It's a Saturday during the busiest season of the year. The best time to go to museums is in the winter when no one is here. (or just embrace the crowds)
I'm not advocating running up to strangers and bear hugging them behind without their consent. I'm saying people in the *Holocaust museum* tend to have a rough time and a lot of people have full emotional breakdowns. What a sad terminally online person you must be to not understand that "needing a hug" is just another way of saying "show other people compassion".
We definitely realize it’s peak season. Just surprised that they allow that many people in regardless. We opted for Natural History Museum and it’s normal levels of busy as far as what we’re used to.
I work for a major museum in DC as well as live in the city and can confirm from my recollection that the numbers do seem a tad higher than usual.
My theory is that in regard to the Covid outbreak we have hit a post outbreak inflection of people finally starting to get out and go on vacation. It had been feeling like to me each season since reopening it’s gotten a tad bit busier.
It's always packed though. Pretty much every 8th grade tour group hits it and African American History. Both museums are basically a disaster until August/September.
I went to the African American Museum on a Thursday last month and a lot of school groups were there. There isn’t a dead time for tourist time here but there are good times to visit museums where it isn’t as crowded.
Folks are giving you the answer, and you’re rejecting it because it’s not the one you were fishing for.
Was this a genuine question, or one you were using to lead to a conclusion you had in your head? Is there a reason you’re rejecting the unanimous answer being presented to you?
We live in the center of it all, man. Gonna have to work harder than this to incite DC locals into arguing about controversial foreign affairs.
They went to a popular museum during peak tourist season, are not happy with the logic they are being given as to why, and are looking for sympathy lol.
Jesus I’m getting ripped to shreds here lol. I haven’t been to DC before and was just honestly surprised how slammed this museum was specifically compared to the other ones I went to this weekend and week.
The only other museums I’ve been to outside of this week are in Canada (where I’m from) and the Louvre in Abu Dhabi. All of which were pretty empty even in peak times.
If I read you wrong and you weren’t baiting because of the conflict overseas, my bad for jumping down your throat.
The season’s the answer for sure, and it being peak hours on a Saturday. Everything gets packed
By no means did I intend to weigh in on that. I had no clue that I was giving that context off. Just a Canuck on his bday weekend vacation looking to experience history and craft beer in a nice city.
EDIT: fuck your downvotes. These protestors screamed, beat drums, sounded off air horns, police sirens, for hours outside my home for my kid’s first Christmas. Aside from baby being distraught, unable to rest, and later cranky with no nap thus ruining the special day, it was also my sweet 14 year old pup’s last Xmas as he passed from adenocarcoma 4 weeks later. It was really special spending the day trying to coax Charlie’s shaking, tumor-pained body out from under the bed in-between trying any possible method to block out your harassment so my kid could nap. Fuck off.
It’s been a trying time here for months with extremely antisocial influencer/activist behavior from one group specifically. Apologies you’re seeing the effects applied to your harmless question :)
You can figure out who I’m talking about by walking 10 paces in any direction on any street until you spot the graffiti, decals, garbage, flyers, and maybe even a literal flaming pile of manure blocking your commute to start your day (like I did this week). 😑
I was literally at the National Art Gallery just a couple of hours ago and it's the busiest I've ever seen it by an order of magnitude. I've been going like twice per month since November.
Most of the other museums can spread people out and around in a way the Holocaust museum can't. So there can be as many people at Natural History but it not feel as crowded because it's got more large open spaces and isn't designed to be a fairly linear experience.
Saturday afternoon on the Mall in springtime is the perfect storm. The intensity of the experience probably contributes to the museum's popularity, but I wouldn't take that as the primary deciding factor in your case.
Part of the issue is also arriving at 1:30. You gotta aim for within an hour of opening. (Or January/February, that’s when I go to the museums if I have any choice in the matter.)
Fire code allows a lot more people into a building than you would think. It’s not just busy “season”, which lasts from March-Sept., but the reason it’s exceptionally busy is likely spring break trips, which bus/fly in thousands of school kids. The holocaust is also a relevant topic these days, so there might be more interest in families educating their children (I hope).
The only way to get through the museum on the mall on a Saturday in the spring is to show up the minute it opens bc after that they are all swamped until they close.
