Ford's Theatre & Lincoln Museum

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.

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.

The Textile Museum is dedicated to furthering the understanding of mankind's creative achievements in the textile arts. As a museum, it is committed to its role as a center of excellence in the scholarly research, conservation, interpretation and exhibition of textiles, with particular concern for the artistic, technical and cultural significance of its collections.

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.

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.

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 Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection is an international center for scholarship, providing resources for study and publishing scholarly works in Byzantine, Pre-Columbian, and Garden and Landscape Studies. Begun as a private collection by Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss in 1920, and given to Harvard University in 1940, the library and collections include art objects, artifacts, manuscripts, and rare books. The house and collections are currently undergoing renovations and are closed, but the garden remains open to the public.

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.