One of the best museums I've been to in DC! Not only is it interactive, but every exhibit and…read moreinteractive activity is accessible, with ASL interpretation and braille, as well as an option to write accessibility needs when you book! Could not recommend enough during your next trip!

I was stoked when I saw a Facebook ad of this museum! It's absolutely lovely. The architectural…read moredesign is beautiful. Quite overstaffed we were greeted by so many ppl but they were all nice from security to exit. They run a clean system I just genuinely think they're wasting money on the entrance clips--so unnecessary as something we have to wear that no one checks. The animal exhibit is what I went for and it was so neat with some interactive fun. The kids exploration room was so cute I enjoyed it for myself! Great for parents who need to have a break for the kids. Definitely need a few hours to enjoy the full museum so I'll have to go back and with time to enjoy the food! Representing multiple countries the food sounded good and smelled great. I didn't expect food at the museum! The band was fun. It's a really nice overall concept you can enjoy. Go, enjoy!

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.

Might update later but wanted to share that I finally visited this place. It's wild that I have…read morelived nearby for so many years and have just walked by without noticing. It is a small place, but very interesting snapshot of what an Apothecary would have looked like approximately 100 years ago. They still have all the medicine that was in the jars when they closed, on display. I didn't go upstairs yet, but the downstairs is fascinating by itself. Free for Alexandria City residents but otherwise $5 or $8 depending if you want to tour upstairs (specific times). You can also go inside and stay in the lobby area which is also a gift stop without paying admission. As a herbalist, it was very cool to see cinnamon being prescribed alongside arsenic and marijuana - all plants have their purposes! Haha. I liked that the tour guides seemed passionate about the history of the place. We discussed my concern that the gender and race of the apothecary owners allowed them to profit off of the ancestral knowledge and traditional medicine in a way that was denied to women, BIPOC people, and BIPOC women in particular, who often worked in the field under the threat of death and/or imprisonment. Anyways, I am working to change that. I will definitely be back!

Very cool museum in Old Town. At first glance you may not think this would be interesting but it…read morereally was. So much of the interior is original along with the bottles, counters, so on. The history of the shop goes back many years. The have a small gift are with some cute items. Highly recommend you stop in.

We toured the Smithsonian Saturday and saw the room that housed the butterfly pavilion. It's soo…read moresmall. They have a lot of nerve calling it a pavilion. Nothing like other butterfly gardens we've been to. It's an extra charge as well.

Note that this is a paid exhibit inside the Smithsonian; it's not too bad though at $6 per ticket…read more What is there really to say about walking around a room of butterflies and having them land on you? It's magical and totally therapeutic if you've been feeling down. Everyone loves butterflies. I kind of wish they'd had more butterflies in there - like I'd been expecting it to be completely packed with them. But I guess that would increase the risk of stompage, which brings me to why I can't give five stars: there is a high chance you will witness someone step on, crush or otherwise injure a butterfly within minutes of being in the room. They warn you beforehand​ to be careful, but people are stupid and don't listen. Watching a beautiful butterfly struggle with a broken wing on the floor definitely killed the mood a bit. IF YOU'RE GOING TO COME HERE, PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOURE DOING. It is for this reason that I wish they wouldn't let little kids in, but of course they're going to. Overall though, this was a really cool activity. The staff at the exhibit have a ton of respect for the butterflies and treat them very well. They check you on your way out to make sure you don't have any "hitchhikers," which judging by the amount of butterflies in the container by the door, must happen often. Oh, and the room is set to the temperature and humidity levels of a tropical rainforest, so avoid if you get overheated easily.

The museum remains where other things have changed over the years. Notably, you can walk into the…read morebuilding without buying a ticket but most of the exhibitions require a wristband. I unintentionally stopped in on a day when they were offering free tickets. I don't think they ever open every room in the building for exhibition at the same time, so the amount of stuff on display is less than you'd think looking at it from the outside. However, my visit did yield some intriguing finds including a hall on contemporary southern architecture that hits much harder if you've actually been to the places (which by and large I now have), and a historical exhibition on schoolhouses for black people in the South, which provided an interesting window into history. I wouldn't count the Building Museum among the top tier of attractions, but it's a good landmark and worth visiting.

My kids and I LOVED visiting this museum, but a big part of that had to do with "The Playground"…read moreinstallation there until August 30th). We had a blast rock climbing, playing basketball, and swinging in the hammocks. Not sure what this open area is when the installation isn't there, but don't think my kids would have enjoyed it without that. So highly recommend it for the next week!

It's a very small museum above the Apple store, so it is nice that this historic library was able…read moreto be used for a couple of functions. Since this page is just on the museum, it's pretty small. There are a couple of interesting things of note about the school system mostly and some old photographs. It's nice the space exists and there was a guide available to answer questions, but it takes about 10-15 minutes to walk through. It's free, it's air-conditioned, and it's nice a little exhibit on the city itself exists, but I wouldn't really recommend going out of your way to see it. There are also bathrooms, a place to sit, and a small gift shop. I do feel like the beautiful exterior of the building doesn't match the plainness inside, but that was probably lost on some renovation. If you've got a minute and are already shopping for Apple products, it's worth popping upstairs.