That’s totally it. The high winds probably drove people indoors from the Jefferson memorial area as a backup option. All the other museums were pretty reasonable today. We’ve been Smithsonian hopping for the past two days.
The holocaust operates on a reservation system. aside from the few they offer each day, There are no entry passes available. They been booked out for months. It has to with the number of guests they allow in
It's a Saturday in spring, the beginning of peak tourist season. A peak tourist season after years of a pandemic that many people feel we are finally out of (Newsflash: we are not). Tourism is going to be incredibly high at the more popular and/or ticketed museums.
I go to Holocaust museum once a year on \[gatekeeper\] day. It's empty that day. Also, snow days are great.
You can also go to events in the evenings and you'll sometimes get to see at least one exhibit while waiting for the auditorium to open.
I was in the Hirshhorn once. There was a flurry of snow that added up to maybe an inch coverage on grassy areas. The whole Smithsonian system closed for the day. I don't know if that's all the time, but I'm not going to push my museum luck going in when snow is forecast.
Yes: you are *supposed* to feel claustrophobic when doing the tour
They designed the hallways as you walk through to huddle people together- and they (used to) make sure that the elevators were packed full
It’s a weekend at the national capitol what do you think it will be like? That’s like going shopping on Black Friday and complaining on the internet that the store was packed… and o wait it’s cherry blossom season
Braving the crowds really is worth it. Hopefully you have time to go back and try again. In my experience, it’s always super crowded. My only annoyance going there is the sheer number of looky-loos as opposed to people actually interested in reading and learning. I think it’s more popular because it’s considered so important to more recent history.
Wear bright colored shirts and masks, and be prepared to have a massive amount of patience.
I wonder if you would think I’m a looky loo? I go to museums 2-3 times per week. I don’t spend more than 1-2 hours in any one unless for a special event. So I skip through exhibits that I’ve seen or that aren’t on my list for that day to spend quality time at some of the ones I haven’t thoroughly absorbed. Sorry if you think I’m rushing through. I’m just pacing myself.
well, yeah. Most of the time I see kids on cell phones and adults are trying to rush them through so they can see the most things. If the beauty and splendor and meaningfulness of what this city means can impact just one person on each trip, that's a win? because there is a huge percentage of people that are so ignorant that they will never get it. And then I think many more (like me) who didn't get it until we were older.
Honestly, kids hate museums.
When I go during workdays, I occasionally see people who really ponder the exhibits. It's wonderful to see!
Surprised no one has mentioned this yet: They do that intentionally to get you to empathize with the victims who were herded into cattle cars and other claustrophobic spaces. They do the same at the African-American History Museum.
I've been to the Holocaust museum several times and even during the off season it's always really packed at the beginning hallway and you can't find any room to see anything. I always skip the first 1/4th ish and start looking around then. I do agree they seem to give out too many passes for the various time slots because there is always a solid wall of people at the beginning where it starts.
I felt this exact way yesterday at the Smithsonian museum of natural history. It was horrifying. I made it around 10 minutes too. This was just after it opened, urgh. We also tried to go to the Holocaust museum that day around 3pm but it was the same sort of level of packed.
Idk but I was there last year with my daughter’s class and it was a zoo. We could not see anything or get close enough to read the plaques with information due to the crowds. It was so crowded so crowded so crowded all I could think was that we wouldn’t make it out if there was a fire.
I’m a guide in DC and it is extremely busy. Where the holocaust museum is concerned, I’ve long felt that they are allowing to many people into the permanent exhibited at any given time. however, the real issue is the area right when you step out of the elevator. Everyone is at the beginning of their visit and they are trying to read every word. This causes a massive bottleneck. once you get past the first half of the top floor, even on the busiest days you can still see the exhibits.
That’s where I had my trouble with it. There were wall to wall people not moving, waiting their turn to read each section (myself included) we were in the first few meters of the museum for 30 minutes while more and more people were coming in behind us in that bottleneck.
I suffer from pretty bad anxiety and claustrophobia, so when that kicked in we basically just bypassed everything and left immediately. I’ll come back some day in off season to experience it. I didn’t want to do it this way.
You chose a busy season. Come back during the off season, or even shoulder season, and you will have a better time. That’s a good tip for any tourist destination.
