Only have 3 or 4 hours to visit and would like to hear which building and exhibits are the best. Especially those that have been there recently. Thanks!
2006-09-24 06:44:02 · 12 answers · asked by Marlin 1 in Travel ➔ United States ➔ Washington, D.C.
Now that American History is closed for renovations, The best would be Air and Space or maybe the Zoo which is part of the Smithsonian.
Avoid the Aquarium in DC, but the one in Baltimore is great.
2006-09-24 22:27:16 · answer #1 · answered by ccfromnj 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Wow, only 3 or 4 hours to tour the Smithsonians? Air & Space is the most popular and has the history of flight all the way from hot air balloons to manned space travel. It is amazing to see and you could easily fill up your time with just the Air & Space Museum.
The National Zoo is undergoing a lot of construction work right now, so leave that for another visit.
The Natural History Museum is excellent and the Hall of Gems is mind boggeling. You can see the Hope Diamond as well as the Star of India star ruby. The Insect Zoo is also neat for kids.
However, for my recommendation for your short time period, I recommend the Air & Space Museum.
2006-09-25 09:52:01 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The most popular is the Air and Space, and it is great, especially the milestone spacecraft in the front hall and the Wright bros. plane exhibit. American History is closed for renovations as has been said. The American Indian Museum doesn't have as many collections, but is unique - and has the best (but not cheap) cafeteria. Natural History is good for kids - the dinosaur exhibit catches their interest; look for the Mars rock in the astronomy exhibit. The art ones: Hirschorn, Nat'l Gallery are comprehensive enough - all you could want to see in that time. It just depends on your interests.
2006-09-25 08:40:48 · answer #3 · answered by Tekguy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I personally prefer the Museum of American History, but you are out of luck there with it being closed for renovation. I think most people would chose the Air and Space one next, but it depends on where your interests lie. After all, there are 16 museums in the Smithsonian group.
If you like art the National Portrait Gallery might be good and you could see most of it in the time you have available. But if you want more "bang" for your buck then you probably want Air and Space.
2006-09-26 14:18:05 · answer #4 · answered by poppet 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is tough to answer - if you can provide more info about your interests/ or if you're visiting with kids - I can provide more advice.
Your best bet is to check out the washingtonpost online city guide. They have a special "visitors" section which describes all the smithsonian museums at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/cityguide/?nav=globetop
(go to the center of the page where it says "for visitors" and click on "smithsonian museums."
The most popular museums are the Air and Space and Natural History. If you've got 4 hours - I'd recommend spending 1/2 of your time at either of these two - and then spend the other 1/2 at one of the art galleries (national gallery of art is my fav). They're all located in one general area - so you can pop in and out as you please - and of course they're all FREE.
Good luck!
2006-09-25 21:33:46 · answer #5 · answered by ALLaboutDC 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I like the Anacostia Museum, which is Smithsonian but not on the National Mall. If I only had 4 hours, I'd go to Natural History.
2006-09-25 10:45:48 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you're flying into Dulles Airport, then it's definitely the Udvar Hazy aerospace museum. It's associated with the one on the mall. Highlights include the Enola Gay (yes, the actual plane), a French Concorde, and the space shuttle Enterprise.
http://www.nasm.si.edu/udvarhazy/
2006-09-25 23:21:42 · answer #7 · answered by hawkthree 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It really depends on what you're interested in. I really liked the Museum of African Art, and the Museum of the American Indian, which is relatively new. They are within walking distance (a few blocks) of one another.
2006-09-26 09:01:29 · answer #8 · answered by Carlos R 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I say the Air & Space Museum. They got so many space travel & aviation exhibits.
Since I enjoy astronomy and space, The Planetarium is great.
I only went there once when I was 7.
2006-09-26 00:25:51 · answer #9 · answered by Cuddly Lez 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I went to all of them, but it was more than 15 years ago. I found the natural history museum to be far more interesting than the others.
2006-09-24 19:48:01 · answer #10 · answered by Carole 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