Instagram Story Viewer

Our new special exhibit, Camouflage: Designed to Deceive, is opening March 1!

Journey through four immersive galleries exploring deception from its origin in animal mimicry and disguise to its evolution from WWII battlefields to today's digital warfare, where the art of hiding in plain sight has never been more critical.

The exhibit will feature real stories, artifacts, and immersive media, and touches on the intersecting worlds of nature, science, art, design, military and political history – even fashion and pop culture.

Tickets are available now! Link in bio ⬆️

#SpyCamo #SpyMuseum #NewExhibit #WashingtonDC

Our new special exhibit, Camouflage: Designed to Deceive, is opening March 1!

Journey through four immersive galleries exploring deception from its origin in animal mimicry and disguise to its evolution from WWII battlefields to today's digital warfare, where the art of hiding in plain sight has never been more critical.

The exhibit will feature real stories, artifacts, and immersive media, and touches on the intersecting worlds of nature, science, art, design, military and political history – even fashion and pop culture.

Tickets are available now! Link in bio ⬆️

#SpyCamo #SpyMuseum #NewExhibit #WashingtonDC

Our new special exhibit, Camouflage: Designed to Deceive, is opening March 1!

Journey through four immersive galleries exploring deception from its origin in animal mimicry and disguise to its evolution from WWII battlefields to today's digital warfare, where the art of hiding in plain sight has never been more critical.

The exhibit will feature real stories, artifacts, and immersive media, and touches on the intersecting worlds of nature, science, art, design, military and political history – even fashion and pop culture.

Tickets are available now! Link in bio ⬆️

#SpyCamo #SpyMuseum #NewExhibit #WashingtonDC

On this Memorial Day, we honor the silent heroes of the CIA Memorial Wall. Each star represents a life given in service to their nation, their names known only to those who walk the halls of Langley. These brave men and women made the ultimate sacrifice, often in the shadows, to protect American freedom and security.

#CIA #MemorialDay

Is it just us, or does it smell like espionage in here?

#ArtifactVideo #Concealment #SpyGadget

Camouflage is designed to deceive. You won't be the same after you visit either.

Learn more about our new exhibit. Link in bio ⬆️

#SpyCamo #WashingtonDC #SpyMuseum

Yesterday’s book signing was a good one. Got to catch up with old friends, meet new readers, and spend the day with my crew by my side.

There’s nothing quite like sitting across from folks who are actually going to crack open the book and dig in.

Thanks to everyone who came out and made it what it was – you keep me going strong.

Yesterday’s book signing was a good one. Got to catch up with old friends, meet new readers, and spend the day with my crew by my side.

There’s nothing quite like sitting across from folks who are actually going to crack open the book and dig in.

Thanks to everyone who came out and made it what it was – you keep me going strong.

Yesterday’s book signing was a good one. Got to catch up with old friends, meet new readers, and spend the day with my crew by my side.

There’s nothing quite like sitting across from folks who are actually going to crack open the book and dig in.

Thanks to everyone who came out and made it what it was – you keep me going strong.

Yesterday’s book signing was a good one. Got to catch up with old friends, meet new readers, and spend the day with my crew by my side.

There’s nothing quite like sitting across from folks who are actually going to crack open the book and dig in.

Thanks to everyone who came out and made it what it was – you keep me going strong.

Yesterday’s book signing was a good one. Got to catch up with old friends, meet new readers, and spend the day with my crew by my side.

There’s nothing quite like sitting across from folks who are actually going to crack open the book and dig in.

Thanks to everyone who came out and made it what it was – you keep me going strong.

Yesterday’s book signing was a good one. Got to catch up with old friends, meet new readers, and spend the day with my crew by my side.

There’s nothing quite like sitting across from folks who are actually going to crack open the book and dig in.

Thanks to everyone who came out and made it what it was – you keep me going strong.

SHH…we’ve got a secret to share. 👀

We've just launched the Secret History of History (SHH) Walking Tour, a free, app‑based, self‑guided adventure through 250 years of real spy stories hidden in plain sight across Washington, DC.

Start your mission outside the International Spy Museum and follow the one‑mile route to uncover espionage sites and see the city through a spy's eyes. Perfect for curious minds ages 9+, solo explorers, families, and anyone ready to get outside and spy.

📍 Starts at the Spy Museum
🚶‍♂️ About 1 mile, ~1 hour
🎧 Bring a device + headphones
🌐 Free on our app: Search "International Spy Museum" in your phone's app store.

Your mission awaits. 🕵️‍♀️✨

#WashingtonDC #FreeTour #ThingsToDoInDC

Tomorrow marks one year since we launched our first online exhibition, "Open Source: Ukraine and the Intelligence Revolution." Link in bio ⬆️

Since then, thousands have explored how publicly available data, from social media posts to flight logs, are transforming modern intelligence collection. As the conflict in Ukraine continues to shape global security, this digital exhibition remains a powerful window into the role open source information plays in uncovering truth and shaping battlefields in real time.