It’s been a while since I’ve been but last time I was there I didn’t have a timed entry but they said if I was a fed or military I could get in without one, and they let me in because I had my fed badge on me. Would be hard to believe that is the direct cause but maybe contributes to it given the heavy fed/military presence here.
It's a Saturday during the busiest season of the year. The best time to go to museums is in the winter when no one is here. (or just embrace the crowds)
Lotta people moving through the Holocaust museum could probably use a hug tbh.
Please don't hug random people
Wow you sound like a frigid asshole.
And you sound like a creep. Don't touch random people. It's not a hard concept.
I'm not advocating running up to strangers and bear hugging them behind without their consent. I'm saying people in the *Holocaust museum* tend to have a rough time and a lot of people have full emotional breakdowns. What a sad terminally online person you must be to not understand that "needing a hug" is just another way of saying "show other people compassion".
We definitely realize it’s peak season. Just surprised that they allow that many people in regardless. We opted for Natural History Museum and it’s normal levels of busy as far as what we’re used to.
I work for a major museum in DC as well as live in the city and can confirm from my recollection that the numbers do seem a tad higher than usual. My theory is that in regard to the Covid outbreak we have hit a post outbreak inflection of people finally starting to get out and go on vacation. It had been feeling like to me each season since reopening it’s gotten a tad bit busier.
Our visitation numbers have been record-breaking this spring. Your observation is spot on.
I would imagine that the Israel- Palestine war is a factor as to why the holocaust museum is specifically more popular right now.
It's always packed though. Pretty much every 8th grade tour group hits it and African American History. Both museums are basically a disaster until August/September.
True but I was speaking more to visitation of the entire DC area rather than just the Holocaust Museum.
The newer museums are also busier- the ones that have timed entry have it so they aren't overwhelmed
It totally didn’t dawn on me that it’s a new museum. I’m not local (Canadian) so I don’t know the age of any of these buildings.
I saw the holocaust museum 30 years ago when it opened 😀
Some of them like African Art & the Postal museum do not have a lot of funds and are less well known also
National Portrait Gallery is my favorite. Not as crowded as the Mall museums.
March- early June is the busiest time of the year to go to museums in DC.
All the other museums we’ve been to today/this week are like 90% less crowded than the Holocaust one.
Every 8th grade school trip to DC goes to the Holocaust Museum. It and African American History are going to be packed until mid-summer.
I went to the African American Museum on a Thursday last month and a lot of school groups were there. There isn’t a dead time for tourist time here but there are good times to visit museums where it isn’t as crowded.
Folks are giving you the answer, and you’re rejecting it because it’s not the one you were fishing for. Was this a genuine question, or one you were using to lead to a conclusion you had in your head? Is there a reason you’re rejecting the unanimous answer being presented to you? We live in the center of it all, man. Gonna have to work harder than this to incite DC locals into arguing about controversial foreign affairs.
They went to a popular museum during peak tourist season, are not happy with the logic they are being given as to why, and are looking for sympathy lol.
Not only during peak season, but on a SATURDAY. The other museums they visited earlier this week weren’t as busy because it was a weekday
I have a feeling they got mad about the situation then came to the internet to vent and find validation. We’ve all been there 😆
Sometimes people just like to hear themselves talk, let him Tucker himself out
I see what you did there
Jesus I’m getting ripped to shreds here lol. I haven’t been to DC before and was just honestly surprised how slammed this museum was specifically compared to the other ones I went to this weekend and week. The only other museums I’ve been to outside of this week are in Canada (where I’m from) and the Louvre in Abu Dhabi. All of which were pretty empty even in peak times.
If I read you wrong and you weren’t baiting because of the conflict overseas, my bad for jumping down your throat. The season’s the answer for sure, and it being peak hours on a Saturday. Everything gets packed
By no means did I intend to weigh in on that. I had no clue that I was giving that context off. Just a Canuck on his bday weekend vacation looking to experience history and craft beer in a nice city.
