Snooping Around...

So what to do when you're in Washington, DC a day before you have to be...why not snoop around the International Spy Museum?

I have been before, but going to the museum is always an adventure.

First, unlike many other museums I remember as a child..."look, but don't touch" this museum is all about the touch, or the feel, as it were.

First, you start off as a spy.

That's right...you start off assuming an identity.  For me, I was born in Waipu, New Zealand, though I lived in Canada for my two hour excursion through the museum.  While I may not entirely look it I am only 25 and a teacher headed to the International School for business and shouldn't be here more than 90 days.

Is all that really necessary?  Of course not, unless you are willing to immerse yourself and enjoy the game.  More than one security official at the museum wanted to quiz me on why I was there, where I was from, and what I was doing.

I have no idea if they are required to learn the myriad number of parts themselves, but they played the counter intelligence part pretty well.

In the meantime, you get to go through the archives of historical intelligence gathering from Francis Walsingham to Julia Child.  That's right of "Bon Apetit!" fame.  She and Mo Berg were just two celebrities highlighted as part of the efforts during World War II.

Most importantly to me though was the Bond Exhibit going on now.  I have enjoyed Ian Fleming's bind series since my parents first introduced me when I think I was ten.  The gadgetry, the vodka martinis, the cars...what wasn't to like?  Not to mention all the girls and hitting puberty. Yum.

The Bond section had everything you would expect from the movie posters from across the world to villains' costumes.  They had a bomb detonator you could disable, if you were feeling saucy with only three seconds to go, and even had a helicopter skid you could hang onto as it ascended inches off the ground and you were blasted by puffs of air to simulate that feeling of holding onto the skid as the helicopter takes off.

All in all, a great time, except perhaps the price which is $20 per adult.  Ouch.  However, I am not in Washington all that often anymore, so you have to play when you can and as the man says, you have to pay to play.

The museum is located at 800 F St NW, Washington, DC 20004.  Again, check the website linked above for exact entrance rates and times.  Four stars.