I visited the DC History Center last weekend, when - because of the ongoing government shutdown -…read morethe museum I wanted to visit was closed. I had read about it in a "So the thing you want to do in DC is closed..." article, and I was thrilled to learn about it (I wondered why I hadn't heard of it before)! First thing that stuck out to me? The center is in an amazing historic building! The Carnegie Library was built in 1903 and served as a public library for DC until it was closed in 1972. It was the first of the city's four Carnegie libraries and the first desegregated public building. The classic architecture is pretty stunning. However, the building hasn't been a library since 1972. And now, most of it is ... an Apple Store?! The main level of the building has been an Apple Store since 2019. The Apple symbol is even in the marble in the exterior of the building. When I walked in, I was really thrown off. I looked around for signs and it seemed like the DC History Center might be upstairs, so up I went. When I got upstairs, I was greeted by a staff member, who explained there were two galleries upstairs and one in the basement. One of the galleries is the DC Hall of History. It's basically a long, narrow room with a timeline explaining DC's history. No artifacts, just a timeline on a wall. A little underwhelming. The larger gallery housed a much more interesting exhibit: "Class Action: Education and Opportunity in the Nation's Capital," which tells the story of Black education in DC (public schools, segregation, desegregation, Black higher education in the city). The exhibit was interesting, much larger than the DC Hall of History, and quite interactive. The last gallery (the one in basement) has a series of 16 reproductions of photographs of the building's history. It was interesting to learn about the history of the building, but it's not a large gallery or exhibit. Overall, I enjoyed learning some DC history I didn't know, but the center isn't a replacement for any of the history museums in DC. I wish it had artifacts and more than just photographs. But it's interesting and worth a quick visit if you're in the area and have some extra time. You can make your visit quick without missing anything (I can't imagine anyone spending more than an hour here; I probably spent closer to a half hour), so it's a good little museum to fit in between visits to other DC sites. Especially as it's free to visit!

I'm a plane nut so of course I'm going to rate this place pretty high. With three floors to…read moreexplore, there is plenty to see and do here. This museum is easily my favorite museum out of all the Smithsonian museums, hands down. So much amazing history is found here to witness with your own eyes. It really makes the monumental accomplishments that you read in books and online come to life. Unfortunately, my last visit was shorter than usual because a good chunk of the museum was closed for renovation so I wasn't able to see the historic WW2 war birds. Bummer. Hopefully, that section is back up very soon. Looking for a cool souvenir from your time in D.C.? The gift shop here is absolutely huge, three floors with all things space and aviation.

Space... the final frontier.... Whether you're a kid, or just a kid at heart, your mind will wander…read morewith the possibilities of seeing the actual vehicles and relics of historical significance and marvel at the drive of the human spirit to first take flight, then zoom past the curvature of the ocean until you hit new land, and, finally, break the bonds of gravity and stake your claim in the cosmos. I've been so many times, and it's free to go and see these incredible achievements of humanity in real life. You can look at the lunar capsule and imagine the bravery and ingenuity of the millions of people whose guts and brains it took, over thousands of years, to make such an achievement possible. This is the true legacy of humanity and it inspires while posing the question, what is next for mankind....

The 2022 H Street Festival executed on every street festival/block party need: Good food, good…read moremusic & entertainment, good vendors, a little dancing with a whole lot of celebration.. and Mother Nature brought the good weather! Not only was there diversity within the items listed above but it brought out a diverse crowd--I'm sure every identity was present at the festival making for good vibes. Food wise, there was a range of vendors that included food from across the Black diaspora (Jamaican, Haitian, Southern soul food), American cuisine, Bar food from H Street bars & restaurants, sushi & other Asian cuisine , among other fun food trucks. The music I experienced spread across multiple genres (African, r&b, reggae, hip hop, country, and pop) and was put forth by live musicians, DJs, and drag queens. Street formers were also off stage entertaining us with their percussion and brass instruments.

H Street Festival is the largest neighborhood festival in Washington, D.C. It started out 12+ years…read moreas a block party. Now it spans 11 blocks and attracts 150,000 people in one day, always a Saturday in September. It usually starts at noon and goes into the evening. Since it's a massive festival almost every business along the H Street corridor is involved (except for Whole Foods and Starbucks). In addition, almost every food vendor and truck sets up shop at the festival. They have all kinds of food and there are many vendors selling arts and crafts (usually around 4th Street). There are also several staging areas, booths giving out water, and even a few stalls from churches. It's always a great time and you'll get a taste for all types of culture in the city. It's AWESOME!