Wonderful tour of a beautiful home. Very historic. A snowy…read moreday made the visit even more memorable..I plan on a spring visit hopefully.

My wife and I took the private tour with the Executive Director, Elizabeth Karcher. We can't begin…read moreto describe the information and feeling of Wilson's life, presidential tenure and final years. Fantastic tour, recommended to anyone who has an interest in presidential history and Wilson specifically. Thanks Elizabeth!

On November 20, 2021, the Arts & Industries Building reopened with The Futures, an exhibit focusing…read moreon the future of life through innovative art and interactive stations. I visited with my four-year-old daughter on opening day. Here's our experience: 1) Entry: It's free and tickets aren't required. Despite a healthy crowd on opening day, we walked right in and could keep our distance from others since the building itself is huge. 2) Exhibits: It's the most unique of the Smithsonian museums and worth visiting to learn how technology could influence our future from transportation to gardening yo doing laundry. Like many museums, there's a lot of reading, but many are also interactive. For example, there's a sculpture that moves with you, a virtual reality station and circular chairs that rock (popular with kids). 3) Kid-Friendly: There's enough for kids to enjoy, but it skews older. For example, the virtual reality experience was popular with kids eight and older. There's a guide book for younger kids to beat explore the museum. 4) Amenities: The building itself is beautiful and inspiring quotes are painted on the walls. There are restrooms and places to sit and read. There's also a wall asking people to write down how they will act to make a better future for all. 5) Transportation: It's on the National Mall so Metro is best and the Smithsonian and L'Enfant Stations are nearby. If you drive, you can find street paid parking near L'Enfant Plaza. If you drive, go before 10 a.m. to increase your chance of finding parking.

The AIB opened a new exhibit today (Nov. 20, 2021) called FUTURES which provides an eclectic and…read morethoughtful display on potential futures that can inspire, work, and unite us. First, the only entrance is on the mall side, so if you're walking along Independence Ave., expect a long walk. Second, the building does have a restroom hidden along the left wall after you enter the building. Third, you will find at least one thing to enjoy, whether it's the fun display of sculptures, a thoughtful quote on the future, or the display of modern advances in vehicle technology, including the Virgin XP-2 hyper loop transporter (which is like a capsule) that shoots you at speeds up to 670 mph in a vacuum-filled tunnel. It's really cool! Apart from the FUTURES display, the interior of the building is marvelous. It's supposed to evoke the colors and grand design of international fairs from the 19th century. It's worth taking 30 minutes to take a quick scan of the exhibits. Hopefully, the Smithsonian will keep this building open to the public after the July 2022 end date of the FUTURE exhibit.

Beautiful museum with an impressive collection of Impressionist and Spanish art, tucked away in a…read morequaint DC neighborhood. Once the residence of the Kreeger family (founders of GEICO), this place punches well above its weight in their offerings of impressionist art such as Monet and Bonnard. With art offerings covering two floors of a very large house plus an impressive outdoor sculpture garden, this place offers a great place to enjoy the art leisurely indoors and then make your way outside to enjoy the sculptures in the beautifully manicured back yard. We went during the time in which they also allowed for picnics in their sculpture garden for free and it was an idyllic setting for both art and nature to be enjoyed. Even in this case, it was not overcrowded and as you would guess surrounded by the DC locals. Also on display was their impressive collection from Miro. An entire room dedicated to his work. If you are looking for a very relaxing way to spend a few hours in DC, this is your place.

DC has a lot of museums. I know. I get it. Here is the thing...not every great museum is nestled in…read morethe heart of the Federal District. Some museums are a little off the main thoroughfare and are nonetheless worth a visit. Such is The Kreeger Museum. I randomly came across the Kreeger while on YouTube of all places. It intrigued me that there was a museum nestled in a residential neighborhood. Okay..neighborhood, in this case, deserves some air quotes. We are in seven to eight digital home values in this "neighborhood." When you see the artwork, it all begins to make sense. The Kreeger family was a husband wife dynamo that collected modern and impressionist artwork in an exciting and approachable way. Yes, to the detractors - the couple was known to ONLY collect the works of male artists. Since their passing, the conservatorship has invested in acquiring works from female artists that blend harmoniously with the existing collection. Parking is easy, whether you Uber or drive yourself. I very much hope to go back to see the collection again as well as to walk their sculpture garden. Museum well, my friends.

Honestly, such a cool and unique place to be. The Petersen House is one of those places that really…read moremakes history feel real because you're actually standing in a place connected to such a major moment in American history. It's not a huge place, but there's so much history behind it and being able to walk through and learn about what happened there was really interesting. Definitely worth stopping by if you're exploring DC and want to see something a little different from the usual monuments and museums.

A sacred place where one of the two greatest Americans took his last breath. I was overcome to be…read morein the room where Lincoln died Almost as breathtaking is the tower of books on Lincoln that is in the gift shop. Almost has to be seen to be believed

Definitely a fun stop in D.C. The exhibits are nice, and to see the entire history of printed…read morestamps was amazing. I wish we had more time to browse through all the stamps they have archived. There is Ana activity where you can get five used stamps, from the past, to start a collection. It was fun to sift through them. Make sure to get there before the stamp store closes at 5pm. Then you can purchase the current stamp designs. The gift shop is separate and has some nice first print covers and a mixed bag of used stamps if you're just starting out collecting.

