Top Family Friendly Museums in Washington DC

by John L. Travel Writer

Washington DC is home to several world-class museums, many of them the largest of their kind in the world. Any tour of Washington DC is never complete without visiting these institutions found all over the federal capital. The National Mall alone is dotted with many museums that house endless amounts of collections from all over the world and different times of human history. If you have not yet visited Washington DC, here is a list of some of the must-visit Washington DC museums in and around the city.

Air and Space Museum

Probably the most popular museum in Washington DC, the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institute is the country's top-flight location for air travel and spaceflight history. The museum commemorates man's mission for the skies and beyond. Aptly located near the museum entryway is the Wright Flyer, the very first powered heavier-than-air airplane to sustain flight created by the Wright brothers, that began the age of flight and air travel. Consisted of to their various display screens of substantial things and machines that transformed air flight and space expedition is the Spirit of St. Louis of Charles Lindbergh that made the very first successful solo trans-Atlantic flight, the Apollo 11 Columbia command module which belonged to the mission that landed the first male on the moon, the Bell X-1 which broke the Friendship 7 capsule which took the first American in area, and a lot more flying devices which played fundamental parts in human history. Apart from historic air and area machines, one of the highlights of the museum is a replica of the fictional spacecraft USS Enterprise from the Star Trek series.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

The Holocaust may be a very dark part of human history, but we have a lot to learn from it. The USHMM is the nation’s official memorial to the Holocaust. The institute aims to educate and help leaders and citizens of the world to overcome hate, prevent another genocide, promote the dignity of men, confront racism and anti-Semitism, and uphold democracy. The museum houses 12,750 artifacts, 85,000 historic photographs, 49 million pages of documents, a list of over 200,000 survivors and their families. Over time, it also has collected 1,000 hours of archival footage, 93,000 library items, and 9,000 oral history testimonies - which helps the recording, study, and interpretation of the history of the Holocaust. Two exhibitions have been continuously running at the museum since 1993; the Permanent Exhibition which tells the story of the Holocaust through artifacts, films, and testimonies, and the Remember the Children: Daniel’s Story exhibit which is designed to explain the sensitive issues of the Holocaust for a younger audience.

National Museum of the US Army

With a 240-year history of valor and heroism, the National Museum of the US Army located on an 84-acre facility in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, was established to celebrate the brave men and women of the armed forces. The museum aims to commemorate the soldiers’ service to the nation, preserve the Army’s rich history, and educate the public on the role of men and women of uniform in nation-building. On its centerpiece exhibition, the institute brings light to the stories of the soldiers in addition to valuable artifacts, documents, and photographs narrating the two-and-half-centuries history of the United States Army.

National Museum of African American History and Culture Sticking out from a crowd of the conventional white structures around the National Mall, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, with its angular bronze lattice facade, is truly an architectural landmark by itself. The institute is the only national museum committed to the event of African American life, history, and culture. The museum currently holds more than 40,000 pieces on their collection of artifacts related to the African American neighborhood, household, the visual and performing arts, religion, civil liberties, slavery, and partition. Around 3,500 items are on display for the general public. Some notable items include restored products from a sunken slave ship, a slave recognition badge from the 1850s, a Bible owned by Nat Turner, a segregated drinking fountain, a fitness instructor aircraft utilized by the Tuskegee Airmen, and Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves among other important items.

National Portrait Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery is a Smithsonian art museum committed to the faces who made America the country it is today. It is currently housed at the grand Old Patent Building in the National Mall. The museum's long-term collection includes many portraits of prominent men and women who made a substantial influence on the United States and its culture. The National Portrait Gallery uses visitors the experience to meet these popular Americans in person and learn more about their lives and the contributions they provided to American society. The institute began collecting pictures as early as 1921, however, the gallery was just developed up until 1962. Typically getting just portraitures made using oil paint, the gallery expanded its collection beginning in 1976 by consisting of portraits in all media, photographs, and sculptures.

National Museum of Natural History Explore and go on a journey that will let you discover the history of life itself at the most visited natural museum worldwide. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. is among the biggest institutions of its kind anywhere around the world. Its wide collection includes more than 145 million artifacts of natural and cultural significance. The museum has some of the rarest specimens - from valuable gems like the famous Hope Diamond, taxidermic and live animal specimens, horticultural displays, ancient human remains to finish fossils and bones of dinosaurs. The institute is also house to more than 185 expert scientists and researchers - may be the biggest group of men and women devoted to the research study of the history of the natural world.

National Museum of the American Indian

This one-of-a-kind museum celebrates the history and culture of the original inhabitants of the land that we now know as the United States of America. Opened in 2004, this is the first national museum in the country dedicated to the Native Americans. The Kasota limestone-clad building itself is a work of art designed to mimic the natural rock formations shaped by wind and water over thousands of years - landscapes that are very close to Native Americans. Many artists and architects of Native American origins have been consulted and involved in the construction of the building. At the east-facing entrance, a vast space for performances is situated. The museum houses a vast collection of Native American art and artifacts.

The Museum of the Bible

The Bible is not just a religious text but is also a historical record. Whether you are Christian or not, learning about the history and narrative of the Bible is a very enriching experience. The Museum of the Bible in Washington DC allows you and your group to experience the Bible like never before. The museum presents exhibits on the history, narrative, and impact of the Bible in world culture and areas like science, government, justice, and freedom. It also contains a vast collection of objects and artifacts of Christian and Jewish origins from Biblical times, ranging from the period of Abraham to the New Testament era, including several fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Visitors can also get a glimpse of life in the 1st century through a recreation of the village of Nazareth.

These are just some of the many top-class museums in Washington DC. An article is not enough to describe them all. The best way to experience them is to go on a tour of Washington DC if you have not gone yet. And if you have already visited, you might want to go back as new museums, monuments, and attractions are continuously added to the many destinations in the nation's capital. The is always something new to discover in Washington DC.