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The National Zoological Park is a bureau of the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum and research complex. The Smithsonian consists of 16 museums and galleries, as well as the National Zoo. The simple words ‘National Zoo’ represent a large, complex, and diverse organization with a multi-faceted mission: To celebrate, study, and protect wild animals and their habitats. The National Zoo is far more than a place where people can see wild animals. It is a 163-acre zoological park set amid Rock Creek National Park in the heart of Washington DC. Open to the public 364 days a year, it is home to more than 2,700 individual animals of 435 different species. The best known residents are the giant pandas, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang. About 2,774 animals and 419 different species currently comprise the animal collection at the National Zoo. About one-fifth of the species are endangered or threatened. Most of the species are on exhibit at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
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Because the
city was built from scratch, Washington's
regular town plan is easy to grasp. Centered
on Capitol Hill and its governmental
monoliths, the District is divided into four
quadrants - northeast, northwest, southeast
and southwest. Dozens of broad avenues , all
named after states, run diagonally across a
standard grid of streets , meeting up at
monumental traffic circles like Dupont
Circle. North-south streets are numbered,
east-west ones are lettered. There's no J
Street, an intentional slight to early
Supreme Court Justice John Jay, or X, Y or Z
Street. I Street is often written Eye
Street. Be sure to note the relevant
two-letter code in any address (NW, NE, SW,
SE), which shows its quadrant; 1600
Pennsylvania Ave NW is a long way from 1600
Pennsylvania Ave SE.
Once in the
city, stop at the
DC Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center ,
Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania
Ave NW (Mon-Sat 8am-6pm, Sun noon-5pm; tel
202/328-4748), which can help with maps,
tours, bookings and citywide information.
Look for visitor information desks at the
airports and Union Station.
The White House Visitor Information Center
, 1450 Pennsylvania Ave NW (daily
7.30am-4pm; tel 202/208-1631), supplies free
maps and handy guides to museums and
attractions; the most useful is the free
Washington DC Visitors Guide .
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