Things To Do In D.C. When You’re Here For The Women’s March
Gateways/Portales: Experiences of Latino migrants and immigrants in four US metro areas (Screencap via Anacostia Community Museum)
History Museums and Monuments
You can’t walk two steps without tripping over historical museums and monuments in D.C. The most well-known is the Smithsonian’s American History museum, where you can see THE Star Spangled Banner in all its gigantic, tattered glory. This museum has all the American Americana we learned about in the official history books.
And then there are these museums, which fill in other parts of the American story.
National Museum of African American History and Culture
The National Museum of African American History and Culture requires timed entry passes. They’re free, but getting them is a challenge. Online advance passes are sold out through April, 2017. But you can try to get walk-up or same-day online passes. All I can say is get in line (or online) before they open at 10 a.m.
National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI)
The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is closed on January 20. But on the Sunday the 22nd you can check out the Out of Many Festival: A Winter Multicultural Presentation of Music and Dance from 10:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
"It highlights Native performers, both traditional and contemporary, from across the country. Also performing are groups from the Washington, D.C. area highlighting mariachi music, West African dance, taiko drums, salsa music and dance, Chinese youth lion dances, jazz and much more."
Anacostia Community Museum
The Anacostia Community Museum tells the real story of Washington, D.C. It
"collects artifacts, works of art, photographs, documents and paper records, audiovisual media, and other materials that help us understand how communities work. Collections development efforts focus on materials that document the history and everyday life of urban communities and neighborhoods in the United States and the world. Among our strengths is our photographic and documentary collection focusing on the culture and daily life of Washington, DC, including the most extensive assemblage of research and documentation about east-of-the-river neighborhoods."
The Smithsonian Castle
The Smithsonian Castle is definitely worth a visit. Among other things, it contains an actual crypt. We don’t have a lot of those in American cities. Castle highlight tours at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. most days (the Castle is closed on January 20 for the inauguration). Check the day you want to visit on the Smithsonian’s all-inclusive Events Calendar.
This city is also packed with memorials and monuments. The Washington Monument is currently closed for repairs (again, as usual), but it’s the worst monument to visit, so whatever. But you should visit the Lincoln Memorial, and experience the stark architecture of Maya Lin’s Vietnam Memorial. And don’t forget to pay homage at the the memorial to one of the greatest Americans in living memory, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.