International Spy Museum

The International Spy Museum (SPY) is an independent nonprofit museum which documents the tradecraft, history, and contemporary role of espionage. It holds the largest collection of international espionage artifacts on public display. The Museum opened in 2002 in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, DC, and relocated to a new, expanded building with all-new exhibitions at L'Enfant Plaza in 2019. Every nation considers intelligence essential to its national security. The Museum lifts the veil of secrecy on the hidden world of intelligence, exploring its successes and failures, challenges, and controversies. The Museum's mission is to create compelling exhibitions and other learning experiences that shed light on the shadow world of espionage and intelligence, educating and challenging each of us to engage critically with the complex world around us.

spymuseum.org

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Resources from International Spy Museum

Resource Kit

Design Your Own Gadget

Take a peek at a few of the gadgets in SPY's collection, and then design your own!

Created by: International Spy Museum

Resource Kit

Glomar Explorer and the Great Submarine Salvage

Dive into the exciting story of the Glomar Explorer, then try your hand at picking up your own submersible!

Created by: International Spy Museum

Resource Kit

Invisible Ink

Learn about invisible inks, and then create your own!

Created by: International Spy Museum

Resource Kit

Codes

Can you crack a code? Can you read and write secret messages? Work through the following activities to improve your cipher skills!

Created by: International Spy Museum

Resource Kit

Signaling Devices

Spies rely on signals to send important messages and convey vital information. Learn about signals used in the world of spying and create your own device!

Created by: International Spy Museum

Resource Kit

Propaganda and Intelligence

Propaganda is information designed to influence people’s opinions and actions, but how do governments use it as a covert action to elicit a response?

Created by: International Spy Museum

September 11th: The Intelligence Angle

In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the International Spy Museum has created these lesson plans and activities to support student understanding of the role that intelligence played leading up to, during, and following the events of that day. This pivotal event has greatly changed the world in which today’s students live. Examining 9/11 through the lens of intelligence provides students with a critical perspective on this historic event: the actions taken by the government connected to the attacks and the consequences of those actions.

International Spy Museum

Spy Alarm

Build an exciting spy gadget: an alarm!

International Spy Museum

Reflective Recon

In this lesson, students will explore the law of reflection to calculate the angles required for situating a series of mirrors so that a light shone at one point will hit the target at a different location.

International Spy Museum

Rearview Glasses

Create sunglasses that allow you to have “eyes in the back of your head” so you are aware of your surroundings when completing top secret missions.

International Spy Museum

Mind Memory

In the shadow world of spying, having a good memory is extremely important. A spy cannot always take notes. If their cover is blown and they are caught in enemy territory, any notes or documents can be held against them. In addition, spies live undercover and must memorize their cover details (their name, place of birth, date of birth, and other important details that fleshes out their alias). Therefore, memorizing mission details, cover details, and important intelligence is critical to their success and often, survival. This activity is based on a game described in the novel, Kim by Rudyard Kipling, in which the hero, Kim, plays the game during his training as a spy. You will sometimes see this activity referred to as “Kim’s Game.”

International Spy Museum

Invisible Ink Formulas

Create your own invisible ink!

International Spy Museum

The Great Submarine Salvage

Students will work in teams to design, build, and test a prototype of a device which can retrieve a sunken submarine from the bottom of the ocean. For the engineering challenge, students will build and test a prototype which can pick up and retrieve a 2 oz. fishing weight from a depth of 3 feet.

International Spy Museum

Escape Map Activity

Create a portable, wearable symbolic map. Should you be captured by an enemy agent – the map will be unreadable by them – only you will know the meaning of the symbols on your secret map.

International Spy Museum

DIY Ninja

Mysterious figures lurking in the shadows, slipping by undetected to strike without warning. That’s the well–earned reputation of Japan’s ninjas, professional spies dating back as far as the 12th century.

International Spy Museum

Disguise for Cover

Sometimes intelligence officers and their agents need to operate in public places without being recognized. In disguise, they can move freely.

International Spy Museum

Chroma Cipher

Looking for a new way to hide a secret message? Try this trick using thermochromic paint! When the paint is heated to a specific temperature, it turns colorless and the secret message is revealed! When the temperature falls below that threshold, the paint color returns and the message is hidden again.

International Spy Museum

Create Your Own Book Safe

There’s no better place to hide things out of plain sight than in a book safe. Nobody would ever think of looking inside a book on your bookshelf for your important things, so a book could be the ideal safe.

International Spy Museum

Spy Alarm

Design Your Own Gadget

Created by: International Spy Museum

Invisible Ink Formulas

Created by: International Spy Museum

Spy from Home: How to Make Invisible Ink

Created by: International Spy Museum

King George's Invisible Signature

Created by: International Spy Museum

The Great Submarine Salvage

Glomar Explorer and the Great Submarine Salvage

Created by: International Spy Museum

Glomar Belt Buckle

Glomar Explorer and the Great Submarine Salvage

Created by: International Spy Museum

Glomar Barometer

Glomar Explorer and the Great Submarine Salvage

Created by: International Spy Museum

Spy Collection Highlights: K-129 Soviet Submarine | CIA & Howard Hughes

Glomar Explorer and the Great Submarine Salvage

Created by: International Spy Museum

Create Your Own Spy Gadget!

Design Your Own Gadget

Use the following page to craft your own spy gadget!

Created by: International Spy Museum

Chessboard Concealment

Design Your Own Gadget

Created by: International Spy Museum

Insectothopter

Design Your Own Gadget

Created by: International Spy Museum

Spy from Home: Codes & Ciphers

Created by: International Spy Museum

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