What you need to know about the International Spy Museum

Washington, D.C. has lots of art, history and nature museums, but did you know they also have a Spy Museum? In 2019, the International Spy Museum moved across Washington, D.C. to their new home in L’Enfant Plaza. So what do you need to know?

Spy Museum Intel

This museum has the largest collection of international espionage artifacts on public display. These artifacts shine a light on the work of spies and their operations. It also helps us to understand the strategies and approaches of some of the most secretive missions in history.

The International Spy Museum is open daily from 9:00 am – 7:00 pm. On Friday and Saturdays, they stay open until 8:00 pm. Check their website for holiday hours.

Building-1024x764 What you need to know about the International Spy Museum

General admission is $24.95 for adults and $14.95 for youth ages 7-12. Kids 6 and under are free. Seniors, Military, Law Enforcement, and College Students are $19.95. You can save $2 per adult ticket if you purchase online. I highly recommend purchasing tickets online. This will give you a timed entry so you avoid long ticket lines. Expect to spend 2-3 hours, at least, at the museum.

The Spy Museum is best suited for older kids, teenagers, and adults. Our 7 year old did okay but worked on her mission with an adult. A lot of things were too complicated for her to understand. Our 10 and 12-year-olds did much better. Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

James-Bond-car-1024x768 What you need to know about the International Spy Museum — James Bond car

Upon arriving at the Spy Museum you will go through security then be directed to elevators that will take you to the 5th floor. There you will start your mission in the Briefing Center. You’ll receive your cover identity and will prepare to test your spy skills as you wander the museum on your undercover mission. Each guest is given a lanyard with an RFID-enabled card. This card tracks your performance on interactive activities and at the end provides you with a debrief. Pay close attention to details in this room.

How to Spy

After watching a short film, you are then guided into Stealing Secrets. This room includes Tools of the Trade, Spies & Spymasters, and Looking, Listening, Sensing. We found this room very crowded and hard to enjoy. We ended up skipping a good portion. As we moved into the next room the crowd level thinned out somewhat.

Risk-and-Trust-1024x747 What you need to know about the International Spy Museum

The next area is Making Sense of Secrets. Here you will learn about Codes, Analysis, and Decision Making. Make sure you do a good portion of the interactive kiosks. These help you complete your mission. They are also a lot of fun!

The following area is Covert Action where you will find out about mission failures and successes. There are some really cool interactive activities in this room. Our kids really loved crawling through the tunnel and seeing how long they could hang.

Covert-Action-682x1024 What you need to know about the International Spy Museum — Covert Action

Why Spy?

Next, you head downstairs to the 4th floor and Spying That Shaped History. This area is comprised of lots of smaller rooms: License to Thrill, Cyber: The New Battlefield, Top Secret, Spying in WWII, Fateful Failures, and the Why Spy? Theater. You will delve into records from the American Revolution to 21st-century cyber warfare. Be sure to visit each room, your mission may depend on it.

Afterward, head into An Uncertain World. Here you will find areas on Interrogation, Turncoats & Traitors, Cold War Berlin, The Spy Next Door, and Spying in the Marketplace. A word of caution, the Interrogation room contains sensitive content. It explores waterboarding and may be upsetting to younger children. Parents should use their best judgment. Again do as many of the interactive activities as you can. This is your last room before your Mission Debrief.

Trabant-1024x768 What you need to know about the International Spy Museum — Trabant used to secretly transport people.

The final room is the Debriefing Center. Here you will receive your Undercover Mission conduct debrief which summarizes your top spy skills. Your debrief can be emailed to you if you choose.

Museum Store

Before leaving The International Spy Museum take a stroll through the Spy Museum Store. The store itself is worth a visit. It features a wide selection of spy products that are fascinating. They also have a large collection of books and gifts.

There are no concessions inside the museum. Right next door in L’Enfant Plaza you can find a wide variety of restaurants and other vendors. A Metro station is also in the Plaza.

Conclusion

While our family enjoyed the content and the array of interactive activities, we found the museum to be too crowded. To really get the most out of the museum there needed to be fewer people. We found lines at all the “good” activities. Even arriving at opening time, we struggled to escape the crowds. Mid-week or later in the day visits may be preferred.