National Geographic Museum

1145 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA

Address:	1145 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA
Phone:	+1 202-857-7700
Site:	nationalgeographic.org
Rating:	3.9
Working:	10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 9

Richard Holley

I finally got a chance to visit this museum this past weekend and it was pretty great overall. New visitors should be warned though that if youre expecting something on the scale of a Smithsonian then youll be disappointed. The exhibits span the bottom floors of two adjoining buildings (maybe more like 1 and a half) and rotate every few months. The two main exhibits right now are a pretty moving collection of portraits of various animal species. A number of them are rare, endangered, or already extinct so the exhibit notes that these may be the only portraits of them that ever exist. Very sad. The other exhibit is an Indiana Jones prop collection that utilizes audio and video headsets to guide your through props from all four movies, behind the scenes information, storyboards, and stories from production. Nat Geo was also smart in that they integrated real life archaeological exhibits in this display so that you could understate how the real process plays out and where the movie drew its inspiration from. The only negative is that due to the small size of the walkways it can get cramped as everyone just tends to stop in order to watch their tablet screens. The exhibit in the other building is an undersea photo gallery that documents efforts to protect more of the worlds oceans. This building also houses a movie theater thats currently showing a 3d film on Jerusalem that is narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch. Its worth a watch for the scenery and aerial shots alone! Last bit of advice, when you buy your tickets theyll give you an entry time to actually go into the museum. For me it was 30 minutes later but Id imagine it could be longer during busier hours. Plan for the potential wait!

Paulette Paglia

How cheap and small-minded some people are to complain about a mere $15 museum entry fee. When these very same people will spend much more on forgettable movies, or fast food. Please take the unwarranted complaints and 1 star reviews with a grain of salt. This is a real museum. National Geographic exhibits are curated with thought, care and love by true professionals. What floor its on doesnt matter. Square footage doesnt matter either. The current exhibit, The Greeks is breathtaking. What matters is that our friends to the North (Canadians) collaborated with friends to the East (Greeks) and now were lucky enough to have this special exhibit in Washington. See it before it closes in early October 16. The Greeks: Agamemnon to Alexander the Great is an astonishing exhibit in both scope and depth. From The Huffington Post: Ancient objects, both original and copies, from 22 different Greek museums, including the National Archaeological Museum, the Monetary Museum, the Epigraphic Museum, the Acropolis Museum and the Archaeological Museums of Thessaloniki and Heraklion, arrived in Montreal under tight security from the other side of the Atlantic. Spanning five millenia covering nine historic periods, from the prehistoric to the late Hellenistic, the spectacle’s objective is to familiarize the visitor with ancient Greek civilization.

Joshua Meeter

I truly enjoyed the National Geographic Museum. It was relatively small, in comparison to the Smithsonians, and it isnt free. That probably helped it to get such one of a kind exhibits and displays that you cant find anywhere else. I went on a weekday afternoon and was able to enjoy the museum almost completely to myself. They have rotating exhibits and I was lucky enough to catch one about wildlife photography and another about Indiana Jones. As far as I can tell these are the official props from the movie. They had the hat & whip, various outfits, and possibly every artifact Indy ever touched. It managed to seamlessly weave archaeology into the exhibit and was very informative. The photography exhibit was a stunning display of animals large and small, common and endangered, made to increase awareness of the plight of all creatures. I was happy enough with my visit to the museum to purchase a dual membership. I feel the benefits that I will get from the magazine, various exhibits, and movies over the next year are worth the price and the proceeds go to a great cause.

Krystal Ramirez

I didnt hate the National Geographic Museum, but I didnt love it either. What bumped it up from two to three stars was that their "Peruvian Gold" exhibit was really pretty awesome, albeit not very extensive at all. The artifacts on display were so interesting, and they were displayed in a great way -- just wish there had been more to see. And, I was not at all impressed by the other two exhibits -- "Mars Up Close" and then various photographs located around the exterior of the building. Although seeing a full scale model of the Curiosity rover was kind of neat, everything else was not that engaging. (For instance, the photos didnt even really have captions for context.) Given the steep admission fee ($11 for adults), I would not go back again.

Daniel Daza

Mi familia y yo esperábamos más de este museo. Tiene únicamente dos salones de exhibiciones, otro sobre facts de la empresa y una tienda de regalos. Los salones son puras fotos y pocos artículos realmente impactantes. Lo mejor del museo es su tienda. Tener en cuenta que es uno de los museos en DC que cobra entrada y realmente no es muy económica (+o- $15)

A Private User

I grew up reading the National Geographic magazine that our Aunt Olive bought for us each Christmas. For a small town Iowa girl, the places the magazine took me were beyond my imagination. In high school, the pictures provided me with amazingly funny "illustrations" as I wrote to friends about imagined trips I took and people I befriended around the world. I HAD TRAVELED even though I rarely made it out of Burlington. Now, our daughter, Elizabeth, works at National Geographic in D.C. She has traveled around the world (really), and has learned to embrace the places and people that I only saw in pictures. I love Elizabeth so much and miss her but am happy to think of her spending her days at such an amazing place!

Neil Hendrick

There are really great public exhibits that you can see any time. Visit the outdoor sculpture area, the wonderful #D relief of the Grand Canyon hanging over the elevator area, and sometimes the adjacent building has extended free exhibits. The low rating is due to the hit or miss nature of the paid exhibit area. You might get lucky and see classical sculptures from ancient Greece, or you might just see photos from NatGeo contests. Thats $15 to walk through an instagram feed in a town where the worlds greatest museums are free. In other words, dont go unless the exhibit is something you really want to see, or just pop in to see the free bits when you are in the area.

Lauren Schwartz

To call this a museum is an insult to the other amazing museums in the area. Although I expected it to be small I was not expecting it to be composed of a SINGLE exhibit. Literally the ground floor of their office headquarters the "museum" wraps around in a haphazard tangled mess. The staff were not at all nice. When we asked about other exhibits we were grumpily told to go across the courtyard to their other building. The Yellowstone presentation consisted of floor poster like boards which were basic to say the least. The only memorable thing I left the "museum" with was a huge sense of disappointment and a wish for my money back.

Scotty ST

This is a great museum, but is small and pricy. They have different exhibits whenever I come. The exhibits have been exotic birds and other animals when I have visited. I do not visit often generally because it is a musuem you must pay for. There are many other mueums in Washington D.C. that are better and free, which is why I do not go often. This museum is good for children as it is very interactive. The museums shop is fun and you can buy an Atlas, stuffed anaimals, books and toys for children. This is a mueum anyone should visit while in D.C. as showcases very good exhibits and findings.