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    Capital Jewish Museum

    4.9 (9 reviews)
    Closed 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

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    Gift shop
    Austin G.

    The first of its kind, the Capital Jewish Museum tells the stories of the D.C. area's Jewish community, one of the largest in the country. After previewing the exhibit a week before its grand opening on June 9th, 2023, here's my experience. 1) Admission: Time-entry tickets are recommended in advance and they are free online. Limited walk-in tickets are available each day they are open Wednesday-Sunday. For special exhibits like the opening one on Ruth Bader Ginsburg, tickets are $10-$12 + an online fee of around $1.50 per ticket. 2) Exhibits: The exhibits start on the ground floor of the oldest synagogue in Washington, D.C. telling the stories and history of the Jewish community in the D.C. area. It's a lot of reading mixed in with artifacts on walls and in drawers that kids find fun to open. The exhibit continues to the synagogue's second floor where a 10-minute film projects onto three walls. Historic pews sit on the second floor. For the first time ever, the second floor is ADA accessible. Cross a bridge by local artist Zachary Oxman's artwork connecting the old synagogue with the new building. In the new space is one giant room with exhibits about 100 D.C. Jewish people, area grocery stores, activism, and more. This part is interactive with touchable blocks telling the stories of the 100 Jewish people and a giant tech-forward map of D.C. with all the Jewish sites included. The end is the Community Action Lab that will host workshops. During museum hours, the lab comes with tables where visitors can reflect on their experience by making buttons, coloring, etc. For a more niche topic, the exhibits do a good job of pulling out themes and relating it to everyone's lives, regardless of background. For example, in the part highlighting D.C. Jewish people, they ask you to look at your own identity and how it's shaped. 3) Space: It's a small museum, but designed beautifully. It's in a LEED-certified building and the connection between old and new is intentional. There are restrooms on both floors, a gift shop, and a lobby space. Even though I didn't see it, there's a snack cart in the lobby and a rooftop with views of the city. 4) Parking: There's a paid parking garage nearby and street parking. I usually find street parking withing 1-2 blocks of the museum. If you can, take the Metro to Judiciary Square or ride Capital Bikeshare. 5) Neighborhood: It's pretty central with walking distance to the National Building Museum, an Italian language school, and restaurants.

    The Capital Jewish Museum
    Cyndy K.

    Cyndy's Bottom Line: Jewish history in DC *Free admission. Timed-entry tickets are required. *CapitalJewishMuseum.org *Hours: Wed 11am-8pm, Thu-Sun 11am-6pm, Closed on Monday and Tuesday *Street parking, Metro or Uber The Capital Jewish museum (CJM) is a well curated museum. The museum displays an important time in history for the Jewish community in the national capital region from 1790 until present day. The photographs and artifacts are excellently displayed and documented with timelines and notations. The CJM contains thought provoking and interactive displays to learn from that will keep you interested. The new CJM building consists of original historic 1876 brick synagogue which was moved from the original location then restored and renovated. You can sit in the synagogue and watch a short film. The ongoing exhibit is "What is Jewish Washington?"and special exhibit Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg *Highly recommend a visit.

    Main Entrance
    CL P.

    The museum is so beautifully designed and a wonderful celebration of Jewish Washingtonian culture and history. As someone who isn't very knowledgeable about many of the topics, this was so fascinating to visit.

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    2 years ago

    Great museum! I spent about 2-3 hours there and I loved the special exhibit and focus on social justice and identity

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    Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - She's looking right at me... it's a she, I peeked

    Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

    4.5(1.4k reviews)
    0.7 mi

    Had a wonderful time here. This was the top museum we wanted to visit on our trip to DC. I could…read morehave stayed and wandered for hours, but I let my kids lead the way. Some of the things I thought for sure they would love, were not a hit as I had expected: namely dinosaur bones and the animal displays- but it was also very crowded and a lot to take in. Every where we turned there was more info, more interesting things to see- beautiful, fascinating, interesting- but I think it can be overwhelming- it is almost too much, if that is possible! We had to pace ourselves. A museum is designed for all ages in mind, so it is difficult to know what exhibits will appeal to whom. The part my kids loved the most was the live bug displays. So many species, and so fun to try to find each creature. We stayed here a long time. The exhbits are built with children in mind, many at eye level for little ones. The exhibits with glow in the dark species were so fun! I had to block the way at the end of the exhibit so they didn't move into the mummy section, as just seeing the hint of this display really scared them. I had a blast in the gems section, but my kids were not as excited about this section as I had hoped. We had to take breaks by going to the eatery on site, perusing the gift shop (I let them fill a bag of gems, which was incredibly exciting for them!), and chill out watching a documentary in a screening area.

