ANACOSTIA COMMUNITY MUSEUM
The Anacostia Community Museum is the Smithsonian Institution's museum of African-American history and culture. This museum is inconveniently located, but that's because it was initially created in 1967 as a neighborhood museum (which makes it unique among the Smithsonian branches). It's devoted to the African-American experience, focusing on Washington, DC and the Upper South. The permanent collection includes about 7,000 items, ranging from videotapes of African-American church services to art, sheet music, historic documents, textiles, glassware, and anthropological objects.
Metro: Anacostia. Hours: Open daily, 10am to 5pm. Admission: Free.

CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART
With a focus primarily on American art, the elegant Corcoran Gallery is the oldest, and among the most distinguished, art museums in Washington, DC. In addition to American art, the museum, which is only a block from the White House, also features Dutch and Flemish masterpieces as well as French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist pieces. Metro: Farragut West. Hours: Open Wed-Mon, 10am to 5pm (to 9pm Thurs). Admission: Free guided tours daily at 12:30pm; free admission all day Mon, and Thurs after 5pm; $6.75 adults, $4.75 seniors, $12 families.

DAR MUSEUM & LIBRARY
The museum of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution features 31 period rooms with a superb collection of pre-1840s furnishings and textiles and two galleries with changing exhibits.
Metro: Farragut West. Hours: Open Mon-Fri, 9:30am to 4pm; Sat, 9am to 5pm. Admission: Free.

FREER GALLERY OF ART & ARTHUR M. SACKLER GALLERY
The Freer Gallery houses more than 28,000 pieces of Asian art, including Chinese and Japanese sculpture, lacquer, metalwork, and ceramics; early Christian illuminated manuscripts; Iranian manuscripts, metalwork, and miniatures; ancient Near Eastern metalware; and South Asian sculpture and paintings. It also displays some of the more than 1,200 American works (the world's largest collection) by Whistler. Most remarkable and always on view is the famous Peacock Room. An underground exhibit space connects the Freer to the neighboring Sackler Gallery, also primarily featuring Asian works of art. The Sackler's permanent collection displays Khmer ceramics; ancient Chinese jades, bronzes, paintings, and lacquerware; 20th-century Japanese ceramics and works on paper; ancient Near Eastern works in silver, gold, bronze, and clay; and stone and bronze sculptures from South and Southeast Asia. A visit here is an education in Asian decorative arts.
Metro: Smithsonian. Hours: Open daily, 10am to 5:30pm. Admission: Free.

FORD'S THEATRE & LINCOLN MUSEUM
Ford's Theatre is the site of the 1865 assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The restored 19th-century theatre features fine musical and dramatic theater. The renovated museum tells the story of Lincoln's assassination through more than 400 historic objects. Also part of the tour is the home across the street from the theatre where Lincoln was brought after being shot and where he later died. Additionally, Ford's Theatre presents plays and musicals, from September to June, underscoring multiculturalism and highlighting the eclectic character of American life.
Metro: Metro Center. Hours: Open daily, 9am to 5pm. Admission: Free.

HIRSHHORN MUSEUM & SCULPTURE GARDEN
This museum of modern and contemporary art houses a rotating show of about 600 pieces, on view at all times. The collection features just about every well-known 20th-century artist and touches on most of the major trends in Western art since the late 19th century, with particular emphasis on our contemporary period. Don't miss the beautiful tree-shaded Sculpture Garden across the street.
Metro: L'Enfant Plaza. Hours: Open daily, 10am to 5:30pm. Admission: Free.

INTERNATIONAL SPY MUSEUM
Featuring the largest collection of international espionage-related artifacts open to the public, the museum chronicles the history of spying throughout the ages, across the globe, and today. The museum includes a permanent exhibition of artifacts (this is the largest collection of international espionage artifacts ever put on public display), combined with historic photographs, state-of-the-art audio visual programs, and computer interactive displays which chronicle espionage throughout history. The International Spy Museum has been immensely popular ever since its opening in 2002.
Metro: Gallery Place-Chinatown. Hours: Open daily, 10am to 6pm (sometimes to 8pm). Admission: $16 adults, $15 seniors, $13 children (free for children under 5).

