Washington DC City Pages: Museums : Historical Sites and Museums

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Accokeek National Colonial Farm Bryan Point Road Accokeek, MD 20607 Phone: 301.283.2113 Open Tuesday through Sunday 10am to 4:30pm	The farm is devoted giving the public an appreciation for the life of the typical, middle-class colonial tobacco farmer. The staff dress in historic clothing and demonstrate tools and implements common to the period. The farm has a circa 1780 farm dwelling, an 18th century tobacco barn, smokehouse, and out-kitchen-- all of which are open to the public. Recognized as a leader in historic seed preservation, the farm has an extensive garden brimming with herbs, vegetables and flowers.
Arlington Historical Museum 1805 S. Arlington Ridge Road Arlington VA Phone: 703.892.4204 Open Friday and Saturday 11am to 3pm. Sunday 2pm to 5pm.	A former 19th century schoolhouse, it features many exhibits examining Arlington's role throughout the Civil War. Admission by donation.
Babe Ruth Museum 216 Emory Street Baltimore, MD Phone: 410.727.1539 Open Daily 10am to 5pm (until 7pm if Orioles are playing at home).	The rowhome where he was born now serves as a museum exploring his baseball career. Orioles memorabilia and exhibits are also present. Admission range $2-5.
B&O Railroad Museum 901 W. Pratt Street Baltimore, MD Phone: 410.752.2490 Open Daily 10am to 5pm	Housed in the first passenger and freight station in the United States, the museum is dedicated to preserving the history of the railroad in America, offering displays of early locomotives and train cars. An exhibit of a model railroad is also on site. Admission from $3-6.
Baltimore Maritime Museum Pier 3, Inner Harbor Pratt Street Baltimore, MD Phone: 410.396.3453 Open Monday through Friday 11am to 5pm. Saturday and Sunday 10am to 5pm.	Get the feel of this town built on sea-faring adventurers by visiting three ships in the Inner Harbor: The Coast Guard Cutter Taney (the only boat still afloat that was present at Pearl Harbor), the WWII submarine Torsk (assigned to the Pacific theatre, it was the last boat in WWII to sink an enemy vessel) and the Lightship Chesapeake (it provided help in safe passage for boats coming through the Bay). Admission range $2 to 4.50.
Baltimore Museum of Industry 1415 Key Highway Baltimore, MD Phone: 410.727.100%8 Memorial Day through Labor Day: Open Tuesday through Friday noon to 5pm. Saturday 10am to 5pm. Sunday noon to 5pm. Labor Day through Memorial Day: Open Wednesday 7pm to 9pm. Thursday and Friday noon to 5pm. Saturday 10am to 5pm. Sunday noon to 5pm.	Tracing the history of industry in Baltimore, the museum has on display a garment workshop, blacksmith shop, print shop and equipment invented and produced in Baltimore. Admission ranges $2.50 to 3.50. Children under six free.
Baltimore Streetcar Museum 1901 Falls Road Baltimore, MD Phone: 410.547.0264 Open Sunday noon to 5pm. June through October open Saturday also noon to 5pm.	Come see and experience how the public was moved over 100 years ago. Horse drawn cars and trolleys on exhibit. Streetcar rides are included in admission. Admission ranges $2 to $4.
Banneker Douglas Museum 84 Franklin Street Annapolis, MD Phone: 410.974.2893 Open Tuesday through Friday 10am to 3pm. Saturday and Sunday noon to 4pm.	Maryland's official site for African-American heritage has works of art by 19th and 20th century black artists, artifacts and historical documents.
Carroll County Farm Museum 500 S. Center Street Westminster, MD Phone: 410.876.2667 Open Tuesday through Friday 10am to 4pm. Saturday and Sunday noon to 5pm.	This museum features a real working blacksmith and tinsmith, livery, smokehouse, barns and exhibits on horse and buggys, antique farm equipment, quilting, 19th century rural American life as well as hosting multiple festivals throughout the year. The best known are the Maryland Wine Festival in September and Fall Harvest Days in October. An animal farm is also present on the grounds that includes pigs and goats and sheep. Admission ranges $2 to $3.
Clara Barton National Historic Site 5801 Oxford Road Glen Echo, MD 20812 Phone: 301.492.6245 Open daily 10am - 5pm. House shown by guided tour only begun hourly on the hour. First tour at 10:00 AM, last tour at 4:00 PM. Groups of ten or more need reservations.	Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross which she headquartered at her house in Glen Echo. From her home, which also served as a warehouse for relief supplies, she organized and directed disaster relief efforts for victims of both natural disasters and wars. Her home is now maintained by the National Park Service to commemorate the life of this great humanitarian. Visitors will be able to examine both her public image and private character.
