It's been a while since I've been to DC, but from what I remember, the Natural History Museum was the best.
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Air and Space was always my favorite but I haven't been back to DC in a long time. I really wanna go to the african american history museum
The Udvar-Hazy Center, whether the majority of the Air and Space holdings are on display. It's amazing. When you walk in the first thing you see is a SR-71 Blackbird with the Space Shuttle Discovery directly behind it, and the largest American flag I'd ever seen above the SR-71 just yelling AMERICA, FUCK YEAH at all and sundry. It's pretty great.
Runner up: The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
Runner up: The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
Air and Space with a special emphasis on the Udvar-Hazy center outside of DC. I took a stupidly expensive Uber there and it was worth every dollar. It's massive hangars just full of cool stuff that wouldn't fit in the Air and Space Museum.
airandspace.si.edu
Edit: Just beaten!
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
The Udvar-Hazy Center displays thousands of aviation and space artifacts, including the Space Shuttle Discovery and a Concorde, in two large hangars.
Edit: Just beaten!
Haven't been in ages, but I loved the Earth Science one or whichever it was that had the precious gems and other stones and minerals. Dinos were also fucking cool.
Udvar-Hazy Center. Just a massive amount of aircraft, a space shuttle, a tower to watch the planes land at the airport next door. Followed up by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery.
I was in DC just before lockdowns due to the coronavirus struck and managed to check out a few places. I'm surprised at the votes for the Air and Space because that was the one that let me down the most. I was really looking forward to it too since I just finished up my show of year For All Mankind. Maybe it was because it was being renovated, but it felt a little dirty and run-down compared to the Natural History and African-American Museum. The African-American Museum was by far the most amazing in terms of its content and presentation, and I didn't even get to check out the lower floors.
I haven't been to the museums in DC since I was a kid. I almost extended my stay this past January since I'm out there every year, but decided not to. I really want to go museum binging after this is all over.
Museum of the American Indian was pretty cool. Don't sleep on it.
Just go to them all basically.
Just go to them all basically.
Air and Space with a special emphasis on the Udvar-Hazy center outside of DC. I took a stupidly expensive Uber there and it was worth every dollar. It's massive hangars just full of cool stuff that wouldn't fit in the Air and Space Museum.
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
The Udvar-Hazy Center displays thousands of aviation and space artifacts, including the Space Shuttle Discovery and a Concorde, in two large hangars.
Edit: Just beaten!
Ok I didn't see this part. I wouldn't have had the time to get there but yeah this is amazing.
Echoing the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space. One on the Mall is neat but pales in comparison to Udvar-Hazy. I also really like the Portrait Gallery and National History Museums. I hear Natural History is great, but despite living in the area for over a decade I still haven't gotten around to it lol.
Need to try getting into the African American History Museum once we're a functioning society again too.
Need to try getting into the African American History Museum once we're a functioning society again too.
Either the National Zoo or the American Art Museum. IMO, they're the only two that hold up. The art museum because it's an art museum so it's not dated technologically, the Zoo because the DC zoo is a wonderful zoo.
The Natural History Museum and the Air & Space museum are just, sadly, woefully dated. It's kind of depressing walking through Air and Space now, compared to when I did in like 1989 or the early 90s... And a touchscreen TV telling you about an exhibit was new and fairly thrilling as a 10 year old in 1994. But... a lot of those exhibits haven't been updated or modified, and are still trying to sell the "novelty" of ... a CRT-looking touch screen, at a time when kids have super computers in their pockets.
The best DC museum was the Newseum. Unfortunately it's had to shut down because the building it was renting was sold, and the collection is (from what I understand) moving. I was disappointed by the Spy Museum, I think it'd be great if you went with like ... an 8 year old or 10 year old kid. I know I woudl have LOVED it as an 8 year old. But I went as an adult because I've heard good things and, it was great for kids, but not that good if you're not a kid.
Most underrated museum in DC is the Walter Reid Medical Museum. It used ot be part of Walter Reid, and so you needed ot get clearance to visit it and it was just by appointment only, but it's since moved. It's like a museum of medical history and medical curiosities, and one of the most fascinating museums I've visited. There are dozens of small museums, exhibits, tours, etc., all over DC as well, but for actual government funded museums, I think the Medical Museum is the best.
I haven't been to the African American History Museum, though. The last two times I went to DC it was just being built, and then the last time there was a special event and so it was packed and we skipped it.
Oh, actually, yeah, I went to the Postal Museum for the first time 4 or 5 years ago and it was great. They also had a neat exhibit on PostSecret, the app/website/whatever, and that was also pretty cool.
The Natural History Museum and the Air & Space museum are just, sadly, woefully dated. It's kind of depressing walking through Air and Space now, compared to when I did in like 1989 or the early 90s... And a touchscreen TV telling you about an exhibit was new and fairly thrilling as a 10 year old in 1994. But... a lot of those exhibits haven't been updated or modified, and are still trying to sell the "novelty" of ... a CRT-looking touch screen, at a time when kids have super computers in their pockets.
The best DC museum was the Newseum. Unfortunately it's had to shut down because the building it was renting was sold, and the collection is (from what I understand) moving. I was disappointed by the Spy Museum, I think it'd be great if you went with like ... an 8 year old or 10 year old kid. I know I woudl have LOVED it as an 8 year old. But I went as an adult because I've heard good things and, it was great for kids, but not that good if you're not a kid.
Most underrated museum in DC is the Walter Reid Medical Museum. It used ot be part of Walter Reid, and so you needed ot get clearance to visit it and it was just by appointment only, but it's since moved. It's like a museum of medical history and medical curiosities, and one of the most fascinating museums I've visited. There are dozens of small museums, exhibits, tours, etc., all over DC as well, but for actual government funded museums, I think the Medical Museum is the best.
I haven't been to the African American History Museum, though. The last two times I went to DC it was just being built, and then the last time there was a special event and so it was packed and we skipped it.
Oh, actually, yeah, I went to the Postal Museum for the first time 4 or 5 years ago and it was great. They also had a neat exhibit on PostSecret, the app/website/whatever, and that was also pretty cool.
Is this more of an East Coast thing or something? I only know two people who've personally been to a Smithsonian Museum, and they're also the only people I know who've ever been to DC. I figure it might be more common if it's just a spur of the moment thing you can do in an hour or two of travel time.
Anyway, whichever one has Dinosaurs is the right answer.
Anyway, whichever one has Dinosaurs is the right answer.
I liked the Air and Space when I was a kid but when I went back there a year ago I thought it was pretty boring.
What would the west-coast equivalent of the Smithsonian be? Is there even one?
National Gallery of Art and National Portrait Gallery. African American History Museum is also super good.
Air and Space is too kiddie centric, I'm hoping the renovation will change that.
Air and Space is too kiddie centric, I'm hoping the renovation will change that.
Not that I'm aware of, anyway.
Balboa Park in San Diego has some pretty cool museums, but they aren't like the Smithsonian's network or anything. It did have a pretty neat Pompeii exhibit come through a few years ago, and it has some rad prehistoric animal displays.
As a native San Diegite I love Balboa Park, but just looking at pictures of the Smithsonian museums I don't think ours can really hold a candle to them.
