National Cryptologic Museum, National intelligence museum in Annapolis Junction, United States.
The National Cryptologic Museum is a history museum in Annapolis Junction, Maryland focused on code-making and code-breaking throughout American intelligence operations. The collection includes cipher machines, decryption devices, and documents spanning several centuries of secret communications.
The museum occupies the former Colony Seven Motel, bought by the NSA to form a buffer between its Fort Meade headquarters and an adjacent highway. It opened to the public on December 16, 1993, as the first public museum in the U.S. Intelligence Community. It closed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, was renovated under new director Vince Houghton, and reopened on October 8, 2022.
The museum's name and mission come from cryptology, the making and breaking of codes. Its galleries cover the Native American code talkers who encoded U.S. messages in their own languages during both World Wars, and the Navy WAVES who ran the Bombe against German traffic. A copy of the Rosetta Stone and hobo slang of the late 19th century illustrate how languages and signs carry hidden meaning.
The museum is open Tuesday through Friday, 10am–4pm, and closed on Sundays and all federal holidays. It follows NSA's emergency and weather closure schedule, so if NSA is closed, the museum is closed too. The gift store keeps the museum's hours, while the unclassified library operates on weekdays only. Flash photography is prohibited inside.
The exhibits include working German Enigma machines and a Navy Bombe decryption device from World War II. Visitors can examine these original cryptographic instruments up close and understand their mechanical components.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,691 contributors worldwide.
