A Small Taste of the Smithsonian

(One of several posts where I write about some of favorite things about D.C.)
If you're ever in D.C., take advantage of the many museums run by the Smithsonian Institution. If you’re a tax-paying citizen, you’ve already paid your dues, so admission at the door is free.

The Smithsonian Institute

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Here are some things you can look forward to seeing:

You can visit the Natural History Museum and see this work of wonder:

The Hope Diamond, all 45.52 carrots of it.

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Or you can go to the American History Museum and see R2-D2 and C-3PO.


There are many items on display that are important to our history. This is the flag that was draped over the Pentagon after 9/11.


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You have to visit the Botanical Garden, which is located near to the Capitol Building. It’s a good way to get out of the city and see plant life from all sorts of climates and regions in the world.

This is me in front of the Botanical Garden:


Here is one of the many thousands of plantlife on display in the garden:

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Next to the Botanical Garden is the National Museum of the American Indian. There are a lot of exhibits in here, and the layout can be a little confusing. But what I appreciated about this museum is that it not only portrays the history and culture of many Indian groups from North America, but it also portrays the history and culture of many South American Indian groups.


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Another museum you have to visit is the National Archives, where you can see an original copy of the Magna Carta, the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States. It is definitely worth visiting, but be prepared to stand in line.
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If you’re in D.C., you have to check out the Fine Arts Museum, which unfortunately I don’t have pictures of. But make the visit, take a tour.
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My favorite museum of all is the Air and Space Museum – not for the bombs or bombers it displays but for all of its cool space exploration exhibits. There are two buildings, one on the National Mall, and one in Dulles, Virginia. The one on the mall is neat if you'd like to see the first space capsules the U.S. sent up into space. But the building in Dulles is incredible because it has a space shuttle prototype that I just learned is named “Enterprise.” It doesn’t have working engines, but it can glide.

Then there is the cool SR-71 Blackbird, coolest plane ever. This is one of the fastest airplanes ever made. It flies high, so high that the pilots have to use space suits. And the best thing of all it was purely reconnaissance; it didn’t bomb anything that I know of.

Hope this gives you a good overview of what you can expect to see at a few of the Smithsonian Museums. They are definitely worth your while.