On Friday morning, six of us piled into Chance's Lincoln Town Car headed for Washington, D.C. The day was dreary, but our spirits were high. We stopped at an IHop and had breakfast and then made the rest of our way to D.C. Our destination: The International Spy Museum.


(Photo courtesy of http://www.visitingdc.com/)

The museum was much larger than I anticipated. The layout was interesting - various sections of the museum had different themes. Each section had a great deal of information that catered to adults but also had plenty of hands-on activities to entertain children. Its downfall was that it was just a bit too loud and bright. There was always a lot of noise going on - kids running around screaming and loud videos blaring - and different sections of the museum had bright, flashing lights. Three hours after entering, I left with a headache and a major case of sensory overload. It is a very nice, well put together museum but I think it might be teetering on the edge of too much.

There were definitely certain areas of the museum that I found more interesting than others. I thought the various spy gadgets were fascinating, such as the lipstick gun.


(Image via http://www.gizmag.com/)

I also liked the section about celebrities involved in espionage (like Marlene Dietrich) and was shocked by the WWII posters like this one:


(Image courtesy of http://www.wwii-collectibles.com/)

There was definitely a lot to see. I think there is something for everyone at this museum. Overall, I had a good time, but it was rather exhausting. As far as museums go, I would prefer to explore the (free of charge) Smithsonian instead of paying the $18 for the Spy Museum. Nonetheless, it would be worth the trip for spy fans and more entertaining for kids than much of what the Smithsonian has to offer.