Metrorail: Smithsonian station.
For information about the Smithsonian, call 202-633-1000 (voice/tape), e-mail us at info@si.edu, or visit si.edu.
Begin your Smithsonian visit at the Smithsonian Visitor Center in the Smithsonian Institution Building (the Castle) on the National Mall, open daily, except December 25, from 8:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M.
The Smithsonian Institution is a complex of 19 museums, the National Zoological Park, and numerous research facilities. Seventeen museums and the Zoo are located in the Washington, DC, area. The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian, George Gustav Heye Center are in New York City.
Here is some basic information to help you plan your Smithsonian visit.
Admission to all Washington-area Smithsonian museums, the National Zoo, and the National Museum of the American Indian, George Gustav Heye Center in New York is free. The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York charges admission.
Most Smithsonian museums are open daily, except December 25, from 10 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. (Check museum listings in this guide.) Extended summer hours are determined each year. The Anacostia Community Museum is open from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. The Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery—located in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture—are open from 11:30 A.M. to 7 P.M. The National Zoo hours: March–October: grounds are open from 8 A.M. to 7 P.M. and buildings from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M. (unless otherwise posted); November–February: grounds are open from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. and buildings from 10 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. (unless otherwise posted).
“The Smithsonian Institution: America’s Treasure Chest” offers a tantalizing sample of the breadth and depth of the Smithsonian’s vast collections. Smithsonian Castle.
We recommend using public transportation, including taxis, when visiting Washington’s attractions. Metrorail, Washington’s subway system, and Metrobus link the downtown area with nearby communities in Maryland and Virginia. To locate the Metrorail station nearest the museum you wish to visit, see the individual museum entries in this guide. For more information, call Metro at 202-637-7000 (voice/tape) or visit the Web site wmata.com.
The Smithsonian does not operate public parking facilities. Limited restricted street parking is available on and around the National Mall; posted times are enforced. Some commercial parking can be found in the area.
M. F. K. Fisher (1908–1992) by Ginny Stanford (b. 1950), acrylic on canvas, 1991. National Portrait Gallery. © Ginny Stanford.
Open daily (except December 25) from 8:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. in the Castle, the Smithsonian Visitor Center makes a great “gateway” for your journey—here you can find a new, interactive way to plan a route through exhibitions; get a grasp of the scope and scale of the Smithsonian; see collections highlights from each Smithsonian museum; watch a panda cam; tour the Castle and marvel at 19th-century architecture; find out what’s going on around the Smithsonian; and consult with in-house experts about what to see and do. For general Smithsonian information, visit si.edu/contacts, call 202-633-1000 (voice/ tape), or write to Smithsonian Visitor Center, Smithsonian Institution, SI Building, Room 153, MRC 010, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012.
For information on access to the Smithsonian for visitors with disabilities, see the Web site at si.edu/visit/visitorswithdisabilites.
A wealth of information about the Smithsonian and its resources is available online at si.edu.
Make the Smithsonian Visitor Center in the Castle your first stop. It opens at 8:30 A.M., earlier than the museums, so it’s a great place to begin your visit. See here for details.
Video cameras are permitted for personal use in most museums. Photography is permitted in permanent-collection exhibitions but generally prohibited in special, temporary exhibitions. The use of flash attachments, monopods, tripods, and selfie sticks is prohibited in all buildings. Exceptions to these rules may occur in any exhibition or building. Ask at the information desk in the museum you are visiting for specific guidelines about photography.
Service animals are permitted in all Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo. Pets are prohibited.
Smoking is prohibited in all Smithsonian facilities including the gardens.
Food service is available in the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall and its Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia; the National Museum of African American History and Culture (opening in fall 2016); the National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center; the National Museum of Natural History; the National Museum of the American Indian; and the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture. The Castle Café offers light fare daily. The Zoo has a variety of fast-food services.
The Chinese Moon Gate in the Enid A. Haupt Garden frames a view of the Freer Gallery of Art.
Located in most Smithsonian museums, the stores carry books, crafts, graphics, jewelry, reproductions, toys, and gifts that relate to the museums’ collections.
The National Mall has traditionally been the setting for large-scale events in the nation’s capital.
A long, open, grassy stretch from the Capitol to the Washington Monument, the original National Mall was an important feature of Pierre L’Enfant’s 1791 plan for the city of Washington. He envisioned it as a “vast esplanade” lined with grand residences. Before the Smithsonian Institution Building (the Castle) was built in the mid-19th century, however, the National Mall was used mainly for grazing and gardens. To the west, beyond the spot where the Washington Monument now stands, were tidal flats and marshes. After those areas were gradually filled, the National Mall was officially extended in the 20th century to the Lincoln Memorial.
In 1850, New York horticulturist Andrew Jackson Downing was commissioned to landscape the National Mall. But his design, which called for curving carriage drives amid a grove of American evergreens, was only partly realized. By 1900, the National Mall had deteriorated. Its eyesores included a railroad station with sheds, tracks, and piles of coal. Two years later, work was begun to implement L’Enfant’s early concept. Over the years, much of his vision has become reality, with the National Mall now lined by rows of great museum buildings.
On the National Mall today, people jog, fly kites, toss Frisbees, or just stroll. Near the Castle, children ride on an old-fashioned carousel. For a time each summer, the colorful Smithsonian Folklife Festival fills the National Mall with traditional music and crafts. On the benches alongside the walkways, visitors rest while deciding which Smithsonian museum to explore next.