MARIAN KOSHLAND SCIENCE MUSEUM
Opened to the public in April 2004, the new Marian Koshland Science Museum, operated by The National Academy of Sciences, uses engaging, interactive exhibits to bring to life the numerous reports conducted by the prestigious National Academies every year. Visitors are able to piece together scientific evidence behind current and often controversial issues, discovering how that evidence can influence policy decisions relevant to their daily activities.
Metro: Gallery Place-Chinatown. Hours: Open daily except Tues, 10am to 5pm. Admission: $5 adults, $3 seniors, $3 children (free for children under 5).

NATIONAL AIR & SPACE MUSEUM
The National Air & Space Museum chronicles the story of the mastery of flight, from Kitty Hawk to outer space. It holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It is also a vital center for research into the history, science, and technology of aviation and space flight, as well as planetary science and terrestrial geology and geophysics. Hundreds of artifacts are on permanent display including the original Wright 1903 Flyer, the Spirit of St. Louis, the Apollo 11 command module, and a lunar rock sample that visitors can touch. Not to be missed are the IMAX films shown here (tickets required for admission). Two or more films play each day, most with aeronautical or space-exploration themes.
Metro: L'Enfant Plaza. Hours: Open daily, 10am to 5:30pm. Admission: Free.

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
Housing one of the world's foremost collections of Western painting, sculpture, and graphic arts, from the Middle Ages into the 21st century, the National Gallery has a dual personality. The original West Building, designed by John Russell Pope (architect of the Jefferson Memorial and the National Archives), is a neoclassic marble masterpiece with a domed rotunda over a colonnaded fountain and high-ceilinged corridors leading to delightful garden courts. At its completion in 1941, the building was the largest marble structure in the world. It was a gift to the nation from financier/philanthropist Andrew W. Mellon, who also contributed the nucleus of the collection, including 21 masterpieces from the Hermitage, two Raphaels among them. The modern East Building, designed by I. M. Pei and opened in 1978, is composed of two adjoining triangles with glass walls and lofty tetrahedron skylights. The pink Tennessee marble from which both buildings were constructed was taken from the same quarry; it forms an architectural link between the two structures. Only a small percentage of the National Gallery's collection of 109,000 works is on display at one time.
Metro: Archives-Navy Memorial. Hours: Open Mon-Sat, 10am to 5pm; Sun, 11am to 6pm. Admission: Free.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART
The museum collects and exhibits ancient and contemporary art from the entire African continent, but its permanent collection of more than 7,000 objects highlights the traditional arts of the sub-Saharan region. Most of the collection dates from the 19th and 20th centuries. Permanent exhibits include The Ancient West African City of Benin, A.D. 1300-1897 (cast-metal heads, figures, and architectural plaques that depict kings and attendants); The Ancient NubianCity of Kerma, 2500-1500 B.C. (ceramics, jewelry, and ivory animals); The Art of the Personal Object (everyday items such as chairs, headrests, snuffboxes, bowls, and baskets); and Images of Power and Identity (masks, sculptures and other visual arts from Africa)
Metro: Smithsonian. Hours: Open daily, 10am to 5:30pm. Admission: Free.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN
The National Museum of the American Indian, which opened in 2004, is the first national museum in the country dedicated exclusively to Native Americans. The museum is devoted to the collection, preservation, and presentation of the culture of the indigenous populations of the Western Hemisphere. The National Museum of the American Indian is very much a "living" museum, with performances, events, and exhibits that aim at giving Native peoples the chance to tell their own stories. Exhibits explore Native life and history and specific themes, and showcase works of individual artists. Most importantly, the museum is a giant display case for a collection of precious objects representing 1,000 Native communities. George Gustav Heyer assembled the collection of these 800,000 pieces, including wood and stone carvings, masks, pottery, feather bonnets, and so on; the museum displays about 8,000 of these at any given time.
Metro: Federal Center SW. Hours: Open daily, 10am to 5:30pm. Admission: Free.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Established in 1910, the National Museum of Natural History is the second most popular of all of the Smithsonian museums. The museum's collections include over 125 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, and human cultural artifacts. Notable exhibits include the Kenneth E. Behring Hall of Mammals, which displays at least 274 taxidermied mammals from all over the the world, some of which were collected by former president Theodore Roosevelt. The museum's Hall of Dinosaurs includes one of the largest collections of Dinosaur fossils in the world. Other exhibits detail the evolution of life on Earth,  the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals, which includes the legendary Hope Diamond and O. Orkin Insect Zoo.
Metro: Smithsonian. Hours: Open daily, 10am to 5:30pm. Admission: Free.

