National Geographic Museum
The National Geographic Museum showcases stories of exploration, science, history, and culture.
The National Geographic Museum is location on the first floor of the society’s headquarters building. The outside of the building features a photography exhibit, in keeping with the magazine’s reputation for stunning photos. Visiting the museum is like an interactive exploration of a National Geographic magazine article. Exhibits are focused on stories of discovery and exploration, often highlighting untold aspects of familiar themes. For example, while most discussions of ancient Egypt focus on the pharaohs, the recent Queens of Egypt exhibit at the National Geographic Museum explores the accomplishments and contributions of the women who ruled Egypt.
The museum itself is quite small with two main gallery spaces. Typically, the museum has one exhibition that spans both spaces. Occasionally, however, there are two exhibits. As you enter the museum, the ticket counter is on the left. After purchasing your ticket, you’ll enter the museum and move through the exhibit space counterclockwise, crossing over into the second gallery, and ending up back at the museum entrance. There is a well-defined path to follow through the museum, making it easy to see everything.
For each exhibit, the National Geographic Museum incorporates technology to allow visitors to interact with the story and explore the topic more in-depth. For the Queens of Egypt exhibit, a 3D movie provided a tour of Queen Nefertari’s tomb. For their upcoming exhibit, there will be a 3D tour of Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania and a life-size hologram of Jane Goodall.
In addition to technology, the National Geographic Museum exhibits include interactive stations that help break up the typical museum experience of reading text and looking at objects. From hieroglyphic tiles that can be rearranged to spell your name to a reproduction one of the world’s oldest board games to a perfume station with various scents, taking time to participate in these activities will add to your museum experience.
Due to the small size of the National Geographic Museum, it’s best to visit when you are interested in the topic covered by the current exhibition. I’ve enjoyed the three exhibits I’ve seen – the South Pole expedition exhibit, the large Titanic exhibit in 2012, and the most recent Queens of Egypt exhibit. I recommend visiting the museum website before planning a visit to find out what the current exhibition is. If the subject doesn’t appeal to you, it probably isn’t worth the ticket price to visit this museum during that exhibition. During busy times, timed admission is used, and you may be required to wait to enter the museum if you haven’t purchased tickets in advance. I have never purchased my tickets in advance and have always been able to go right in, though.
The next National Geographic Museum exhibition, Becoming Jane, opens November 22, 2019, and runs through summer 2020. It will explore the life and work of Dr. Jane Goodall, who is best known for her long-term research on the behavior of chimpanzees in Tanzania. It looks like it will definitely be worth a visit to the museum to check it out.
Like this adventure? Subscribe to the newsletter to get updates with the latest adventures on the blog, ideas for things to do in DC, and tips for exploring the District.
Address
1145 17th Street NW
Metro Station
- Farragut North (RD)
- Farragut West (OR, BL, SV)
- Dupont Circle (RD)
- McPherson Square (OR, BL, SV)
Cost
$15.00
Hours
Open daily from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Length of Adventure
2-3 hours
Website
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/events/visit/
