20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C.
Art Museum of the Americas is one of 20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C..

1. Art Museum of the Americas

7.0
201 18th St NW, Washington, D.C.
Museo de arte · Northwest Washington · 6 tips y reseñas

DCistDCist: All told, a permanent gathering of about 2,000 paintings, sculptures, installation pieces, prints, drawings and photographs are on display. Leer más.

Lillian & Albert Small Jewish Museum is one of 20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C..

2. Lillian & Albert Small Jewish Museum

701 3rd St NW (at G St.), Washington, D.C.
Museo histórico · Downtown-Penn Quarter-Chinatown · 2 tips y reseñas

DCistDCist: Today, the Adas Israel congregation is the oldest synagogue structure in Washington and hosts a treasure trove of Jewish historical items specific to the Washington, D.C. area. Leer más.

3. The Women's Equality National Monument

144 Constitution Ave NE, Washington, D.C.
Monumento · Northeast Washington · 1 tip

DCistDCist: Until earlier this year known as the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum, this Capitol Hill mansion has served as a seat of the women’s suffrage and equal rights movements since 1929. Leer más.

Blind Whino is one of 20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C..

4. Blind Whino

8.3
700 Delaware Avenue SW (at H St SW), Washington, D.C.
Galería de arte · Southwest - Waterfront · 9 tips y reseñas

DCistDCist: It’s an old Baptist church the congregation abandoned for two decades after moving to new digs. A group of artists found the building and covered it in a vibrant mural. Leer más.

Textile Museum is one of 20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C..

5. Textile Museum

2320 S St NW (23rd St), Washington, D.C.
Museo de arte · Kalorama · 7 tips y reseñas

DCistDCist: This museum is dedicated to rugs, flags, and other pieces of textile art. The museum’s regular collection includes rugs dating back to 3,000 BCE and specializes in pieces from Asia. Leer más.

Anacostia Community Museum is one of 20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C..

6. Anacostia Community Museum

8.2
1901 Fort Pl SE, Washington, D.C.
Museo · Southeast Washington · 5 tips y reseñas

DCistDCist: Likely the most overlooked of the Smithsonian Institutions, it is also one of the closest things we have to a museum of D.C. history—with a particular emphasis on the neighborhood where it sits. Leer más.

National Bonsai and Penjing Museum is one of 20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C..

7. National Bonsai and Penjing Museum

8.9
Washington, D.C.
Jardín · National Arboretum · 10 tips y reseñas

DCistDCist: Yeah, this is exactly what you think it is: a big museum full of 150 of the sickest freaking bonsai trees you will ever see. Ensconced in pagodas, water features, and beautiful Chinese architecture. Leer más.

8. Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum

437 7th St NW, Washington, D.C.
Museo histórico · Penn Quarter · 2 tips y reseñas

DCistDCist: Most people know the short history of Clara Barton: The Civil War nurse who founded the Red Cross. This museum is the office where Barton and a few others helped an estimated 22,000 families reunite. Leer más.

DC Fire & EMS Museum is one of 20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C..

9. DC Fire & EMS Museum

439 New Jersey Ave NW, Washington, D.C.
Museo histórico · Downtown-Penn Quarter-Chinatown · 1 tip

DCistDCist: Housed on one floor of a working fire station, there are artifacts from helmets to old-fashioned fire trampolines (or whatever they’re really called). Some of them date back to the 18th century. Leer más.

Laogai Museum is one of 20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C..

10. Laogai Museum

6.9
1734 20th St NW (at S St NW), Washington, D.C.
Museo histórico · Northwest Washington · 4 tips y reseñas

DCistDCist: The Laogai is a brick-and-mortar indictment of China’s long-standing forced labor camps. The museum offers a fascinating, multi-media look at the prison camps that allegedly still operate there today. Leer más.

Marian Koshland Science Museum is one of 20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C..

11. Marian Koshland Science Museum

525 E St NW (at 6th St NW), Washington, D.C.
Museo de Ciencias · Penn Quarter · 7 tips y reseñas

DCistDCist: An Earth Lab, a Life Lab, and an Idea Lab comprise this STEM haven. Interactive games and experiments are the focal point here, with a liberal dose of current events and state-of-the-art tech. Leer más.

The Octagon House is one of 20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C..

12. The Octagon House

1799 New York Ave NW (at E St NW), Washington, D.C.
Estructura · Connecticut Avenue - K Street · 5 tips y reseñas

DCistDCist: The Treaty of Ghent, which formally ended the War of 1812, was signed within its walls. A small museum inside the mansion preserves original artifacts. Leer más.

James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library is one of 20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C..

13. James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library

908 Charles St (Univ. of Mary Washington), Fredericksburg, VA
Biblioteca universitaria · Downtown Fredericksburg · 3 tips y reseñas

DCistDCist: Did you know Monroe was a soldier in the American Revolution and was almost killed in the famous Battle of Trenton? And of course that’s to say nothing of the Monroe Doctrine. Leer más.

14. Drug Enforcement Agency Museum

700 Army Navy Dr, Arlington, VA
Museo · 1 tip

DCistDCist: Drug concealment artifacts capture the eye and a detailed photographic history of illegal drugs and the war against them in America provide a rich education. Leer más.

Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum is one of 20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C..

15. Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum

6.3
105 S Fairfax St, Alexandria, VA
Museo histórico · Old Town · 4 tips y reseñas

DCistDCist: Martha Washington and Robert E. Lee used to pop in to this drug store, which boasts a massive collection of antique medical equipment and herbal remedies that were used centuries ago. Leer más.

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is one of 20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C..

16. Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

8.2
213 N Talbot St, Saint Michaels, MD
Museo histórico · 12 tips y reseñas

DCistDCist: Their website declares it as being “dedicated to preserving and exploring the history, environment and people of the Chesapeake Bay.” They do it with things like a replica crab-processing plant. Leer más.

National Museum of Civil War Medicine is one of 20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C..

17. National Museum of Civil War Medicine

7.2
48 E Patrick St (N Maxwell Ave), Frederick, MD
Museo histórico · Downtown Frederick · 8 tips y reseñas

DCistDCist: Lay down your bullet-biting stereotypes and learn a little something. Learn about the ways in which the war incubated the modern hospital and plenty of other medical advances we take for granted. Leer más.

National Capital Trolley Museum is one of 20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C..

18. National Capital Trolley Museum

6.9
1313 Bonifant Rd, Colesville, MD
Museo histórico · 6 tips y reseñas

DCistDCist: This is about as interactive as museums get. Visitors can ride preserved streetcars out into the wooded areas around the museum. Trolleys from as far as Belgium and Germany round out the collection. Leer más.

College Park Aviation Museum is one of 20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C..

19. College Park Aviation Museum

6.7
1985 Corporal Frank Scott Dr, College Park, MD
Museo · 9 tips y reseñas

DCistDCist: Wilbur Wright trained the first army pilots right here, across the street from the University of Maryland campus and six blocks or so from R.J. Bentley’s. Leer más.

National Museum of Health and Medicine is one of 20 of the Best off the Beaten Path Museums in D.C..

20. National Museum of Health and Medicine

6.9
2500 Linden Ln (The Forest Glen Annex), Silver Spring, MD
Museo histórico · 15 tips y reseñas

DCistDCist: Preserved bodies displaying exotic diseases and other conditions do appear in the collections. There’s plenty more to see, like historical artifacts on vaccinations and wartime medicine. Leer más.