    What a great museum! How can you not love going here? I didn't have time to read a lot or explore…read moretoo many things in detail, but walking through, I could tell I wanted to come back. It has a decent layout and the maps guide you to the various areas nicely. Obviously dinosaurs are cool and prevalent in any Natural History museum. But they had lots of other cool things too. Probably the biggest draw is the Hope Diamond... It's big and beautiful diamond (BBD) and just something you should check out if you're here. This is one of the more popular of the museums straddling the National Mall, so plan accordingly if you want to get in and spend more time exploring. The crowds can get a little crazy. I got there at 3p and there was a line to get in.

    Photos
    Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - Line at 3p or so

    Line at 3p or so

    Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - Model jellyfish in the marine life exhibit

    Model jellyfish in the marine life exhibit

    Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - Hope diamond

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    Hope diamond

    Dumbarton Oaks - Cherry blossom tree (and engagement ring!)

    Dumbarton Oaks

    4.5(141 reviews)
    2.9 miGeorgetown

    I purposely visited recently (winter season) because entrance to the gardens is free, otherwise…read moreit's $15. The gardens are interesting even in the cold months. The couple most closely associated with this Georgetown estate, Mildred and Robert Bliss, clearly loved and thought deeply about this parcel of land when they owned it (1920/30's). Their efforts to preserve and share the space with the public are to be commended. It must have been quite something in its heyday. There's a lot of research that's supported here, as well as other activities. The website explains all that. It's a low-key sightseeing spot; quiet, contemplative.

    Most everyone in my office is off today due to the holiday, so I mad a plan to visit this museum…read more I also wanted to see the adjoining garden, but it doesn't open until much later in the afternoon. They have quite a few notable collections that I liked. The Byzantine Collection featured different artwork from the fifteenth cwntury. There were also several large sculptures that originated from the Byzantium empire which is known as Istanbul today. According to their information, the museum is continuously acquiring different works if art from this time period. There were also some pretty cool grave markers dating back to the 11th century. The museum is sort of hidden off of the main avenue in Georgetown so you will probably need to search for it. It is also free and open most days to the general public.

    Photos
    Dumbarton Oaks - Wisteria in bloom 4/12/26

    Wisteria in bloom 4/12/26

    Dumbarton Oaks - Music room

    Music room

    Dumbarton Oaks - "Child at a window", 1901 by Edouard Vuillard

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    "Child at a window", 1901 by Edouard Vuillard

    National Gallery of Art - Mother and child

    National Gallery of Art

    4.6(892 reviews)
    0.5 mi

    The Art Museum is a sight to behold, pun intended! Where else can you go to see all these amazing…read moreworks of art under one roof? I loved the comfortable seating areas offered all throughout the museum. This gave me the opportunity to really reflect on what message the artist was trying to convey. Can't wait to go back again!

    They should call this the Butts, Boobs, Balls, and Bare Feet museum. With that being said, they…read morehave some other cool art here for sure... Some Da Vinci stuff, modern art (in the east building), statues, furniture, and paintings galore. Every piece is displayed in a way that brings out the colors and life of them. The lighting people here must keep busy. It's amazing how old they are and how good they look, with zero plastic surgery... although I'm sure there's some restoration happening. This sentence fits the "things you can say about art that you can't say about your partner" category. This was probably the most difficult museum to navigate though. There's no clear way to see every room as you'll be going different directions, through different doors, hitting dead ends, and at certain points, going the wrong way even though there's not logical order to exploring. I used the paper map to make sure I saw everything... and it was a lot of work to do so. One thing that was interesting that for people wearing backpacks, the staff made them wear them on the front like they were human kangaroos... which is brilliant as people are F'ing idiots swinging them around without any care in the world if they're going to hit something (they should do this on airplanes too, BTW). So my advice, leave the backpack in the car or the hotel unless you really need all that crap with you. I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this museum or not, but ended up really appreciating the beauty of some of the artwork. Moreso with the Oil Paintings on the 2nd floor of the middle building. And that Da Vinci painting in person... pics don't do it justice. Italians just do it better, I guess...

