I came to visit this memorial museum because I have a friend that is a Marine that actually…read moresurvived the bombing in Beirut & was featured in the exhibit. This exhibit will take a day or two to get through if you want to really understand & get educated on how important our Marines are & continue to be as they protect WE the People & the Unite States of America.Very informative concerning wars that were fought & a Marines day to day life. The museum & the tour was VERY impressive. I'd go again, it was a pleasure seeing it & all the history.I would highly recommend anyone who is thinking of joining the Marines to take a trip to see this museum & some of the other monuments/memorials.

Wow!!! This is one of the most amazing museums I have ever visited. It is pristine, well laid…read moreout, and incredibly informative of our military history. The exhibits are realistic and make you feel you are a part of history. It is truly a national treasure. The docents are knowledgeable and very helpful. The gift shop offers lots of interesting items. The cafeteria has decent food and we were told the restaurant has excellent service and food. I highly recommend a visit to this museum. You begin to understand, in your soul, the sacrifices the people in the military have made to keep our country free.

Very well thought out and curated museum on the history of the US Army and its role in different…read moreperiods of US history. I appreciated the focus on personal service member stories and getting to learn more about individual soldiers. The theming of the main exhibit spaces around different conflicts was well done, creating a dynamic and interactive museum. It's a massive space with lots to learn so you can easily spend a whole day here, plus it's completely free! Both of my parents are Army veterans and it was great to be able to hear their stories as well when visiting the museum.

After arriving at the museum, where ample parking was available, we proceeded inside. We'd secured…read moreour free tickets online, though the museum didn't appear close to selling out. Following a smooth check-in with our digital tickets, we passed through security. Inside, the museum proved impressive, showcasing a rich history of the army's pivotal role in forming our nation and ensuring our present day safety. The exhibits were well organized, sectioned by distinct eras in American history, and the theater presentation was fantastic. For refreshments, a small cafe was on site. We thoroughly enjoyed the exceptionally clean and welcoming environment.

Pretty little park! Nice to walk and see the well kept grounds and dedication the staff has put…read moreforward to keeping it so beautiful. Photographs also posted on Instagram @3spade7star_photography and Facebook ThreeSpade SevenStar

Green Springs Gardens is one of the most beautiful parks in Fairfax County and North Virginia that…read moreI have ever visited and definitely a hidden gem among all the parks here. The colorful flowers and unique park areas like the glass greenhouse, the secret garden, and the children's library were some of the spectacular highlights in Green Springs Gardens. Admission to this park is free as well. I was impressed by the manicured lawns for picnics, meditation, and community outdoor activities. We walked all of the trails there. I noticed the happy and musical chirping of many birds there. All the flowers were beautiful . I loved the delicate orchids the most in the glass greenhouse. Many nice sitting areas all over the garden to take small breaks from walking. This is one of the finest and a definite go see garden in the DMV area. I will visit this garden again & again.

In addition to the museum at Fort Ward there is also the park. And it is a nifty little park. There…read moreare rifle trenches and bombproofs and historical stuff like that going on. Then there are practical things too, like a 0.6 mile loop paved looped that goes around the park that sees a decent amount of foot traffic - walkers and runners getting some exercise in. They also have pavilions for picnics and an amphitheater. They often have free events at the amphitheater (like a Jazz show over Memorial Day). The park section also has a dog park. According to websites online, the dog park is the grassy area to the east side of the entrance. It is large and semi-fenced. But don't bother to look for signs that specifically designate the dog park area when you are there. I lived close by and was there almost every day and never found any signs that designated the dog park. Regardless, it is a good place to take your dog to play fetch and allow for a nice space to run. Of course you have to trust your dog off leash because it isn't totally fenced and it is right along Braddock Road. There are typically people coming in and out with dogs. Not normally many, but during nice weather, particularly on weekends, the whole outdoor park can get a bit busy with people. There is also free and easy parking access. I recommend the park at Fort Ward as a nice place for a stroll (with our without your dog), a picnic, some relaxing, & enjoying good weather.

I was not too keen at first to be taking a group of 50 odd 8th graders to see a fort. And neither…read morewere they. I was presently surprised! While there isn't much left of the fort walls themselves, they have a good stock of military instruments and displays that are interesting reminders of the struggles our country has faced. And the kids ended up pretending that they were back in the Civil War fighting! =P Its worth the trip out as a nice outing for kids.