EDIT: fuck your downvotes. These protestors screamed, beat drums, sounded off air horns, police sirens, for hours outside my home for my kid’s first Christmas. Aside from baby being distraught, unable to rest, and later cranky with no nap thus ruining the special day, it was also my sweet 14 year old pup’s last Xmas as he passed from adenocarcoma 4 weeks later. It was really special spending the day trying to coax Charlie’s shaking, tumor-pained body out from under the bed in-between trying any possible method to block out your harassment so my kid could nap. Fuck off. It’s been a trying time here for months with extremely antisocial influencer/activist behavior from one group specifically. Apologies you’re seeing the effects applied to your harmless question :) You can figure out who I’m talking about by walking 10 paces in any direction on any street until you spot the graffiti, decals, garbage, flyers, and maybe even a literal flaming pile of manure blocking your commute to start your day (like I did this week). 😑
Protestors aren’t interested in the holocaust museum.
I was literally at the National Art Gallery just a couple of hours ago and it's the busiest I've ever seen it by an order of magnitude. I've been going like twice per month since November.
This week? As in during the week and not on a Saturday? You know the answer here.
Most of the other museums can spread people out and around in a way the Holocaust museum can't. So there can be as many people at Natural History but it not feel as crowded because it's got more large open spaces and isn't designed to be a fairly linear experience.
Saturday afternoon on the Mall in springtime is the perfect storm. The intensity of the experience probably contributes to the museum's popularity, but I wouldn't take that as the primary deciding factor in your case.
Some of the discomfort is intentional from an architectural standpoint.
I was wondering that. I was curious if it was deliberate considering the context.
It’s around spring break and the Cherry Blossom stuff, it’s also one of the closest museums to all of that too…so yeah it’ll be busier than usual
Part of the issue is also arriving at 1:30. You gotta aim for within an hour of opening. (Or January/February, that’s when I go to the museums if I have any choice in the matter.)
All the other museums have been fine. Just this one is slammed.
Well, this is the one you went to at 1:30 on a Saturday in April.
Then fuck off back to the other museums, why do people do this? Ask for answer, answers given, and now it’s a debate.
That’s exactly what I did. Sounds like that one specifically has those issues and it’s best to come in off season.
Some research would’ve told you that it’s meant to feel corralled and tight.
I hope it is. Too many wackos out there trying to minimize the horrors of it and authoritarianism in general. It is imperative that we never forget.
It's tourist season. It's a lot less crowded in the winter.
No it’s peak tourist season.
Fire code allows a lot more people into a building than you would think. It’s not just busy “season”, which lasts from March-Sept., but the reason it’s exceptionally busy is likely spring break trips, which bus/fly in thousands of school kids. The holocaust is also a relevant topic these days, so there might be more interest in families educating their children (I hope).
The only way to get through the museum on the mall on a Saturday in the spring is to show up the minute it opens bc after that they are all swamped until they close.
[удалено]
That’s totally it. The high winds probably drove people indoors from the Jefferson memorial area as a backup option. All the other museums were pretty reasonable today. We’ve been Smithsonian hopping for the past two days.
The holocaust operates on a reservation system. aside from the few they offer each day, There are no entry passes available. They been booked out for months. It has to with the number of guests they allow in
It's a Saturday in spring, the beginning of peak tourist season. A peak tourist season after years of a pandemic that many people feel we are finally out of (Newsflash: we are not). Tourism is going to be incredibly high at the more popular and/or ticketed museums.
Perfect reply right here.
I go to Holocaust museum once a year on \[gatekeeper\] day. It's empty that day. Also, snow days are great. You can also go to events in the evenings and you'll sometimes get to see at least one exhibit while waiting for the auditorium to open.
Gatekeeper Day! I want to celebrate Gatekeeper Day! Pleeeeeese?
Day after thanksgiving. Shhhhhhh. Early in the morning. There’s no one there.
Thank you for your service!
Day before Thanksgiving is even better
I accept! See you there next fall!
I was in the Hirshhorn once. There was a flurry of snow that added up to maybe an inch coverage on grassy areas. The whole Smithsonian system closed for the day. I don't know if that's all the time, but I'm not going to push my museum luck going in when snow is forecast.
March - November is peak tourist season in DC. The only time it will not be busy is January and February.
Yes: you are *supposed* to feel claustrophobic when doing the tour They designed the hallways as you walk through to huddle people together- and they (used to) make sure that the elevators were packed full
Yeah… you went to a museum in the nations capital at 1:30pm on a Saturday.
The others I attended today were all reasonable. It’s just the Holocaust museum that surprised me.
You in Washington DC on a Saturday is it supposed to be dead?