    Photos
    National Gallery of Art - Mankind? That is an abstraction. 
 There have always been and always will be only individuals.
  ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

    Mankind? That is an abstraction. There have always been and always will be only individuals. ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

    National Gallery of Art - "The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer"
    -Ken Kesey

    "The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer" -Ken Kesey

    National Gallery of Art - Ices-cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn't illegal.
          --Voltaire

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    Ices-cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn't illegal. --Voltaire

    Milken Center for the Advancement of the American Dream - Word cloud

    Milken Center for the Advancement of the American Dream

    4.8(29 reviews)
    1.0 miDowntown

    I visited the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream last weekend with my husband, and it…read morewas interesting. So what is it? It's a new museum that opened in the fall of 2025, just steps from the White House and the U.S. Treasury. It touts itself as an interactive museum which highlights the successes of American capitalism, entrepreneurship, and financial and banking institutions. The museum's namesake is Michael Milken, who partly curated and controls the museum. Located in five historic buildings, rumor has it the museum cost $500 million. Exploring the museum, I was conflicted. I love museums, and I think you should keep an open mind and learn what you can everywhere, from anyone, for your whole life. I value curiosity and critical thinking above many other things. However, this is definitely a museum with a point of view, and it's probably good to know that going in. Michael Milken is an American financier mostly known for his role in the development of the market for high-yield bonds (junk bonds), leading to his reputation as the "Junk Bond King," and his conviction and sentence on felony charges for violating securities laws. He was sentenced to 10 years (he served 2) and fined $600 million. He was pardoned by President Trump in 2020 and is considered to be one of the wealthiest people in the world (with an estimated net worth of $6 billion). None of this is to say you can't enjoy or learn from or even love the Milken Center. I just think it's relevant information to know going in as the museum deals with American financial markets and capitalism. I certainly wouldn't recommend taking your most progressive or democratic socialist friends to this museum. The museum is free to visit, but you do need to make an reservation for a timed entry (I'm not sure why, because they were not busy at all on a Sunday afternoon when we visited). There is an add on experience (the Holodeck Experience) which has an associated cost of $15 per person. We probably spent an hour and a half at the museum. You can certainly see where they spent the alleged $500 million. It's shiny and new and has lots of interactive aspects and exhibits. If you're into historical artifacts, this is not the museum for you. (They did have an iron lung, and since I'd only ever seen one other, that was a pretty interesting artifact to see.) This museum is full of videos and holograms and signs (and some art as well) but light on artifacts for sure. We wandered around the museum, not really sure what the highlights were that we shouldn't miss (we ended up missing the hologram gallery that many other reviews mention). Most of the financial floors of the museum weren't of very much interest to me, although I could see how it would be interesting/educational for kids (for example, there was an interactive quiz where you choose how much a young person with their first job should save, spend on trips, etc., and then you see how well they're doing after a bit of time). The highlights of the museum for me were the building itself and the art. The Basil Kincaid quilts are massive and and jaw dropping where they hang over the Tree of Generations. And two art-related exhibits really caught my attention: "Celebrating 250 Years: A Journey Through America with Robert Freimark" (which showcased abstract prints the artist made, each representing one of the 50 states) and "Visualizing Impact" (an exhibit showcasing art made by young artists in grades 6-12 focus on unsung heroes in history). We also did the Holodeck Experience - the add on experience for $15 per person. From their website: "It's more than just a movie--it's an unforgettable multisensory adventure held in a unique 360-degree megapixel environment. You're invited to embark on a new journey in the Perpetual Story Machine by Moment Factory, a mind-bending fusion of technology and imagination. Dive into stories of perseverance, innovation, determination, and mentorship at the breathtaking Kenneth C. Griffin Holodeck Experience. Are you ready to take the leap?" That's vague, but it's a hard experience to describe. I actually think children might enjoy it more than adults, because we found it a little silly (especially the parts where you have to "help" the Machine before the more movie-like part begins). We were alone at the experience, so it there were two staff members for the two of us. I did learn about three very different and interesting American experiences, but ultimately I found it a bit cheesy. The Milken Center is free, so I encourage anyone with some spare time to check it out for themselves. But it's not the museum for me. Some of the smaller art exhibits caught my eye, but the majority of the museum felt a bit off to me. Maybe I'm just not into these newer "museums" without artifacts. More like immersive experiences with informational signs. I doubt I'll be back, but you might get more out of it or enjoy more than I did. Who knows?

    Heart this museum that use to be the Riggs National Bank built in 1899 and is also known as the…read morepresidents bank of which over half of the U.S. presidents use to bank. It's steps from the White House and U.S. Treasury. Heart the interactive museum that celebrates the successes of entrepreneurs and the opportunities, innovation and statements and videos of personal achievements. The museum has photos, original documents from the past history of the bank, and two original bank vaults. The tree of generations greets you as you enter the main floor and is interactive, so you and your family can post instantly your digital pic. I recommend this museum to everyone and you'll feel inspired & motivated after visiting this new museum.

    Photos
    Milken Center for the Advancement of the American Dream - So pretty!

    So pretty!

