Dumbarton Oaks Research Library

The mission of the International Spy Museum is to educate the public about espionage in an engaging manner and to provide a dynamic context that fosters understanding of its important role in and impact on current and historic events. The Museum focuses on human intelligence and reveals the role spies have played in world events throughout history.

The Phillips Collection, opened in 1921, is America’s first museum of modern art. Featuring a renowned permanent collection of nearly 2,500 works by American and European impressionist and modern artists, the Phillips is internationally recognized for both its incomparable art and its intimate atmosphere.

Directions by Metrorail - Hillwood is a 20-minute walk from the Van Ness/UDC Metro station on the Red Line. From the Metro exit on the east side of Connecticut Avenue, walk south on Connecticut toward Van Ness Auto Care and turn left onto Upton Street. Turn right onto Linnean Avenue. The entrance to the estate will be on the left. <br> Directions by Metrobus - Take the L1 or L2 bus to the corner of Connecticut Avenue and Tilden Street. Walk east toward Rock Creek Park on Tilden. Turn left onto Linnean Avenue. The entrance to the estate will be on the right.

Generations of remarkable Americans are kept in the company of their fellow citizens at the National Portrait Gallery. The Gallery presents the wonderful diversity of individuals who have left–and are leaving–their mark on our country and our culture. Through the visual and performing arts, we celebrate leaders such as George Washington and Martin Luther King Jr., artists such as Mary Cassatt and George Gershwin, activists such as Sequoyah and Rosa Parks, and icons of pop culture such as Babe Ruth and Marilyn Monroe. They all link us to our past, our present, and our future. For anyone fascinated by famous Americans and their stories, the National Portrait Gallery is a must-visit destination.

As the Smithsonian Institution's museum of African American history and culture, the Museum explores American history, society, and creative expression from an African American perspective. The museum encourages the collection, protection, and preservation of materials that reflect the history and traditions of families, organizations, individuals, and communities.

This powerful national museum documents the Holocaust through immersive exhibits, survivor testimonies, and historical artifacts that illuminate one of history's darkest chapters. Visitors confront the systematic persecution and genocide perpetrated by Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, while exploring essential questions about humanity, complicity, and the fragility of democracy. The Museum's thoughtful approach honors those lost while challenging visitors to recognize warning signs of hatred and injustice in the world today.

The DAR Museum has often been called "the best-kept secret in Washington" and we want that to change. We've been hiding our light under a bushel for too long. We have an amazing collection of objects made or used in America before the Industrial Revolution, many given over the years by DAR members. Because of that association, we have many objects with wonderful family associations, as well as artifacts related to women and women's history.

National Museum of Women in the Arts, the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to recognizing the contributions of women artists.

The National Postal Museum, a Smithsonian Institution museum, is located in the old Post Office building next to Union Station in Washington, D.C. The Museum was created by an agreement between the Smithsonian Institution and the United States Postal Service in 1990 and opened to the public in 1993.

Visiting this winter offers families a cozy refuge where curiosity comes alive. Tiny visitors aged newborn through five gravitate toward the tactile stations—stacking colorful blocks, making rubbish art impressions of holy figures and botanical forms, clanging hand bells, trying on historical garments, and settling under a draped tent for animated Bible narratives. Kids between five and eight discover the joy of bell ringing, explore melodies tucked within traditional Catholic songbooks, and piece together their own glowing digital stained-glass creation. Those eight and beyond pick up an activity sheet at the front desk to hunt through the space, searching out hidden details and solving puzzles along the way. The quiet, introspective atmosphere that defines winter here makes it an especially peaceful time for families to wander through and engage together.

Founded by American collector and heiress to the Post cereal empire Marjorie Merriweather Post, Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens is one of the premier art collector’s museums in the United States. The museum features the most comprehensive collection of Russian imperial art outside of Russia and a world-renowned collection of eighteenth-century French decorative art and furnishings. The collection includes Fabergé eggs, Russian porcelain, Russian Orthodox icons, Beauvais tapestries, and Sèvres porcelain. Encircled by woodlands, the twenty-five acre estate provides visitors a tranquil oasis of luscious formal gardens.