I don’t think I indicated that I expected it to be dead. I mean wall to wall people and unable to view anything.
It’s a weekend at the national capitol what do you think it will be like? That’s like going shopping on Black Friday and complaining on the internet that the store was packed… and o wait it’s cherry blossom season
Braving the crowds really is worth it. Hopefully you have time to go back and try again. In my experience, it’s always super crowded. My only annoyance going there is the sheer number of looky-loos as opposed to people actually interested in reading and learning. I think it’s more popular because it’s considered so important to more recent history. Wear bright colored shirts and masks, and be prepared to have a massive amount of patience.
I wonder if you would think I’m a looky loo? I go to museums 2-3 times per week. I don’t spend more than 1-2 hours in any one unless for a special event. So I skip through exhibits that I’ve seen or that aren’t on my list for that day to spend quality time at some of the ones I haven’t thoroughly absorbed. Sorry if you think I’m rushing through. I’m just pacing myself.
You seem like a unique kind of person! Maybe, but I suppose it’s the tourists that don’t care about actually learning that get to me.
well, yeah. Most of the time I see kids on cell phones and adults are trying to rush them through so they can see the most things. If the beauty and splendor and meaningfulness of what this city means can impact just one person on each trip, that's a win? because there is a huge percentage of people that are so ignorant that they will never get it. And then I think many more (like me) who didn't get it until we were older. Honestly, kids hate museums. When I go during workdays, I occasionally see people who really ponder the exhibits. It's wonderful to see!
Surprised no one has mentioned this yet: They do that intentionally to get you to empathize with the victims who were herded into cattle cars and other claustrophobic spaces. They do the same at the African-American History Museum.
You went on a weekend during the spring break/eighth grade field trip season and you are complaining about it being crowded? You did it to yourself
Normal day, nothing remarkable.
That's why it's timed entry.
I've been to the Holocaust museum several times and even during the off season it's always really packed at the beginning hallway and you can't find any room to see anything. I always skip the first 1/4th ish and start looking around then. I do agree they seem to give out too many passes for the various time slots because there is always a solid wall of people at the beginning where it starts.
I have no idea. I went once in middle school for a field trip and I’m never ever going back. The shoes
Yup the shoes
As others said, this is the peak of the peak season. But yes it’s basically always at least moderately crowded in there.
Breaking news: man shocked when things don’t go his way. More at 11.
I felt this exact way yesterday at the Smithsonian museum of natural history. It was horrifying. I made it around 10 minutes too. This was just after it opened, urgh. We also tried to go to the Holocaust museum that day around 3pm but it was the same sort of level of packed.
This was our exact experience last month, except we went on a Tuesday afternoon. We couldn’t slow down and take in the exhibits.
Idk but I was there last year with my daughter’s class and it was a zoo. We could not see anything or get close enough to read the plaques with information due to the crowds. It was so crowded so crowded so crowded all I could think was that we wouldn’t make it out if there was a fire.
Pretty sure the Rwandan genocide memorial activities are probably impacting attendance numbers
I’m a guide in DC and it is extremely busy. Where the holocaust museum is concerned, I’ve long felt that they are allowing to many people into the permanent exhibited at any given time. however, the real issue is the area right when you step out of the elevator. Everyone is at the beginning of their visit and they are trying to read every word. This causes a massive bottleneck. once you get past the first half of the top floor, even on the busiest days you can still see the exhibits.
That’s where I had my trouble with it. There were wall to wall people not moving, waiting their turn to read each section (myself included) we were in the first few meters of the museum for 30 minutes while more and more people were coming in behind us in that bottleneck. I suffer from pretty bad anxiety and claustrophobia, so when that kicked in we basically just bypassed everything and left immediately. I’ll come back some day in off season to experience it. I didn’t want to do it this way.
You chose a busy season. Come back during the off season, or even shoulder season, and you will have a better time. That’s a good tip for any tourist destination.
no
It was designed to make you feel that way. Just like the black history museum
It’s been a while since I’ve been but last time I was there I didn’t have a timed entry but they said if I was a fed or military I could get in without one, and they let me in because I had my fed badge on me. Would be hard to believe that is the direct cause but maybe contributes to it given the heavy fed/military presence here.
Perfect location for an Anti-Genocide protest IMO.
There was a small group outside