World > U.S.

International Spy Museum

A must-visit for both wannabe spy kids and their John le Carré-reading parents, this terrific interactive museum gives you the chance to try your hand at espionage. Visitors compete against each other in elaborate scavenger hunts, decoding messages, solving problems, and rendezvousing with other spies. Those who participate in Operation Spy can attempt to solve actual assignments for U.S. intelligence officers, by decrypting a recorded conversation, escaping from a high-security compound, or putting a suspect agent through a polygraph test.

Tip: The Spy Museum Store is the rare gift shop worth a visit, with goods that range from practical (a wireless outdoor security camera with night vision) to the goofy (safes disguised as peanut-butter jars and cans of hairspray).