Search Results for: art museum

Children's Museums | family travel | museums | Washington DC
International Spy Museum in Washington DC
ByJennRecord August 6, 2019May 23, 2025
Original opened in the Penn Quarter section of Washington DC in 2002, the International Spy Museum expanded and moved to its current located between the National Mall and the Wharf and reopened in 2019. The museum is home to the largest collection of spy related artifacts open to the public. The 8 floor museum includes two floors of exhibits; a theater for screenings, films, and presentations; a Learning Center for workshops, classes, and professional development for teachers; and a lobby and museum store.
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Children's Museums | family travel | museums | Washington DC
National Building Museum in Washington DC
ByJennRecord July 24, 2019May 23, 2025
The National Building Museum, located in downtown Washington DC, opened in 1985 after over a century of previous functions. Built in the late 18th century as the headquarters for the US Pension Bureau and as a honor to the men who fought in the Civil War, the space later hosted hundreds of celebratory functions in the nation’s capitol, including many presidential inauguration balls. It took over 15 million bricks to build the structure which includes a Great Hall, over a dozen gallery rooms, classrooms, meeting spaces, offices, and 234 busts (look up!) and 144 Doric style columns on the first and second floor.
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family travel | history | Manhattan | New York | New York City | Presidential Sites | presidents
Fraunces Tavern Museum in New York City
ByJennRecord July 17, 2019May 23, 2024
Built as the Delancey Mansion in 1719, Samuel Fraunces purchased the building in 1762 and turned it into a tavern, later offering it as a place for political and social gatherings and distribution of news. The tavern became known as the Fraunces Tavern and is most famously recognized as the spot where George Washington said goodbye to his Continental Army officers on December 4, 1783. The tavern is also the spot where the first Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York (who own and oversee the museum) formed and the first offices of the Departments of Foreign Affairs, War, and Treasury.
The Fraunces Tavern Museum opened as a museum in 1907 and will celebrate its 300th birthday in 2019, with several special celebrations planned (check here for updates). The museum has over 8500 items in the permanent collection and rotates items on display.
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Cape Cod | Children's Museums | family travel | Massachusetts | pirates
Whydah Pirate Museum In West Yarmouth MA
ByJennRecord July 2, 2019March 29, 2023
Opened in June of 2016, the Whydah Pirate Museum showcases the ruins of the Whydah ship and the only full pirate treasure ever discovered in the world. The Whydah, a slave ship eventually overtaken by pirates, was built in 1715 in London and sailed to West Africa before heading to America. Captured by Sam Bellamy and fellow pirates, a Nor’Easter sank the ship off the shores of Cape Cod during the early morning hours of April 27, 1717. Only 2 of the 146 men (130 pirates and 16 prisoners) on the ship survived.
In 1984, Barry Clifford discovered the wreckage off the coast of Wellsfleet, Massachusetts. Archaeologists and divers search through the wreckage between June and October each year searching for more treasures and bring artifacts back to the lab for cleaning, preservation, and display at the museum.
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family travel | museums | Pigeon Forge | Tennessee
The Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
ByJennRecord June 5, 2019September 10, 2023
Most people know of the Titanic disaster from the popular 1998 film by James Cameron starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. But how much do you really know about the ship that was the length of 4 city blocks took 15,000 people two years to build, and less than three hours to sink in the early morning hours of April 14, 1912, with only 712 of the 2208 passengers and crew members surviving?
On a recent visit to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, we spent the morning exploring the Titanic Museum, located right on Route 441 in the heart of all the action (and less than a half hour from an entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Read about our adventures in the park here). The other Titanic Museum in America is located in Branson, Missouri.
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family travel | Manhattan | museums | New York | New York City | ships | submarines
Intrepid Sea, Air, & Space Museum in New York City
ByJennRecord May 22, 2019September 5, 2022
My family is fortunate to live close enough to New York City that we make regular day trips into the city to explore different areas. You can read more about our suggestions for Things to Do in New York City on a Rainy Day (or a sunny day!) and Things to Do during the Holiday Season in New York City. We’ve driven by The Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum several times and were invited to visit this past week ahead of the Fleet Week festivities.
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