#OSINT #OnlineExhibit #SpyMuseum

Not all pens are made for writing. This one was built for assassinations. Straight from our SPY Vault, this poison‑needled pen was confiscated from a would‑be North Korean assassin.

#SpyGadget #Artifact #SpyMuseum

This Mother’s Day, we turn our focus to mothers who served in the world of espionage.

Odette Sansom, a French-born mother of three, worked undercover for the British Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. Captured by the Gestapo and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, she endured imprisonment and relentless interrogation without betraying her fellow agents. Her courage saved lives, and she later accepted the George Cross in honor of those who did not survive.

Elizebeth Smith Friedman, known as America’s first female cryptanalyst, balanced motherhood with groundbreaking intelligence work that shaped modern codebreaking. While raising her children, she cracked thousands of enemy codes during Prohibition and WWII using little more than pencil and paper. Her contributions helped dismantle spy networks and safeguard Allied operations.

Ursula Kuczynski, code-named “Sonya,” was a German-born Soviet intelligence officer and mother of three who ran espionage networks across Europe during WWII. While living in England, she served as a key conduit for classified atomic weapons information, transmitting intelligence from physicist Klaus Fuchs and others working on Allied nuclear research to Moscow. Often using domestic life as her cover, she carried out some of the war’s most consequential intelligence work before later becoming a writer under the pen name Ruth Werner.

#MothersDay #SpyMuseum #WomensHistory

This Mother’s Day, we turn our focus to mothers who served in the world of espionage.

Odette Sansom, a French-born mother of three, worked undercover for the British Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. Captured by the Gestapo and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, she endured imprisonment and relentless interrogation without betraying her fellow agents. Her courage saved lives, and she later accepted the George Cross in honor of those who did not survive.

Elizebeth Smith Friedman, known as America’s first female cryptanalyst, balanced motherhood with groundbreaking intelligence work that shaped modern codebreaking. While raising her children, she cracked thousands of enemy codes during Prohibition and WWII using little more than pencil and paper. Her contributions helped dismantle spy networks and safeguard Allied operations.

Ursula Kuczynski, code-named “Sonya,” was a German-born Soviet intelligence officer and mother of three who ran espionage networks across Europe during WWII. While living in England, she served as a key conduit for classified atomic weapons information, transmitting intelligence from physicist Klaus Fuchs and others working on Allied nuclear research to Moscow. Often using domestic life as her cover, she carried out some of the war’s most consequential intelligence work before later becoming a writer under the pen name Ruth Werner.

#MothersDay #SpyMuseum #WomensHistory

This Mother’s Day, we turn our focus to mothers who served in the world of espionage.

Odette Sansom, a French-born mother of three, worked undercover for the British Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. Captured by the Gestapo and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, she endured imprisonment and relentless interrogation without betraying her fellow agents. Her courage saved lives, and she later accepted the George Cross in honor of those who did not survive.

Elizebeth Smith Friedman, known as America’s first female cryptanalyst, balanced motherhood with groundbreaking intelligence work that shaped modern codebreaking. While raising her children, she cracked thousands of enemy codes during Prohibition and WWII using little more than pencil and paper. Her contributions helped dismantle spy networks and safeguard Allied operations.

Ursula Kuczynski, code-named “Sonya,” was a German-born Soviet intelligence officer and mother of three who ran espionage networks across Europe during WWII. While living in England, she served as a key conduit for classified atomic weapons information, transmitting intelligence from physicist Klaus Fuchs and others working on Allied nuclear research to Moscow. Often using domestic life as her cover, she carried out some of the war’s most consequential intelligence work before later becoming a writer under the pen name Ruth Werner.

#MothersDay #SpyMuseum #WomensHistory

Happy Global Big Day: a day when birders around the world come together to see how many species they can collectively spot in 24 hours. But, before you grab your binoculars, let’s ask the real question…are birds even real? Or are they government drones?

At the International Spy Museum, we know that animal espionage is very real. During WWI, pigeons were used as intelligence assets. Some were experimentally outfitted with early cameras and released over enemy territory to capture aerial photography.

Pigeons also served as trusted message carriers during both world wars when radio communication was often unreliable. Of the hundreds of thousands of carrier pigeons deployed, historians estimate that about 95% completed their missions, even under enemy fire.

Pigeons continued their service worldwide into the 1950s, earning more recognition and military decorations than any other animal.

And yes, the shirt is available in our Spy Museum Store. Link in bio ⬆️

#GlobalBigDay #Birding #BirdsArentReal