National Geographic Museum of Exploration

Description

Checklist

• Last Date Visited:  07-12-26
• Attraction Type:  museum, kid-friendly, out-of-town
• Number of accessible spaces:  *there ia no on-site parking, parking must be found on the street or in a nearby garage
• Location of accessible spaces:  na
• Surface of lot:  na
• Distance to venue:  na
• Transportation to venue offered:  na
• Terrain:  flat
• Places to rest:  benches in front of the entrance, in the lobby and in various galleries
• Paths and walkways:  stone walkway to entrance
• Location of accessible entrance:  main entrance
• Doors:  double doors with push-button assist
• Number of floors:  two
• Elevators:  three
• Ramps:  front the entrance to the admission area of the lobby
• Steps and staircases:  six steps from front entrance to actual lobby -
• Width of aisles:  spacious, easy to navigate throughout
• Places to sit:  benches in lobby and in some of the galleries
• Location of restrooms:  on main floor and second floor
• Type of restroom:  Main floor-- multistall, with an accessible stall and accessible sinks and baby-changing station - Main floor - three family restrooms near The Eatery, Second Floor - two gender neutral ,single-occupancy, accessible restrooms
• Ease of entry and exit:  OK
• Available food services:  The Eatery - cafeteria style restaurant, with food from many cultures,
• Friendliness of staff:  friendly and helpful
• Notes:  For more information about The Eatery, see listing for "The Eatery"
• Baby changing station:  yes
• Point of Contact:  Ivy Wertheim

Read More

“Explore the world and all that’s in it at the National Geographic Museum.  The museum is great for all ages and features a wide range of changing exhibitions from interactive experiences to stunning photography exhibitions featuring the work of National Geographic explorers, photographers, and scientists.” (website)

“Centrally located in downtown Washington, DC, a few blocks from the White House… makes this an easy stop during a visit to DC.”  (website)

Because of its location this venue does not have a dedicated parking lot, as is the case with most of our Nation’s Capitol. One must find parking either on the street (not an easy task), or in a garage.

You will find a ramp on M Street that will take you to the double door main entrance. The spacious museum is all on the main floor of the National Geographic Building.

The lobby always has a free exhibit. We took some time to view, “Mars: Up Close,” in which photos and videos ” visitors on the red planet” and “discover what Mars is like.” (website) We must say that the photography is “stunning!”

Next, we paid the admission fee to see the Spinosaurus Exhibit – the largest predatory dinosaur to ever roam the earth. We had read about the discovery of the bones and were excited to see the exhibit.  Although the exhibit is not large, it is excellent.  The combination of replicas of bones, extremely large screen video and other interactive experiences made this a wonderful exhibit for all.  We watched children of various ages intently watching/listening to the videos, asking questions and being thoroughly engaged.

The gallery is spacious and easily navigable.  Benches are scattered along the perimeter. The second gallery was temporarily closed, getting readied for a new exhibit that was opening in a few days.

Multi-stall, handicapped accessible restrooms are located in the hall of the building, near the elevators. Although there is not a dedicated baby changing station in the restroom, there is a shelf that could function as one.

The museum has a great gift shop with some very interesting items not astronomically priced.

As always, we at Destination Accessible, advise you to check a venue’s website, www.nationalgeographic.com, when planning a visit, to “learn more.

Location

Nearby