Off-Campus Activities

The capital of the nation—and some say, the world—is a backdrop for Columbia Union College and it's learning environment.

Washington, D.C. and the greater metro area form our extended campus. Our halls of learning include the great museums of the Smithsonian, the Supreme Court, the House and Senate, and the Library of Congress. Your classroom may not be a classroom at all, but a lawmaker’s office, a Civil War battlefield, or Baltimore’s Fort McHenry—where Francis Scott Key penned The Star Spangled Banner.

The White House

The White house has been the home of every US president, except George Washington. Public tours of the White House are available for groups of 10 or more people. Requests must be submitted through one's Member of Congress and are accepted up to six months in advance. These self-guided tours are available from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday (excluding federal holidays), and are scheduled on a first come, first served basis approximately one month in advance of the requested date. We encourage you to submit your request as early as possible since a limited number of tours are available. All White House tours are free of charge. Look for the three American flags and the blue awnings. The closest Metrorail station is Federal Triangle (blue and orange lines). All tours are significantly enhanced if visitors stop by the White House Visitor Center located at the southeast corner of 15th and E Streets, before or after their tour. The Center is open seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and features many aspects of the White House, including its architecture, furnishings, first families, social events, and relations with the press and world leaders, as well as a thirty-minute video. Allow between 20 minutes to one hour to explore the exhibits. The White House Historical Association also sponsors a sales area. For the most current tour information, please call the 24-hour line at 202-456-7041. Please note that White House tours may be subject to last minute cancellation.

U.S. Capitol

Under the magnificent white dome, senators and representatives meet to shape U.S. legislative policy. The United States Capitol reopened to the public for tours on December 8, 2001.The Capitol is open to the public for guided tours only. Tours will be conducted from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday (the Capitol is not available for tours on Sundays). The Capitol will be open on all federal holidays except Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Visitors must obtain free tickets for tours on a first-come, first-served basis, at the Capitol Guide Service kiosk located along the curving sidewalk southwest of the Capitol (near the intersection of First Street, S.W., and Independence Avenue; see the map below). Ticket distribution begins at 9:00 a.m. daily. Maximum tour size is 40 people. The Congressional Special Services Office provides information about tours for the disabled by telephone at 202-224-4048 (voice) or 202-224-4049 (TDD). Additional accessibility information is available.

Lincoln Memorial

This grand monument overlooks the Reflecting Pool, the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol. Inside, the 19-foot marble statue of the 16th president is flanked by inscriptions of his Second Inaugural Address and the famous Gettysburg Address. Open daily except Christmas. The Lincoln Memorial has no fees or reservations associated with a visit. However for planned events dependent upon the activity and number of participants a permit may be required. Park Ranger in attendance 8 a.m. - midnight. Metro: Foggy Bottom/GWU. For more information please contact the Park Programs office at 202.619.7225.

Washington Monument

One of the tallest masonry structures in the world, this majestic obelisk was dedicated in 1885 to the memory of the first U.S. president.Hours of operation will be 9:00 am to 4:45 pm. Advanced tickets will start being available on Friday, March 18th through the the National Park Service Reservation System. Timed tickets are required to ensure an enjoyable experience for all visitors. All visitors 2 years of age or older must have a ticket to enter the Monument.
Tickets are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 8:30 a.m. until all tickets for that day are gone.Open everyday except Christmas and the 4th of July. For advance tickets call (800)967-2283. Metro: Smithsonian.

Jefferson Memorial

Beneath the marble rotunda, the 19-foot statue of the third U.S. president is surrounded by passages from the Declaration of Independence and other famous Jefferson writings. Open daily except Christmas with free. Park ranger in attendance 8 a.m.-midnight. Metro: Smithsonian. Contact 202.426.6841 for more info.

FDR Memorial
A 7.5-acre site near the Jefferson Memorial, this memorial depicts the 12 pivotal years of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidency through a series of four outdoor gallery rooms. The rooms feature ten bronze sculptures depicting President Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt and events from the Great Depression and World War II. The park-like setting includes waterfalls and quiet pools amidst a meandering wall of reddish Dakota granite, where Roosevelt's inspiring words are carved. It is the first memorial in Washington, DC purposely designed to be totally wheelchair accessible. Open daily except Christmas. Free. Park Ranger in attendance 8 a.m. - midnight. Metro: Smithsonian. Contact 202.426.6841 for more info.

Smithsonian Institution
Washington, DC is home to the world's most famous museum complex. Encompassing more than a dozen different buildings and the National Zoo, the Smithsonian is a "must-see" on any visit to the District. The Smithsonian Institution is actually the largest cluster of museums in the world, each worth a day's visit. Admission is free for all Smithsonian museums and the zoo in Washington, D.C., and the American Indian Museum's George Gustav Heye Center in New York. Tickets are not used for general admission. Most museums are open daily, 10am-5:30pm, except December 25. For more info call 202.633.1000 (voice/tape) or 202.633.5285 (TTY) and Email info@si.edu

Museums include:
Anacostia Museum & Center for African American Hist.& Cult.
Arts & Industries Building
Freer Gallery of Art
Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden
National Air and Space Museum
National Museum of African Art
National Museum of American History
National Museum of Natural History
National Portrait Gallery
National Zoological Park
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Amer. Art Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Smithsonian Associates
Smithsonian Institution Information Center
Smithsonian National Postal Museum

National Gallery of Art
Permanent collection of European and American paintings, sculpture, decorative arts and works on paper, plus changing exhibitions of art from around the world. Open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. except New Year's Day and Christmas. Admission is always free. Group tours by appointment. Metro: Archives-Navy Memorial. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176.

National Mall
A splendid green park area extending approximately two miles from the U.S. Capitol to the Washington Monument. Lining either side of the park near the Capitol are 200-year-old American elm trees, several of the Smithsonian Institution museums, National Archives, National Gallery of Art and U.S. Botanic Gardens. Metro: Smithsonian.

Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery, our nation’s most treasured burial ground, is home to more then 285,000 honored dead. Among the thousands of white headstones are the graves of President John F. Kennedy, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, world champion boxer Joe Louis and the Tomb of the Unknowns. Arlington National Cemetery is open to the public at 8 a.m. 365 days a year. From April 1 to Sept. 30 the cemetery closes at 7 p.m.; the other six months it closes at 5 p.m. Ample paid parking is available to visitors, accessible from Memorial Drive. As of February 2002, the cost is $1.25/hour for the first three hours, and $2.00/hour thereafter. During all hours the cemetery is open the Arlington National Cemetery Metro stop is regularly served by highspeed subway trains. The cemetery is also a stop on most tour guides' itineraries, and is serviced by Tourmobile, the popular tour buses that allow patrons unlimited reboarding for a single daily rate. For General Information, Location of Gravesites, & Visitor Information
(703) 607-8000

Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The black granite walls of this moving V-shaped memorial are inscribed with the names of the 58,209 Americans missing or killed in the Vietnam conflict. Frederick Hart's life-size bronze sculpture depicts three young servicemen. Open 24-hours; Park Ranger on site 8 a.m. - midnight. Open Daily and
Closed Dec. 25 For more info call 202.426.6841.

National Archives
Houses the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights and more than 3 billion records. Open daily 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. except Christmas; extended summer hours. Group tours by appointment, call (202) 501-5205. Free admission. Metro: Archives-Navy Memorial.