Tips for Visiting the Smithsonians in Washington DC
It’s hard to visit Washington DC without visiting at least one Smithsonian Museum. But what if you want to do them all? Can you do it on a weekend? Or do you need a full week?
There were a few museums that blew me away, while others, I quickly found a few Smithsonians that I probably could have skipped altogether. Here is your guide to the Smithsonians in Washington DC.
A Guide to Visiting the Smithsonians in Washington DC
The Smithsonian Institutions is the world’s largest museum complex, housing over 145 million artifacts and works of art. One of the nation’s most popular attractions, the Smithsonian is a collection of 19 museums, research centers, and galleries, with 24 satellite facilities.
Although many of the museums in D.C. can be visited for free, many require tickets, so be sure to plan ahead of your visit. The largest concentrations of museums in on the Mall in Washington DC.
General Tips
The Smithsonian Institute gives a long list of tips to get you through security faster and have a better experience. I put them to the test and found out that they don’t all pan out. So let’s break them down a bit.
Skip the backpack to get through security quicker
(FALSE)
That’s because there are usually a dozen or more people in front of you all with bags. In some cases having the bag may make it easier to go through security, especially if you forget to pull a dime out of your pocket and then set off the alarm. But since they don’t have a line for people without bags, it doesn’t help.
The trick is to have as few pockets as possible and very little inside.
Each museum has different security protocols. Sometimes your bag will go through an x-ray and other times you’ll have someone poke through it… literally.
To ensure things go quick, bring the bare minimum to the museum. Have as few pockets on your bag as possible.
| I love the Osprey Day Pack. It’s small, lightweight holds everything you need. Plus there are only two zipper sections to open for security. |
Avoiding the Crowds By Skipping Peak Times
(True)
The Smithsonian Institute recommends avoiding visiting on weekends, holidays, during the National Cherry Blossom Holiday Festival and Winter Break. Arriving early on weekends and late on weekdays. For the most part, they are spot on.
During the week, the crowds are manageable. In the morning the museums will be flooded with younger kids and teenagers on field trips. That’s why they recommend going later in the day.
The sweet spot really is from 4-5:30. You can get through the museum in that amount of time, as long as you don’t linger.
If you have to do it on the weekend, get there early. I’m talking about being one of those people lined up waiting for the place to open.
From then, go straight to the top. By the time you get to the bottom, there will be crowds, but at least you’ll have the top floor to yourself.
Pro Tip for Planning Your Visit
Most people are in Washington DC for a set amount of time and can’t always be there just during the sweet spot for low traffic.
That’s why you should prioritize your visit to the Smithsonians based on their traffic levels. This will give you a better idea of how popular they are.
Try and arrange your itinerary around so you are on the most popular museums during the week and you’ll have a better experience overall.
In 2019, here are the most popular Smithsonian Museums:
National Museums of Natural History – 4.2 Million
National Air and Space Museum – 3.2 Million
National Museums of American History – 2.8 Million
African American History and Culture – 2 Million
American Art Museum – 2 Million
National Zoo – 1.8 Million
National Portate Gallery – 1.7 Million
National Museum of the American Indian – 960 Thousand
*Data from the Smithsonian News desk. 2020 data the museum were not opened consistently to gauge traffic levels.
| TIP: Attend the busiest museums first thing in the morning, or during the week. |
Can I bring a Camera?
The Smithsonian museums love it when you bring your camera. Feel free to share and hashtag your pics. There are a few things that they do not want you to photograph, like the Star-Spangled Banner flag.
It’s too fragile and can’t handle flashes. They don’t want to risk someone having it going off, so no pictures at all. If there is something that you can’t take pictures of, you’ll see plenty of signs and usually staff nearby reminding you that there is no photography.
What about Strollers?
Visiting the Smithsonians with young kids can be challenging. A limited number of strollers are allowed in the building. With the crowds and trying to navigate inside, I recommend leaving them at home if possible.
A few locations, like the Museum of Natural History, rely mainly on stairs, where others use escalators. They all have elevators for those that need them, but who wants to wait for them if you don’t have to.
| Tip: Consider carrying your baby in a wearable carrier to get through crowds easier. |
How Long Do You Need?
Give yourself 1-3 hours per museum depending on your level of interest. It’s possible to see 3-4 in one day. It will be an exhausting day, but feasible.
If it’s 4:30 and you’re trying to decide if you can get into another one, you can. At around 5:15, they’ll start warning you they will be closing before they officially kick everyone out.
Do We Need to Buy Tickets?
The Smithsonians are all free to visit. The Museum of African America History and Culture & the National Zoo in DC requires timed entry ticket.
It’s still free but harder to come to because of its popularity. There are also some same-day online passes and walk-up passes available too.
Visiting the Smithsonians Museums in DC
National Air and Space Museum
The power of what humans can do is unreal. The museum is filled with lots of fun artifacts, including spaceships, lunar landers, space suits, and original aircraft.
Add ons inside include things like simulators and shows about our galaxy for a fee. But it is still one of my favorite museums to visit.
You don’t need as much time on this one because of the size of the artifacts. A lot of the things were prototypes, as the original lunar modules were left on the moon.
The museum was going through some changes while I was there, getting new displays ready so a portion of the building was blocked off.
My biggest complaint was that some rooms were hot while others had air conditioning. I also found limited places to sit. On a 90 degree day, while you’ve been walking non-stop, it was noticeable.
