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Plan Your Visit - Tips for Museum Visitors

The Museum is open to the public daily from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., except on Mondays and Federal Holidays. Admission to the Museum is free. For the preservation of our collections and the enjoyment of our visitors, please observe the following rules while visiting our galleries.

All parcels, umbrellas, and bags larger than 11" x 16"x 8" must be checked, including backpack-style child carriers. Bags in excess of the given dimensions containing needed medical equipment are allowed in the Museum. We also recommend that you check your coat.

When visiting the museum please refrain from the following:

Touching any art objects
Getting closer than 1 foot to any unprotected artwork
Smoking
Chewing gum
Running, yelling, or disruptive behavior
Cell phone usage

For the protection of the objects on view in the Museum, the following items are not allowed in the galleries:

Food or liquids
Backpacks, large bags, or portfolios
Portable radios
Flashlights or laser pointers
Tripods or monopods
Umbrellas
Additional lighting
Paints or easels without prior permission or a permit
Pen markers
Vine charcoals/pastels or soft drawing media
Open containers or solvents

Film and photography:

Non-flash photography is allowed; tripods and other professional equipment are not permitted. No videotaping, please.

Photographs taken in the Museum are for personal use only; any publication or commercial use of images requires prior written authorization.
Dumbarton Oaks reserves the right to withhold or withdraw permission to photograph on its premises at any time.

Visitors are welcome to sketch with pencil or charcoal on pads no larger than 12” x 18”.

For the safety of visitors and exhibits, you may be required to leave strollers and baby carriages in the Cloak Room.

All bags are subject to inspection by Museum staff.

No animals--except assistance animals--are allowed.

The Museum is fully accessible.

We allow and offer group tours of the permanent galleries in the morning only. (Tours are not available during the month of August.) Informal group tours are not allowed during public Museum hours.