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
Generations of remarkable Americans are kept in the company of their fellow citizens at the National Portrait Gallery. The Gallery presents a wonderful diversity of individuals who have left and are leaving their mark on our country and our culture. Through the visual and performing arts, the museum celebrates leaders such as George Washington and Martin Luther King Jr., artists such as Mary Cassatt and George Gershwin, activists such as Sequoyah and Rosa Parks, and icons of pop culture such as Babe Ruth and Marilyn Monroe. Also on display is the nation's only complete collection of presidential portraits outside the White House. For anyone fascinated by famous Americans and their stories, the National Portrait Gallery is a must-visit destination.
Metro: Gallery Place-Chinatown. Hours: Open daily, 11:30am to 7pm. Admission: Free.

NATIONAL POSTAL MUSEUM
The National Postal Museum is divided into galleries that explore America's postal history from colonial times to the present. Visitors learn how mail has been transported, emphasize the importance of letters, and spotlight the creation and wondrous diversity of postage stamps. On display include a colorful and engaging collection of airmail planes, mail trucks, stagecoaches, and other postal vehicles along with rare stamps, letters, and a Pony Express exhibit.
Metro: Union Station. Hours: Open daily, 10am to 5:30pm. Admission: Free.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS
This stunning collection remains the foremost museum in the world dedicated to celebrating "the contribution of women to the history of art." Since its opening, the collection has grown to more than 3,000 works by more than 800 artists, including Rosa Bonheur, Frida Kahlo, Helen Frankenthaler, Barbara Hepworth, Georgia O'Keeffe, Camille Claudel, Lila Cabot Perry, Mary Cassatt, Elaine de Kooning, Käthe Kollwitz, and many other lesser-known artists from earlier centuries.
Metro: Metro Center. Hours: Open Mon-Sat, 10am to 5pm; Sun, 12pm to 5pm. Admission: $10 adults, $8 seniors.

THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION
Conceived as "a museum of modern art and its sources, this collection includes more than 2,500 works. Among the highlights: superb Daumier, Dove, and Bonnard paintings; some splendid small Vuillards; five van Goghs; Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party; seven Cézannes; and six works by Georgia O'Keeffe. Ingres, Delacroix, Manet, El Greco, Goya, Corot, Constable, Courbet, Giorgione, and Chardin are among the "sources" or forerunners of modernism represented. Modern notables include Rothko, Hopper, Kandinsky, Matisse, Klee, Degas, Rouault, Picasso, and many others.
Metro: Dupont Circle. Hours: Open Tues-Sat, 10am to 5pm (to 8:30pm Thurs); Sun, 11am to 6pm. Admission: Tues-Fri, free; Sat-Sun, $10 adults, $8 children and seniors.

RENWICK GALLERY OF THE SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM
The Renwick Gallery is a showcase for American creativity in crafts and decorative arts, housed in a historic mid-1800s landmark building of the French Second Empire style. On view on the first floor are temporary exhibits of American crafts and decorative arts. On the second floor, the museum's rich and diverse displays boast changing crafts exhibits and contemporary works from the museum's permanent collection.
Metro: Farragut West. Hours: Open daily, 10am to 5:30pm. Admission: Free.

UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM
The museum organizes some 900 artifacts and 70 video monitors to reveal the Jewish experience in 3 parts: Nazi Assault, Final Solution, and Last Chapter. The tour begins on the fourth floor, where exhibits portray the events of 1933 to 1939, the years of the Nazi rise to power. On the third floor (documenting 1940-44), exhibits illustrate the narrowing choices of people caught up in the Nazi machine. You board a Polish freight car of the type used to transport Jews from the Warsaw ghetto to Treblinka and hear recordings of survivors telling what life in the camps was like. The second floor recounts a more heartening story: It depicts how non-Jews throughout Europe, by exercising individual action and responsibility, saved Jews at great personal risk. Exhibits follow on the liberation of the camps, life in Displaced Persons camps, emigration to Israel and America, and the Nuremberg trials. The tour concludes in the hexagonal Hall of Remembrance, where you can meditate and light a candle for the victims. Free tickets may be obtained online or by calling (800) 400-9373.
Metro: Smithsonian. Hours: Open daily, 10am to 5:30pm. Admission: Free.