The National Air and Space Museum is a Must See Museum.
| Looking for a tour? Reserve tickets for the Smithsonian National Air Space Museum Private Guided Tour. It is a great way to learn more about the museum. The tour guides are knowledgeable stand will give you so much more detail about each of the exhibits compared to what’s printed. |
National Museums of Natural History
The National Museums of Natural History was on my list for a long time. Inside it is filled with bones from all different creatures, including Dinasores.
It has precious jewels and gems like the hope diamond and Marie Antoinette’s Diamond Earrings. They had multiple Mummys on display and other random things.
The place was nuts when we visited, making it hard to get up close to anything. Beyond that, it felt like dumping ground where they put things that didn’t have a good category.
I was disappointed the other animals on display were only of their skeletons. I would have liked to see the fur and depiction of what it would have looked like. I also felt that charging $7.50 admission to a butterfly garden was a little steep.
The National Museum of Natural History is one you can skip.
National Museums of American History
The National Museums of American History holds some of America’s most iconic treasures. You’ll find things like Dorthey’s Ruby Red Slippers from the Wizard of Oz and Captain America’s Shield from the Marvel Comic Movies.
Almost every First Lady’s Inaugural Dresses are displayed along with China from the White House Collection. This is something you don’t get to see on the White House Tour.
Not everything has a pop culture reference though. Things like a life jacket from the Titanic are on display. There is a representation from every war.
Memorabilia that is at the Vietnam Memorial is picked up every night and included in the museum’s display. But the most shocking artifact was some steel beam leftover from the World Trade Center.
My personal favorites were getting to see the Star-Spangled Banner. The Flag is 30 x 42 feet. It was made by Mary Pickersgill and inspired our National Anthem.
The flag is hidden behind a glass wall. Because of its condition, they won’t let guests take pictures. My other favorite piece was the microphone that FDR used for his fireside chats.
The National Museum of American History is a Must See Museum.
| Looking for a tour? Reserve tickets for the Smithsonian Museum of American History Guided Tour – Private Tour. It is a great way to learn more about the museum. The tour guides highlight the most important exhibits and provide a bit more backstory to the museum’s treasures. |
The National Zoo
The only place to see pandas in the US is the National Zoo. Surprisingly, the Smithsonians also cover living animals and not just artifacts. They just left the San Diego Zoo to return back to China.
I thought it was a good zoo overall, but small. There was a nice mix of different animals, including Lions and Tigers and Bears. Except the Tigers were hiding when we were there.
The panda enclosures were a lot of fun to see. They had multiple enclosures and vantage points at all of them. Getting there at 9am and making them a priority, allowed us to see them when they were most active and eating.
A few criticisms of the place. 95% of the zoo was all outdoors on a hill. You start at the top and work your way back up. There were brief sections indoors for the animals.
Some buildings like the Amazon didn’t open until 10 am. If you are using Uber to get there, make sure to select the front entrance.
The GPS coordinates the app took our driver was to a back entrance. Thankfully our driver re-routed us to the front making it easier to get picked up.
Visit the National Zoo if you have time or pandas are on your list.
| Want to make your zoo adventure a little silly? Download the Let’s Roam Scavenger Hunt. Complete challenges as you explore the zoo or compete against another team. |
National Museum of the American Indian
One of the newest museums to hit the scene is the National Museum of the American Indian. American Indian includes everything in North and South America, which threw me off a little.
They had artifacts from lots of different tribes all ranging in different climates. It was interesting to see their way of life.
There was also a section completely relating to their influence on America and how they shaped the cultures. Peace Pipes, Treaties, and other things are on display. They also delved into how they shaped pop culture with Sitting Bull, comics, magazine depictions, and Indian Motorcycles.
This was the best of all the Museums for me and the least crowded. Everything was on the top two floors of the building. They also had great air-conditioning.
The National Museum of the American Indian is a must see for all Americans.
Other Things to Note
Things to note about the Smithsonians is that they have so many different artifacts hiding away. They do a great job of mixing in the artifacts with informational displays. But the balance is skewed towards informational displays. I would have liked to see more stuff.
Especially knowing how much they have. The Dorthy’s Ruby Red Slippers, for example, have a wing of the museum all to themselves. On busy days, they may need that much space.
But I would love to have seen more collectibles in the room. I also noticed on a lot of signs they were reproductions or models of the originals. When I go to a museum, I want to see the real thing.
I also didn’t get a chance to visit the African American History and Culture Museum. It is in high demand and not something we planned for initially on our visit.
There are a few other Museums including 9 different art galleries and the Postal Museum that we didn’t have time for either. I prioritized seeing the Van Goghs that are housed at the National Gallery of Art. If I have time, I would love to have done them all.
The last time I was in Washington DC visiting the Smithsonians was over 10 years ago. Walking into the Smithsonian it was completely different.
They are constantly working on remodeling, fixing, and changing out the exhibits. It’s a great feature that keeps people coming back. It also means that you may find yourself blocked off from portions of the museum like we were for the Air and Space Museum.
Use Public Transportation to Get there
The majority of the Smithsonian’s are all right next to each other or withing a few buildings of each other on Mall. If you need to get around, I recommend borrowing a Bike in DC. They will help you get clear across the mall, or to the offsite museums.
We used the Bikes for the our DIY Monuments tour and it was amazing!
Are Visiting the Smithsonians Worth It?
Yes! Yes! and Yes! I may be a little critical of visiting the Smithsonians but that’s only because most people have limited time while they are in DC. I know their potential and some live up the hype.
I think they do a great job of displaying our history. It’s hard not to leave without finding something completely new and exciting.
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