Deep scars on the earth left by the Ice Age.

An art deco ice cream shop covered in vintage train station tiles.

Visitors flock to see this church tower's unintended feature: It happens to resemble a giant chicken from multiple points of view.

This blowhole is supposedly caused by a trapped monster.

The 5.5-mile ring of steel posts around the Capitol Building is one of the largest (and most uniform) of its kind in the world.

One critic described it as "middle Mussolini, early Ramses, and late Neiman-Marcus." Another called it an architectural "natural disaster."

Look closely and you’ll notice that the color changes a third of the way up the tower.

For 60 years, the academy had no permanent location until members voted Washington D.C. as its forever home.

Members of Congress have traveled between the buildings on Capitol Hill for a century hidden from tourists, press, and storm clouds.

A little marble compass above George Washington's (empty) tomb in the Capitol marks where D.C.'s four quadrants intersect.

A hoard of sky catalogs, astrophysical journals, even the works of Galileo and Copernicus.

Rumor has it the uncarved lump behind the three famous suffragists is reserved for the first woman president.

This stunning blue and gold room changed cities twice before becoming part of the Smithsonian.

A lovely aquatic park built by a one-armed Civil War veteran who made a fortune from lotuses.

One of the dwarven trees dates back to 1625 and survived the Hiroshima bombing.

Home to items never before seen by the public.

The United States Capitol's former columns still stand.

Live data is transmitted from the Atlantic coast to instantly recreate the ocean waves in this fountain at the NOAA headquarters.

Once home to seven different roller coasters, Glen Echo has undergone many transformations since its founding in 1891.

Russian Orthodox church built on an Antarctic island.

The best place to send your postcards home from Antarctica.

Display that gathers the basic elements of the universe in one convenient location.

This stately clubhouse has showcased German-American culture for over a century.