College Park Airport Museum 1909 Cpl. Frank Scott Drive College Park, MD Phone: 301.864.6029 Open Wednesday through Friday 11am to 3pm. Saturday and Sunday 11am to 5pm.	Wilbur Wright flew at this airport, and the first mile-high flight was recorded here. It is the oldest continuously operated airport in the world. Early aviation mementos and equipment are on display.
Daughters of the American Revolution Museum 1776 D Street NW Washington, DC Phone: 202.879.3241 Open Monday through Friday 8:30am to 4 pm Sunday 1pm to 5pm. Closed Saturdays, national holidays, and during the DAR's annual meeting in April	Daughters of the American Revolution Museum holds both decorative and fine arts collections. All works were made or used in America between 1700 and 1850. Different historic eras and places are represented in the museums rooms and galleries. Free admission, but donations are accepted.
Dumbarton Oaks 1703 32nd Street, N.W. Washington, DC Phone: 202.339.6410 Open Tuesday through Sunday 2-5 pm Closed for national holidays. Garden open April-October 2-6 pm, $3.00 admission. Garden hours for November-March: 2-5 pm, free admission. Closed during inclement weather and national holidays.	The Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection is housed in a nineteenth-century house in Georgetown. Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss donated their libraries and resources to Harvard University in 1920. The institution holds important research materials on Byzantine studies, pre-Colombian studies, and landscape architecture. The gardens were designed by the noted landscape gardener Beatrix Jones Farrand.
Folger Shakespeare Library 201 East Capitol Street, S.E. Washington, DC Open Monday through Saturday 10am to 4pm Closed all Federal holidays. Tours are free and offered Monday through Saturday at 11am Garden tours are every third Saturday from April through October at 10am and 11am	The Folger Shakespeare Library houses the world's largest collection of the Bard's printed works and a collection of other rare Renaissance books on all disciplines. The Reading Room is open to scholars and graduate students for research, and to the public sin April. Exhibitions, a museum shop, theatre productions, poetry readings, lectures, chamber music, recitation contests, student fellowships and workshops, and family programs are also offered to the public. Halls at the Folger are available for entertaining.
Ford's Theatre and Lincoln Museum 517 10th St NW Washington DC Phone: 202.426.6924 Open Daily 9am to 5pm excerpt during rehersals and performances. Call ahead.	The site of the infamous assassination on President Lincoln, the theatre has recently re-opened for performances again. However, the government has left the appearances inside unchanged from the 1860's. Slip back in time and remember an event that forever shaped America.
Fort Ward Museum & Historic Site 4301 W. Braddock Road Alexandria, VA Phone: 703.838.4848	This museum interprets the Civil War, especially the Defenses of Washington.
Frederick Douglass National Historical Site 1411 W St. SE Washington DC 20020 Phone: 410.727.1539 Open daily 9am to 5pm in the summer. 9am to 4pm in the fall and winter.	Visit the 1880's home of Frederick Douglass, and learn of his stuggle to abolish slavery and to establish civil and equal rights for all. Tours, exhibits and films aid in this journey. Admission for adults is $3, senior citizens are $1.50, and children under 6 are free.
U.S. Holocaust Memorial & Museum South of Independence Ave., SW. between 14th Street and Raoul Wallenberg Place (formerly 15th St.) Washington, DC Phone: 202.488.0400	One of the more impressive and moving of D.C.?s museums, the permanent exhibition tells the story of the Jews targeted for annihilation in systematic, state-sponsored genocide. It also reverently describes the fate of other Nazi victims; such as Gypsies, Poles, homosexuals, and political and religious dissidents. The three-floor exhibition uses artifacts, oral histories, documentary film, and photographs to depict the rise of Nazism, the early persecution, and the "final solution." More uplifting exhibitions feature stories of resistance and rescue. The Holocaust Research Institute also includes a comprehensive library and archives.
James Madison Museum 129 Caroline St. Orange, VA 22960 Phone: 540.672.1776 open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Weekends 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.	The James Madison Museum is the nation's first museum dedicated to James Madison, Father of the Consititution and fourth President of the United States. The Museum features exhibits on his life, his home county of Orange and a Hall of Agriculture which features a 1733 patent or cube house. The museums also offers periodic special exhibits.
Mary McLeod Bethune Council House 1318 Vermont Ave. NW Washington, DC 20005 Phone: 202.332.9201 Open Weekdays 10am to 4pm. Saturday and Sunday by appointment.	The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House is a three story Victorian home which commemorates the life of McLeod, the founder of the National council of Negro women. Guided tours feature videos and exhibits dedicated to her triumphs. There are also treasure hunts through the house for children.
Mount Vernon Located at the traffic circle at the end of the G-W Pkwy. 8 miles south of Alexandria. Phone: 202.667.0744 Open Daily April through August from 8am - 5pm March, September, October from 9am - 5pm November through February from 9am - 4pm	Mount Vernon was the home of America's first President and his wife, George & Martha Custis Washington. Original furnishings and artworks are used whenever possible, and the grounds and buildings are kept as near as possible to how they were when he lived there. Torus of the house and various outbuildings are led by docents in period dress. Martha's herb garden (in-season) is a wonderful treat. Aslave farm and a pioneer farm are accessible on the tourist's own. A new 1/4-mile trail takes you through the woods to the pioneer farm.
