Spy Museum / National Portrait Gallery / Monument Walk

The International Spy Museum is the only public museum in the United States dedicated to the tradecraft, history, and contemporary role of espionage. We will experience their interactive exhibits and installations, the foremost collection of spy artifacts in the world, and first-person accounts from top intelligence officers and experts. In other words, we will become spies. We’ll learn about the hidden world of intelligence and espionage that have played critical roles in our past and are important now and in the future too.

The Museum’s mission is to educate the public about espionage and intelligence in an engaging way and to provide a context that fosters understanding of their important role in, and impact on, current and historic events. We will go undercover and test our spy skills on a mission as we travel the permanent exhibitions. We’ll also each get a secret spy identity! This enables the tracking of each spy’s performance and is used to provide needed information for debriefing upon the conclusion of the mission.

Now that we have been fully trained, each agent will receive a mission for each location we visit. The first stop will be the National Portrait Gallery. There we will use our spy skills to uncover information about the faces and stories of the people who shaped our nation. I wonder how many of them were spies and we never found out! We will spend time seeing the “American Origins” exhibit where we will browse through the galleries to see Pocahontas, Benjamin Franklin, Harriet Beecher Stowe, John Brown, Sojourner Truth, and others who shaped the country. We will also see the “America’s Presidents” gallery which features every U.S. president, including Gilbert Stuart’s “Lansdowne” portrait of George Washington, Mathew Brady’s “cracked-plate” portrait of Abraham Lincoln, and likenesses of Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, and George H.W. Bush.

Capitol Hill / Library of Congress / Supreme Court / Washington Monument / National Mall

The United States Capitol is a monument, a working office building, and one of the most recognizable symbols of representative democracy in the world. The Capitol Visitor Center, the main entrance to the U.S. Capitol, is located beneath the East Front plaza of the U.S. Capitol at First Street and East Capitol Street.

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world! There are literally millions of books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps, and manuscripts in it collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. The Library preserves and provides access to a rich, diverse, and enduring source of knowledge to inform, inspire, and engage you in your intellectual and creative endeavors.

The Supreme Court Building, majestic in size and rich in ornamentation, serves as both home to the nation’s highest Court and the manifest symbol of its importance as a coequal, independent branch of government. Although the Supreme Court does not offer guided walking tours, visitors are encouraged to tour public portions of the building on a self-guided basis and take advantage of a variety of educational programs, including courtroom lectures, a visitor film, and court-related exhibitions. In addition to the Courtroom, portions of the first and ground floors are open to the public. Highlights include the John Marshall statue, portraits and busts of former Justices, and two self-supporting marble staircases. The Courtroom is located on the first floor.

The Washington Monument was designed by Robert Mills and eventually completed by Thomas Casey and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It honors and memorializes George Washington at the center of the nation’s capital. The structure was completed in two phases of construction, one private (1848-1854) and one public (1876-1884). Built in the shape of an Egyptian obelisk, evoking the timelessness of ancient civilizations, the Washington Monument embodies the awe, respect, and gratitude the nation felt for its most essential Founding Father. At the time it was completed, the Washington Monument was the tallest building in the world at 555 feet, 5-1/8 inches.

According to the American Institute of Architects, half of Americans’ top 12 favorite architectural gems line the National Mall. There’s no denying the significance of the Mall for its symbols to American history and for its uniquely designed monuments. So, when you come to D.C., it’s likely that these world-famous monuments and memorials will be at the top of your must-see list. That is why they are on our list too! Touring Washington, D.C.’s monumental core at night will give us a different perspective. Crowds are smaller and the city is quieter, so we’ll have more time for reflection and for truly enjoying the monuments. The memorials are run by the National Park Service (NPS), and they are usually staffed by NPS Rangers who can answer our questions and give us information from 9:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Add-on Museum of the Bible

Experience The Bible Like Never Before. Over 3500 Years Of Biblical History. Immerse Yourself With Exhibits Featuring Ancient Artifacts, Manuscripts, And More. Rare Biblical Texts. Learn About the Bible. Bible Exhibits & Archives