. Today it houses a small museum, a research room, art exhibits, and the archives of the District of Columbia Public Schools.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Charles Sumner School.

• The DC Public Schools Archives

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 1201 17th St NW, Washington, DC 20036

Art Museum of the Americas

Art Museum

The Art Museum of the Americas is the first art museum in the US that is primarily devoted to exhibiting works of modern and contemporary art from Latin America and the Caribbean. The museum's collection consists of 2000 objects in varying media including painting, sculpture, installations, prints, drawings, and photographs.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Art Museum of the Americas.

• Carlos Cruz-Díez
• Pedro Figari
• Leonel Gonzalez

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 201 18th St NW, Washington, DC 20006

Anacostia Community Museum

Specialty Museum

The Anacostia Community Museum is one of twenty museums under the umbrella of the Smithsonian Institution. The museum's collection documents urban communities and the lives of urban residents, from home life and everyday activities to the community-building efforts of artists, activists, and others.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Anacostia Community Museum.

• Anacostia, Our Neighborhood
• Washington, D.C. Educators
• African American Quilts

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 1901 Fort Pl SE, Washington, DC 20020

African American Civil War Memorial Museum

War Museum

The African American Civil War Memorial Museum preserves and shares the largely ignored stories of enormous contributions made by the 209,145 members of the United States Colored Troops to the American Civil War. The Museum's collection includes artifacts, documents, primary sources, and technology.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at African American Civil War Memorial Museum.

• Replicas of period clothing
• Uniforms and weaponry of the Civil War
• The African American Civil War Memorial Registry

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 1925 Vermont Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001