Museum of American Jewish Military History 1811 R St NW Washington, DC Phone: 202.265.6280 Open Daily 10am to 5pm.	Open Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm. Sunday open 1pm to 5pm. Closed Saturdays and most Federal and Jewish holidays. Remains open on Memorial Day and Veterans Day 1pm to 5pm.
National Archives & Records Administration 7th St. & Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, DC Phone: 202.501.5205 Fax: 202.501.5239 Open Daily	Preserving "the nation's memory," the National Archives displays proudly every day the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. At night they are lowered into a 50-ton vault to shield them from vandals and nuclear attack.
National Museum Of American History 14th St. & Constitution Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20560 Phone: 202.357.2700 Open Daily	The National Museum of American History?s self described goal is to "collect, preserve, and interpret artifacts as a special class of historical evidence and as principal expressions of human creativity." The museum is principally focused on in how objects are made and used and "how they influence society and the lives of individuals." The museum contains thousands of historical objects as well as oral histories, prints, photographs, objects uniquely Americana, including trade literature and engineering drawings. The museum also has an impressive research library of rare books on the history of science and technology.
National Museum of Health and Medicine Walter Reed Army Medical Center 6825 16th Street, NW between Georgia and Alaska Avenues Washington DC Phone: 202.782.2200 Open Daily 10am to 5:30pm	Visit fascinating exhibits which examine the nature and technology of medicine used to treat disease, from as far back as the Civil War until the treatment of AIDS. Medical kits used by Civil War doctors and displays of battlefield injuries bring medical history to life. Learn about staying healthy in today's world and the challenges of modern medicine through computer interactive tools. See 18th century microscopes alongside electron microscopes. The museum's Human Developmental Anatomy Center houses one of the largest embryological collections in the nation.
National Museum Of Natural History 10th St. & Constitution Ave. NW Washington, D.C. Phone: 202.357.2700	Some of the artifacts in this collection include a life size model of a blue whale, an enormous prehistoric white shark, an 80-foot dinosaur skeleton and no less a treasure than the Hope Diamond, a 45-and-a-half carat jewel known in some circles as the eighth wonder of the world. The Discovery Room works well for parents with young children and there?s a costume room where youngsters can try on clothes from around the globe.
The Navy Museum Washington Navy Yard 901 M Street, SE Washington, D.C. 20374-5060 Phone: 202.433.4882 Open Monday through Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Memorial Day through Labor Day until 5:00 p.m.) Weekends and Holidays: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) Closed: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year?s Day	There are 14 naval museums in the U.S. Washington, D.C.?s however, claims to be the only one to have "an overview of U.S. Naval history." Its mission is to "collect, preserve, display and interpret historic naval artifacts and art work to inform, educate and inspire naval personnel and the general public." Located in historic Washington Navy Yard, the museum is housed in what used to be the Naval Gun Factory. The museum?s 5,000+ artifacts in 48,000 square feet of exhibit space include weapons, ship models, uniforms, medals and fine art. Highlights include a fully rigged fighting top from the frigate USS Constitution, a World War II F4U Corsair, working submarine periscopes and a hut from Admiral Richard E. Byrd's Antarctic expedition. You also might not want to miss a chance to see a real Tomahawk Cruise Missile.
Surratt House Museum 9118 Brandywine Road Clinton, MD 20735 Phone: 301.868.1121 Open March 1 through mid-December (except Easter Sunday and July 4) 11am to 3pm on Thursdays and Fridays Noon to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays.	This middle-class plantation home served as a tavern, a hostelry, a post office, and a polling place during the crucial decade before the Civil War. During the war, it was a safe house for the Confederate underground owned by Mary Surratt, the first woman executed by the U.S., after being found guilty of conspiring to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. The museum now offers programs and events recreating life in the mid-1800s, centering on the plot to kill Lincoln. Admission is $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for senior citizens and groups of ten or more.
Woodrow Wilson Birthplace and Museum 18-24 Coalter Street Staunton, VA 24401 Phone: 540.885.0897 Fax: 540.886.9874 Open Daily 9am -- 5p.m March through November. Open Daily 10am -- 4pm December through February. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.	This National Historic Landmark features the fully restored birthplace of our 28th President. His pre-Civil War Shenandoah Valley home and historic gardens are included in a one and a half hour tour. The museum portion is self-guided and showcases photos and other items from the life and times of Woodrow Wilson including his 1919 limousine. Admission is $6 for adults; $5.50 for senior citizens; $5 for adult group (10 or more) with reservations; $2 for children ages 6-12; $4 for students; under 6 free.

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