Retired educator and author Terry Lee Marzsell, who recently visited the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, encourages teachers and students to explore the museum’s resources.  Photo credit: Terry Lee Marzell.

As a retired teacher, I know that educators who are still working in the classroom enjoy leading their students to a variety of academic activities. Field trips, virtual tours, and academic websites are among the most fascinating educational activities we can share. Recently I traveled to Washington, DC, where I was able to participate in an exploration of the International Spy Museum. I was there side-by-side with a number of groups of school students who were excited to be able to spend the day at this unique museum.

If you, like many educators, are unable to escort your students to the museum, you can still explore the exhibits through online resources at this link: Spy Museum. On the museum website, students can see information about code breaking, sabotage, spying that shaped history, interrogation, and surveillance. For an overview of notorious spies and spymasters throughout time and to learn about tools used to carry out spy missions, your students can click on this link to Stealing Secrets. They can view resources related to covert action, sabotage, secret soldiers, and propaganda at this link: Covert Action.

If you and your students are able to visit in person, you will find the museum at 700 L’Enfant Plaza, SW in Washington, DC. The museum is open from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm every day. The cost is $24.95 for adults and students over age 12. While there, maybe your students would like to opt for a fictional cover identity and engage in activities that would test their spy sills on a fictional undercover mission. There’s also a fun museum shop with a plethora of novelty items and clothing items for sale. Enjoy!