I Spy: The CIA Museum Tour

What comes to mind when you think of the CIA?  If you're like me, you might think of all the questionable meddling in international politics this agency did in the 70s and 80s.  If you have a better view of this federal entity, perhaps spies and intrigue come to mind.  But apparently the CIA is more than that - they have a museum of declassified artifacts set up within their compound in Washington DC, and they've helpfully made some of those artifacts available for online viewing.

The museum tour is nicely set up:  the opening screen brings you to a virtual room filled with virtual cabinets, each of which contains a few artifacts that are organized by theme.  You can click on each artifact to get several different views, plus its dimensions and a brief history of how it was used.  I'm impressed by the brevity shown here - the object descriptions are informative but never overwhelming with facts.  There are many museums, both physical and virtual, that could stand to learn about label writing from the CIA.

The diversity of artifacts is interesting, too.  These objects span all of Cold War history and also delve into some of our more recent conflicts.  There are insignia from the CIA's predecessor, the Office of Strategic Services, and some mementos from the CIA's founding.  There's flight gear and several examples of CIA technology that made its way into civilian fields.  There's all manner of spy equipment, from compacts that reveal codes to cameras for pigeons to devices shaped like flies and fish.  There's even the Enigma Machine, which was used by the Nazis to create codes during WWII.  You can definitely learn a lot about the history of American spying from these artifacts.

But what you can't learn is any of the organization's controversies or its darker stories.  The CIA has not been just about defeating Nazis and keeping the Soviets at bay.  The organization has done terrible things in developing countries, almost always putting America's needs ahead of all others.  I'm sure the CIA would never admit to that on their website or in their museum, but burying this history under a lot of cool artifacts goes a long way towards helping us forget what was done in the name of freedom.

So while this is a very interesting and worthwhile museum to visit, it's important to keep in mind just what these objects represent.  Be awed and informed, but don't forget the severe whitewashing that's going on, and that this government-sponsored museum has an agenda to pursue.


The CIA Museum Tour
Mission:  The CIA Museum supports the Agency's operational, recruitment and training missions and helps visitors better understand CIA and the contributions it makes to national security.
Website:  https://www.cia.gov/about-cia/cia-museum/cia-museum-tour