Fodor's Expert Review Newseum--Permanently Closed

The setting, in a dramatic glass-and-silver structure on Pennsylvania Avenue, smack between the White House and the Capitol, is a fitting location for a museum devoted to the First Amendment and the role of a free press in democracy. Visitors enter the 90-foot-high media-saturated atrium, overlooked by a giant breaking-news screen and a news helicopter suspended overhead. From there, 15 galleries display 500 years of news history, including exhibits on the First Amendment; global news; the rise of multimedia; and how radio, TV, and the Internet transformed worldwide news dissemination.

The largest piece of the Berlin Wall outside Germany, including a guard tower, is permanently installed in an exhibit explaining how a free press was a key contributor to the fall of the wall. One of only 19 copies of The Pennsylvania Evening Post from July 6, 1776, that published the Declaration of Independence is also here in an exhibit that explores how news of freedom led delegates in the 13 colonies to unite for independence.

Fifteen state-of-the art theaters, including an eye-popping "4-D" theater and another with a 90-foot-long screen, show features, news, sports, and documentaries throughout the day. In the Interactive Newsroom you can play the role of journalist, try your hand at investigative reporting to solve a mysterious animal breakout at the zoo, or step behind a camera and try to capture the most compelling photograph of a river rescue. Evocative press photos are oe Photographs gallery.

There's a lot to take in here, but luckily tickets for the Newseum are valid for two consecutive days. On one of those days, be sure to visit the top-floor terrace, which offers one of the best views of the Capitol in the city.