On a more serious note, my son and I will be heading in to Washington, DC on Wednesday morning for some sightseeing. We're going to see things like the National Museums, take some pictures of the major landmarks either in the distance or close-up, etc. Most of it is free -- at least that's the stuff we'll be seeing.
"
National Museums"--
plural !? Ha, ha! Hahaha! Hahahahahahaha! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
You silly,
silly person! You can't
"see" more than 1 of the Smithsonian Museums
in 1 day--not without feeling an intense sense of regret that you
missed more than you
saw! Be that as it may:
• <
https://www.si.edu/visit/>.
• <
https://www.si.edu/visit/floorplans>.
The latter URL includes a small map (with a link to a PDF) that reveals a modern bonus: There are now 8 Metro stations in & around the National Mall, not just the 1 that I identified in a previous posting. Note esp. the "Smithsonian (Mall Exit)" on the E.-W. axis thro' the Capit
ol and G.W. Monument (spanning a trifle more than 1 mile).
Just as a guess, my recommendation would have you starting with the
American History Museum:
• <
http://americanhistory.si.edu/>.
It's b
iiig, so it might be prudent to prepare yourself and your son, in advance,
emotionally, for wanting to see still more inside when the guards are ushering you
out into the warm evening air of the approaching D.C. summer[¢].
Ohhh [exxxpletives deleted] ! Being the detail-oriented guy I am, I just checked:
The Museum is open 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day except December 25. Admission is always free and no tickets are required. The schedule is subject to change so please check our website for the latest information. [†]
It's the American History Museum that has the
Computer History Collection. Altho' the Smithsonian Web page's persistent use of
past tense makes me verrry uncomfortable in recommending that Collection specifically, out of fear that everything computerish might have been stowed away, out of view of visitors (but that would be
sooo unSmithsonian).
• <
http://americanhistory.si.edu/comphist/>.
I see that the [Industrial] Arts & Industries Building is closed for renovation withf apparently unscheduled completion. A
pity. It was once had seniority as the "Old National Museum" (1881), and now has that appealing 19th Century
character that's so well suited to a museum whose name reminds me of "Decimal System" Dewey trying to organize
all the knowledge of his time.[×]
• <
https://www.si.edu/museums/arts-and-industries-building>.
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Note ¢: Ooops. Forecast highs ~70°F!? I coulda swored it was usually warmer than that--it's likely
Finals Week for 1 or more local universities. But it might not matter to you at all, because I suspect that the 1 that's probably still most populous: U.Md., is even more of a
commuter school than decades ago, and it's more than 90° clockwise around the Beltway (i.e.: College Park, off U.S. 1) from Vienna or Tyson's Corner.
Note †:
Sigh! My apologies for being the bearer of unpleasant news. I had already written in early lines of my draft reply: "For your sake, I hope they're already on their
summer hours; their 5 p.m.
winter closings were real
downers. So nowadays, there's no longer any seasonal difference.
Bummer.Note ×: I surely hope that its management hasn't engaged some
Novus Ordo Philistine architect who routinely performs
wreckovations. But I digress.