The Smithsonian: Which Museums Are Actually Worth Your Time

Nineteen museums, nine research centres, and a zoo: all of the DC museums on the National Mall are free, and the correct response to this is not to try to see all of them. Trying to see more than two Smithsonian museums in a day produces museum fatigue, an overloaded mind, and nothing retained. The question is not whether to go. The question is which ones to prioritise and how long to give each one.

National Museum of Natural History

The Hope Diamond is a 45.52-carat blue diamond with a provenance that includes Tavernier (who bought it in India in 1666), Louis XIV (who bought it from Tavernier), the French Revolution (which interrupted its ownership history), and a banker named Hope (who gave it the name it now bears). The gemstones hall around it is legitimately excellent and rarely as crowded as you’d expect given what’s at its centre.

The Deep Time fossil hall, which replaced the old dinosaur galleries after a major renovation, is better than what it replaced: a more coherent narrative about how life has changed over geological time rather than a parade of impressive skeletons. The ocean hall on the first floor holds a full-scale model of a North Atlantic right whale and interactive exhibits on deep sea ecosystems that don’t talk down to visitors.

Weekday mornings. Summer weekends are extremely busy.

National Air and Space Museum

The original Wright Flyer from Kitty Hawk, 1903, hangs in the entrance. The Apollo 11 command module Columbia, small and burned and genuinely astonishing up close, is here. The human scale of these objects is the thing: the Wright Flyer’s wing span is 12.3 metres, the entire machine weighing 274kg, and it flew 37 metres in 12 seconds. The Apollo capsule carried three human beings to the moon. Both realisations land differently when you’re standing close enough to touch them.

The Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles holds Space Shuttle Discovery and a Concorde. If you can only do one location, the National Mall building has the historically more significant individual objects.

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Opened 2016. Still requires timed-entry passes. Book through the Smithsonian website as soon as you know your travel dates; passes are released on a rolling 30-day basis and go fast. This is not a museum to skip for logistical reasons and then regret.

The building, designed by David Adjaye with a bronze latticed exterior, is striking. The exhibitions move chronologically from the era of slavery upward. The lower floors covering the Middle Passage and plantation life are among the most powerful museum experiences in the country. The upper floors covering contemporary culture and achievement carry more emotional weight for having come after what’s below them. Allow a full three hours minimum.

National Museum of American History

More uneven than the others. The Star-Spangled Banner, the actual flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the 1814 bombardment that Francis Scott Key watched and which inspired the national anthem, is here. It is enormous (30 by 34 feet), faded, and displayed in controlled low light to prevent further deterioration. Worth seeing and genuinely moving in a way that the popular culture galleries elsewhere in the building are not.

Where to Eat Near the Mall

Museum cafes are functional and overpriced. Walk five minutes off the Mall in any direction for better options.

Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street NW has been serving the D.C. half-smoke (a pork and beef sausage specific to Washington) since 1958. It is about 25 minutes by Metro from the Mall and is genuinely worth the trip. President Obama’s visits and the resulting tourism have not noticeably changed the atmosphere.

Old Ebbitt Grill near the White House has been feeding government workers and journalists since the 1850s. The raw bar is good. It is expensive and reliable.

Practical Notes

All National Mall Smithsonian museums are free and open daily except December 25th, typically 10am to 5:30pm with extended summer hours. Metro stop is Smithsonian on the Orange, Blue and Silver lines. The Mall is 3km end to end; wear comfortable shoes. The African American History museum pass requirement makes early planning essential.