Make sure to take time to read the letters and watch the video in the "Letters From Home" military section.
Visitors can watch the court in session M-W, from October-April, with admission on a first-come, first-served basis.
All American, 24-7; This is one of the few official sites where the American Flag is required to be flown at all times.
The memorial currently consists of three separate parts: the Three Soldiers statue, the Vietnam Women's Memorial & the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, where over 58,000 names are engraved.
The Washington Monument was formally dedicated on February 22, 1885, and at the time of its construction, it was the tallest building in the world; it remains the tallest stone structure in the world.
Did you know that one of the windows contains a moon rock? There is a tiny piece of the moon embedded in the 'Space Window,' delivered there personally by the astronauts who brought it back. Read more.
Dedicated in April 1979, coinciding with Einstein's 100th birthday, the statue is 12 feet tall and weighs about 4 tons. Watch this 90 second C-SPAN YouTube video about the memorial. Read more.
The Smithsonian Institution was founded for the "increase and diffusion" of knowledge from a bequest to the United States by the British scientist James Smithson, who had never visited the US himself.
Originally called the National Air Museum when it was formed on August 12, 1946 by an act of Congress, some pieces in the National Air and Space Museum collection date back to 1876.
That's a big rock! Did you know Harry Winston mailed this to the Smithsonian? That post office is now the Postal Museum! Check it out!
LOVE the "open" conservation labs and storage! An interesting side to museums that you rarely see. Don't leave without seeing this part of the museum on the third floor mezzanine and fourth floor.
Walk to all the museums via the Mall or just stroll from the Capitol to Lincoln Memorial - its the quintessential walk in DC (WH,Cap,Smithsonian,Wash Mem,Lincoln Mem,WW2 Mem,Vietnam Mem,Korea Mem,etc)
The Capitol is among the most architecturally impressive and symbolically important buildings in the world. Begun in 1793, the Capitol has been built, burnt, rebuilt, extended, and restored.
Tuesday nights in summer the Navy band(s) give concerts. Incredibly cool. Starts at 8p.
Completed in 1908, the station was the largest train station in the world at the time it was built. In fact, if put on its side, the Washington Monument could lay within the confines of the station.
Be sure to take the catwalk through the leaf canopy in the jungle room.
What is your favorite indoor activity in Washington D.C.? The Fairmont Washington, D.C.: "The museums – newly renovated National Portrait Gallery." Read more.
Tours of the Capitol building can be arranged through the Visitor Center website (or by calling or emailing your Representative's or Senator's office a few weeks in advance).
The main reading room is known as the Sacred Room, and is absolutely stunning.
Find out how a tattered flag from World War II’s epic battle for Iwo Jima became the subject of the Nation’s most famous war photograph.