Although some of the exhibits appear dated, the museum's historical progression and international…read moreperspective on mail created a surprisingly timeless experience. There was a modest line at opening because security was extremely thorough. Once inside, however, the museum felt spacious and easy to navigate, aside from the more crowded areas surrounding the large mail carrier exhibits. *Moving The Mail: one of the older exhibits featuring recreated mail transportation vehicles. This section felt especially geared toward children, as many enjoyed peering into the driver seats and exploring the interiors. *On The Road: another large scale exhibit showcasing the evolution of mail transportation, from horse drawn wagons to the familiar modern white postal trucks. *Binding The Nation: an engaging walkthrough covering the development of mail service during colonial America. I enjoyed moving through different historical periods and seeing how influential figures and major events shaped stamp designs over time. *Airmail In America: unexpectedly haunting after learning about the high number of fatalities associated with early airmail delivery. This exhibit gave me a much deeper appreciation for both the dangers of postal service and the role mail played in advancing aviation. *Systems At Work: comparatively plain next to the other exhibits. This area relied more heavily on videos rather than physical displays or interactive elements. Personally, the modern logistics focus interested me less than the historical sections. *William H. Gross Stamp Gallery: an incredibly impressive collection. Not only was there a beautifully organized display of international stamps, but there was also an entire room filled with pullout frames highlighting rare stamps and their histories. Everything was thoughtfully categorized by era or theme. My favorite section focused on counterfeit stamps and the subtle differences that exposed the forgeries. The gift shop was surprisingly extensive and carried a variety of specialized merchandise. They even had their own mascot featured on themed clothing and trinkets. I especially appreciated the mail themed products and the conveniently attached postal station. While this was not the largest museum I have visited, it ended up being one of the more memorable. Some exhibits could benefit from updated lighting since their age is beginning to show, but most of the displays remained engaging and informative. The hands-on activities were particularly distinctive and thoughtfully designed. Even if you are short on time, the stamp gallery alone is well worth visiting.

A historic building with an ostentatious name which has somehow eluded my attention until now. It…read morehouses a free (!) art gallery, which is just a big room with a little add-on at street level. The basement is open and is also visibly historic, but doesn't have much in the way of art. It does have cool air and a restroom. The scope of the art gallery clearly isn't large (bearing in mind that a free art gallery the size of a mansion is ho-hum by DC standards), but I enjoyed what they had and it was a perfect use of the time I had to spend on it. Surprisingly enough, they seem to allow people to bring their dogs inside.

All of the Athenaeum staff was excellent to work with. During the initial planning stages, Veronica…read moreand Richard were my main points of contact, both of whom were very helpful answering questions. They were happy to entertain our questions both via email and during the various trips to check out the space. The contract process was fairly straight forward and fortunately renting out the space includes both the art gallery and the outside garden (it rained on our wedding day and the ceremony was initially going to take place in the garden). A few days before the wedding, we were informed that Amanda would be the staffer on hand on the actual wedding day. I sent Amanda my proposed timeline and we reviewed it over the phone. She was willing to assist with flow of show and confirming chair and floral deliveries/set up. She advised us of some renovations that were taking place in the alley behind the garden, which is where the ceremony was originally going to take place. While the staff had not previously informed us of the planned renovation, it all worked out in the end. Amanda emailed me photos of the renovations, offered alternate solutions to ensure the scaffolding wouldn't be as visible, emailed the contractor to ensure they would be done with the renovations for the day prior to our scheduled photo time and ceremony start time, and offered to be at the venue early to ensure that everything was clean. When I realized it was likely going to rain on the wedding day, I emailed Amanda asking for a quick discussion on a rain plan. She contacted me right away to confirm a time and we spoke the morning of the wedding to come up with a rain plan. She handled the new set up with both the chair rental company and the florist. The set up came out beautifully. Also, one of the photographers left a water behind and Amanda emailed me about the item so I was able to retrieve it the next day. I would definitely rent this space again!

I visited here today & recommend it highly…read more The museum is in a very handsome house near the U.S. Capitol & is filled with engaging content. I particularly enjoyed all the wonderful photos of suffrage marches & protests. These activists sure knew how to get media attention. One of the women featured prominently is Alice Paul. She was a brilliant strategist. She lived in the house at one time. There is a wonderful marble bust of her in the main hall. My guided tour was very illuminating. It began with an informative video & then continued with a personally guided tour by a Park Ranger. All for free.

Where did women get the right to vote? Well, right here. The Equal Rights Amendment, was planned…read moreand drafted in this house. The Sewall Belmont House is the spot of a few other historic events like the signing of the Louisana Purchase. It was built over 200 years ago and was the home of Alice Paul. Ms. Paul was the founder of the National Women's Party (NWP) which was the fore-mother of the ERA. Now, it is a museum dedicated to women's suffrage movement. There is also an amazing amount of equal rights materials here including a feminist library. You have to attend a tour in order to see everything on display, but it is well worth the 5 bucks they suggest as a donation.

Didn't do the tour this time. Like the White House, the interior isn't worth the wait (we didn't…read moresee the chambers of the deliberative bodies) Glad I did I it before though. My rating is for the building. This is architecturally the most breathtaking building in our great country. Worth going up to take a picture or just take it in If a natural beauty site can be five stars why can't this sublime building? Sigh

Very cool to see the US Capitol. It's located right in the center of everything, so everywhere you…read morelook there's something really cool to see. It was busy at the time because of some apparent construction, as well as the Great American State Fair going on, so some areas were blocked off. Years ago when I visited here, I was able to get a tour by going through my Representative's office. I'm sure that's probably still how it works. We weren't really interested in doing that while we were here this time, but it was still cool to see this during the day, and again during our DC at Dusk tour.