National Building Museum

Address:	401 F St NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA
Phone:	+1 202-272-2448
Site:	nbm.org
Rating:	4
Working:	10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 11AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 8

A Private User

The architecture of this building is so wonderful and the atmosphere so peaceful. I think its the lack of people, the indoor fountain, and the plethora of light coming in from the clerestory windows that does it. I wish this place had wi-fi, because I would absolutely come and do work here. Its like an indoor, air conditioned park. The exhibits were a little to be desired. I personally enjoyed the lego exhibit and thought it was worth the $5 price tag. Those things are not easy to put together, so I could appreciate the time and effort that went into it. I only visited two other exhibits (Im not sure if there were others though, they may have only had the two). One on World Fairs held in America in the 1930s which was extremely complex. I didnt feel I had nearly enough time to explore it thoroughly, so I took the hour guided tour which wasnt the best tour Id ever been on (too many people, docent not loud enough, space not designed properly for tours, etc), but I did learn some interesting tid bits. That gallery has some pretty cool objects like old photographs and a giant robot with a hole in its "mouth" so it could smoke (haha. oh the 1930s). I think itll be worth the $8 admission charge come July. The building itself is worth that.

Wendy Brinton

Dont go here! Save your money! How in the world this museum gets any more than 1 star fm people is beyond us! Id give it zero, if I could! What a debacle! With the FREE Smithsonian museums (all wonderful!) so close, it was hard to pay $10 for adults, $7 ages 3-17 for our group, but we did, thinking it would be something unique. It was unique, all right! Uniquely devoid of displays! It seems to be a venue (they were setting up tables, equipment, and decorating for an event when we were there 5/24/16) for events, masquerading as a museum. There were some quotes on a wall, on the first floor, a few models of buildings beyond that, and then...lots of empty rooms with nothing at all in them! My son said he went there a year ago, and it was like this, but he thought they would surely have more in it by now: Not! When we saw how much of nothing was there, we asked about getting our money back (wed not been there long), but were told we could fill out a comment card, instead.

Krystal Ramirez

The National Building Museum had been on my to-do list for quite some time, and I finally went to check it out because I wanted to experience the "BIG Maze". I was super excited, and was expecting a lot given the $16 admission fee. Unfortunately, I cant say that it was worth it. In general, the NBM seems geared much more towards children than adults. The BIG Maze itself was not that impressive -- my friend and I completed it in just a few minutes. The exhibits werent that amazing either. Some were a little bit better than others, but in all we spent more time laughing at the absurdity of the displays (especially the use of random Twitter hashtags) than actually engaging with any of it. There also seems to be a lot of space that isnt being used, which is unfortunate because it has the potential to be a really great museum. Alas, check it out if you feel compelled to, but you might be disappointed.

Justin McAdam

The Building Museum runs in to that comparative problem that a lot of non-Smithsonian museums face in DC-- its competing against free museums that are arguably better. Plus, its the *National* *Building* museum but its not like it has a permanent collection of drawings/artifacts/models that relate to important American buildings. Rather, its just a rotating series of exhibits that relate to buildings. Having said that, if I see an exhibit that I think might be interesting, it typically delivers and is worth the $8-ish dollars they charge to walk through all of the various exhibits. The hall itself is pretty impressive but the scale and materials seem a little bit out of proportion. Overall, I wouldnt recommend it to someone whos visiting DC for 3-4 days, but its definitely worth checking out if you venture to DC regularly or are really drawn by one of the specific exhibits.

A Private User

Terrible museum. Definitely do NOT pay the admission here when they start charging at the end of June 2011. There are only a few exhibits which are mostly pictures and a LOT of explanatory text--if I wanted that, I would just read a book. There is a decided lack of artifacts or even models of buildings. Also, no photos are allowed in the exhibits at all, even permanent exhibits. Easily the best part of the museum is the gift shop, but even that pales in comparison to most of the ones on the Mall. The overhyped lego exhibit ($5 pp) is also a huge disappointment--you can see most of it from the windows on the outside, there are only a handful of buildings to look at, and while the style of architecture is cool (the lego buildings are not solid), once you see one or two youre pretty much done. Skip this, and definitely do not pay for it.

Jazmine Kiefer

When I first entered this museum I was blown away by the grand hall, it is lined with pillars and great examples of architecture. But when my initial awe wore off I started to realize the flaws. I only really have 2 complaints: 1. The museum isnt filled to the maximun capacity. I didnt feel like the museum utilized all its space, they should have way more displays, because I got through the whole museum in what I think was a short amount of time. 2. The maze which I have heard a lot about really isnt that hard in my opinion, they should at the very least make it longer somehow. Other than those two flaws, I have to say that what displays they did have were awesome, I specially liked the lego buildings. It seems weird but you need to go see for youself to understand what legos are doing in a museum.

Petra Holden

This is not a Smithsonian, so you have to pay quite a bit to enter. If you plan to come more than once a year, consider purchasing the family membership. The inside architecture is breathtaking; the columns are so much more impressive than you expect them to be. There is a building zone play room for small children which comes with admission, but you have to request a time slot. They fill up quickly in the morning. Its a nice indoor playspace on rainy days, but the toys are old and much used. The second floor has additional play space for children to build. There are a variety of interesting rotating exhibits, and is a must stop for anyone with an engineering interest. Pay for parallel parking on-street, or take the metro.

Colten Rohleder

This is such a historic building and phenomenal museum because of how much you can learn just by taking the free, self-guided tour! Sure you can pay for a docent to take you around, and I encourage you too (especially as youll learn a LOT more and see restricted areas), but if youre strapped on time and wanna enjoy a quiet tour, this is the place to do it. If you have little ones this is also a top choice on the museum list, as there is little to break, a massive Blue Room to play in, and the Builders Corner. Not to mention the massive, carpeted atrium with interactive building options. Being immediately above the Judiciary Square Metro stop also makes this an ideal option no matter the weather!