Fodor's Expert Review National Geographic Museum

Founded in 1888, the National Geographic Society is best known for its magazine, and entering this welcoming 13,000-square-foot exhibition space feels like stepping into its pages. The small museum has child-friendly interactives and is home to a rotating display of objects from the society's permanent collections—cultural, historical, and scientific—as well as traveling exhibitions. It also has weekend showings in its 3-D movie theater. The M Street Lobby photography exhibit, as well as the outdoor photo display around the perimeter of the museum, are free.