    Milken Center for the Advancement of the American Dream - Holodeck

    Holodeck

    Milken Center for the Advancement of the American Dream

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    The Mansion On O Street - Hotel bedroom

    The Mansion On O Street

    3.8(447 reviews)
    1.8 miDupont Circle, Downtown
    $$$

    O Museum - O Street, Washington DC…read more I was a judicial fellow at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and arrived at the DOT office complex in L'Enfant Plaza, Washington, D.C., for my first day of orientation. It was early on Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001, and while I had been in Washington many times in my work as an administrative law judge, this was my first time meeting my contacts at NHTSA. The world now recognizes the losses sustained on that day, in New York and at the Pentagon (and on United Airlines Flight 93), but at 8:30 in the morning at NHTSA's headquarters in D.C. our world was rapidly aging amidst the tragedy. My contact at NHTSA had family members he needed to get to, and he left me to my own devices. As transport systems turned into gridlock, I left the building intending to walk to my hotel in Georgetown. I had the day to explore. All the Smithsonian museums were locked down, as were most businesses. I had no agenda other than experiencing what D.C. was like during the turmoil of 9/11. I walked from L'Enfant Plaza to Dupont Circle, hoping to have lunch at my favorite restaurant, Johnny's Half Shell. In the process, in a long wandering exploration of the District, I happened upon O Street, not far from the Dupont Circle Metro station. During the walk I passed a string of brownstone residences on O Street between 20th and 21st Streets. While my memory has faded over time, I recall walking past curious bronze sculptures of the White Rabbit, Alice, the Mad Hatter, and the Cheshire Cat, ensconced in abundant greenery that seemed to fill the streetside frontages of four or five of the brownstones. Last week I found out that what I walked past that day 25 years ago was the O Museum in the Mansion, named after the mansion's street location. It's a venue that evokes a rich historical heritage that runs the spectrum from the lives of the rich and famous to the lives of courageous civil rights activists who created cultural change in our nation's capital. I learned the museum was opened in 1980 by its founder, H.H. Leonards Spero, and is housed in a mansion that now includes a boutique hotel with themed rooms. Their "Night at the Museum" tour offers an immersive overnight experience with extended access to the museum and its collection. Also known as The Secret Door Museum, there are over one hundred themed rooms, over eighty secret doors, and thousands of artifacts spanning art, music, sports, history, and American pop culture. I stopped by the display case that housed signed guitars from Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan and saw museum rooms packed with memorabilia from folk and jazz eras, and the early days of the Beatles. Nostalgia and history reign and the displays include important artifacts relating to the civil rights era in the United States, with prominent attention given to the inspired work of Rosa Parks and other civil rights mentors. The Museum features a bar, modern restrooms, an elevator, and secret doors throughout. Reservations are recommended, but I walked in without any wait (on a weekday in February 2026). Remarkably, most of the contents - probably counting in the thousands - are for sale. (So, we're on notice by the Museum's docents: if you break it, you buy it.) I found the Museum's staff to be friendly, well-informed, and exceptionally enthusiastic about their work. I learned there are limited-time themed events, such as the Secret Door Experience ($33), a Champagne Tour ($62.50), a Secret Portal Hunt & Tour ($45.95), a Secret Gardens of Asia celebrating cherry blossoms ($50), a Mother's Day Secret Door & Champagne Tour ($54.50), a Night at the Museum overnight package ($550.77) and a host of events celebrating the life and work of Rosa Parks and other civil rights leaders. This may well be one of the most curiosity-inspiring venues anywhere in the world. And good luck finding the secret doors!

    I felt like this place was highly overrated and doesn't really know what it's trying to be, whether…read morethat's a hotel or an event venue or a bar or a museum. It's kind of like an overpriced estate sale really. There were some cool rooms with some neat things to look at, but the hidden door thing is overblown. They're all very easy to find and basically like very obvious moving parts of the wall. Many of them are just big mirrors that the walkway ends at and you're going to bump into anyhow. They tell you that you can buy just about anything in the museum, but I saw stuff there like used books that I've gotten for a dollar at the library used book sale that they were trying to charge like $40 or 50 bucks for and that's not even the ones that are supposedly signed by the authors that they're trying to sell for hundreds. I guess if you want to look at old guitars used by by country western artists you've barely heard of or see some really ugly decor and maybe this place is for you. The one really great part is the historical aspect about who built the house originally and the fact that Rosa Parks lived here for quite some time. Overall, it was a fine way to spend a rainy afternoon and kind of interesting to see once, but I wouldn't go back and I wouldn't say it's a must do.

    Photos
    The Mansion On O Street - Rosa Park Room

    Rosa Park Room

    The Mansion On O Street - From the secret Halloween room if you can find it! I dare you to in and make a noise...

    From the secret Halloween room if you can find it! I dare you to in and make a noise...

    The Mansion On O Street - Rosa Parks room.

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    Rosa Parks room.

    Capital Jewish Museum - museums - Updated July 2026

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