So we went to the National Guard Museum and Washington DC and it was really good for being small. I…read morewas really educated by the National Guard because I was confused with the reserves and the National Guard the reserves are federal and the National Guard state. We took some pictures and my boy got to hold his grandfather's gun And take a picture next to the grand great granddad that died in 2007 and the boy was born in 2012 so he never knew his great granddad but there are plenty of books and a Netflix special on his great granddad Felix Larry Sparks!

Our interest in visiting the National Guard Memorial Museum stemmed from its location across the…read morestreet from our hotel, its early opening at 9am, and its free entry. The entrance is on the rounded corner where you press the intercom to be let in. Downstairs, a nice army reservist introduced us to the gallery and spoke with us for a few minutes before we set off on our own--and at that time on a Friday morning, we were entirely on our own. Their displays and upkeep of artifacts should do the National Guard very proud. There are many interesting bits and pieces of the service's history and the people who made up this militia. So why would I only give it about 3.5 stars? Because the indoctrination is so real. The homogeneity of the introductory video was emphasized for me when the National Guard's contributions were being enumerated. The narrator mentions how Guards helped maintain order in the 1960s when "domestic tranquility was marred by civil (unrest)," and once my mind snagged on that branch, I kept getting pulled back to it. How telling that efforts to level the playing field for ALL Americans is considered "marring" by the National Guard narrator. Don't even get me started on the heroic and victorious portrayal of armed colonists against the Native Americans. It was an informative and infuriating way to spend the hour before more kid-friendly museums opened.

Exceptional collection. Very well presented and accurately described. I'm into firearms collecting…read more However, i went with a friend who was definitely not into guns and she was impressed by the collection too. The history can appeal to anyone.

great collection. minimal data on displays which means you…read moreneed to use digital stations. wish could find item by case and number as opposed to exhibit section and number. section name is almost impossible to find. easy fix, since entering a section name displays a list of case number in that section.

This is a pretty small model railroad museum in what used to be an old train station along the W&OD…read moreTrail. *** Note: They are only open ONE Saturday per month from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Check their website to see when they will be open next and plan ahead to go for a visit. *** My two boys and I actually really like this place. The only reason I downgraded it to 3-stars was due to their very limited open hours, and it's a pretty small place. It'd be nice to be able to bring friends to visit, but there's only been once when we've had friends visiting coincide with the weekend they were open. However (comma) it's DEFINITELY worth a visit. If you're a local, then plan ahead and go check it out. Next to the building, they have a real red caboose you can climb through. Inside the building, you can watch the model trains running. There's a little trolley model train that the kids can operate and earn their own "engineer's license." You probably won't need more than an hour to visit, but it's a neat thing to get out of the house and see with your kids.

This is one of the best kept secrets in Loudoun County. This is a phenomenal place all the way at…read morethe end of Loudoun County Parkway and has numerous walking trails and activities for kids and adults. We hosted an annual picnic here and had a great time. This is highly recommended for morning nature walks and evening relaxation.

It would be a nice place to visit if there was more to see, that admission is not so ridiculously…read morehigh, and the grounds were better kept. We really felt that we're offsetting owners' costs by helping them get a tax break in addition to the shamefully expensive entry fee for tickets for an art festival that was, sadly, not really a festival. Probably less than 10 vendors and only 2 food trucks. No music. No party- or festival-like atmosphere. It just felt like we were walking the grounds of some wealthy people who charged us a ridiculous amount to be there for an hour or two. Bathrooms are in portable trailer, so if you're not a fan of portables, you'll want to hold your bladder. Their 250-year old house of which there was much pride sounded more interesting than the gardens, and a tour of that would have made the visit slightly more of a value. But like others have said, if this was run as a non-profit organization, it may have made the high entrance fees slightly more easy to swallow. I can't see their current business model being a successful one unless only very wealthy people take an interest in visiting, financing, and renting their facilities. They have taken landfill & turned it into a pretty place, but for the average family, it's too expensive and not sufficiently entertaining or educational to make a trek out to visit really worthwhile. BLUF: Skip it unless they put some amazing work into the property, reduce entrance fees significantly, and let the public visit more often.