Things of Interest in the Philadelphia - Washington DC area?

solid_fuel said:

Longwood Gardens is in Kennet Square not far from Wilmington https://longwoodgardens.org/

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Longwood is spectacular, and well worth the trip, although I'm not sure if there would be much to see outdoors in February. To be fair the Conservatory is worth a visit any time of year, and the new fountain show is impressive (I presume it runs year-round).

Personally I like the historical stuff in Philly, and virtually all of the museums in DC are worth it.

Also another vote for Baltimore Inner Harbor and the Aquarium there.

Zeus-cat said:

I think it was filling out some special form that had to be done in triplicate (probably a government form) and it was the only printer that could actually mark all three pages at once. And this wasn't a mom and pop company, it was a Fortune 100 aerospace firm.

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Yeah, there still in use here and there for that exact reason. Daisy wheels too.

BDB said:

... the Science History Institute is surprisingly good....

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I was going to lament the fact that we couldn't recommend the Wagner Free Institute in Philadelphia, because I thought I'd remembered that it had closed down. Except that I was wrong. Now that I know that it is still open I am not sure I'd recommend it. My recollections are tinted with nostalgia. Maybe not a destination during a short visit.

Great suggestions coming through from everyone.

hartlch said:

There's the National Cryptologic Museum just south of Baltimore.

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Interestingly we bumped into a temporary typewriter museum in Tuscany about the middle of last year. They had a couple of the original enigma-style machines which were intriguing. I think it was a Russian and an American one. Thermionic valve technology of course!

We also went to some other quirky museums in Europe:
Museum of Torture (Italy)
Museum of Broken Relationships (Croatia)
Nicola Telsa museum (Croatia)
Hospital in the Hill (Cold war bunker, nuclear and chemical-proof, Budapest)
I'm sure there were more than this too.

I just realized that the International Spy Museum in DC is closed while it moves to a new location. That's a really bummer because it's fantastic. My wife and I spent a whole day there several years ago. It's also a bummer because it's private, as opposed to the Smithsonians, so it would have otherwise been open in spite of the government shutdown.

Side note for the OP....Udvar-Hazy is part of the Smithsonian system, so if the government is still shut down next month (becoming more of a possibility every day), you'll be out of luck.

Things are firming up. Looks like I am in Wilmington DE for about four days for work, so I will do some exploring after work each day around there. Given my flights I will have about half a day around Phily before driving to Wilmington. Would have liked to spend a bit more time in Philadelphia but it hasn't worked out that way. After the work comes 3.5 days around the Baltimore/WDC area. I will have a car so a bit of driving is ok, but I don't want to blow all my time on transporting.

BDB said:

I just realized that the International Spy Museum in DC is closed while it moves to a new location.

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That sounds interesting. It might open before I get there with a bit of luck, assuming the government is back again.

OverTheTop said:

...a temporary typewriter museum in Tuscany about the middle of last year....

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Was the museum temporary, or was it a museum of temporary typewriters?

OverTheTop said:

We also went to some other quirky museums in Europe:
Museum of Torture (Italy)
Museum of Broken Relationships (Croatia)
Nicola Telsa museum (Croatia)
Hospital in the Hill (Cold war bunker, nuclear and chemical-proof, Budapest)
I'm sure there were more than this too.

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Okay -- getting a clearer idea of what you think is "quirky". You might enjoy a visit to Eastern State Penitentiary if you make it to Philadelphia.