Take a (Virtual) Visit to the International Spy Museum

The International Spy Museum moved into brand-new digs last year, and the new building near L'Enfant Plaza is a sparkling addition to anyone's Washington, D.C., tourist itinerary.

Of course, no one's enjoying a family trip to the nation's capital right now, so the museum's curators are trying to bring some of its most interesting military and national security artifacts online so you can get a virtual taste of its real-life holdings.

The International Spy Museum is a private nonprofit organization founded by veterans of the intelligence community. The group aims to educate the public about the role that espionage has played in world history, and they do a great job of explaining the history of intelligence services from countries around the world.

"Game recognize game," and the museum is far more interested in chronicling the history of spycraft than pursuing a national agenda. The KGB may have been the CIA's opponent in the Cold War, but that doesn't make its history any less instructive.

The museum is bringing its events online with virtual chats and even a virtual spy school. It will be updating events as the days and weeks go by, so make sure to bookmark this calendar page to find out what's planned.

If you're home-schooling the kids and you're all bored with math problems, the museum has created lesson plans and activities for some truly educational studies to break up the monotony.

In addition, it offered us a virtual tour with images of some of its most prized artifacts. Check out the images and the museum's descriptions below.

Bicycle Escape Map Cards

During World War II, the U.S. Playing Card Co. joined forces with American and British intelligence agencies to create a deck that helped Allied prisoners of war escape from German POW camps. Water was applied to reveal the map of escape routes.

Welbike

This portable motorcycle was designed for quick getaways from a landing area or drop zone.

The Great Seal

Given to the United States ambassador to Russia in 1945 as a sign of "friendship," this replica of the Great Seal of the United States had an ulterior purpose. Inside the carved wood, the Soviets planted a bugging device in order to spy on the ambassador in his Moscow residence. The bug embedded in the seal was discovered accidentally after a British radio operator heard a conversation through an open radio wave.

Pigeon Camera

Before U-2 Dragon Lady planes and satellites and after hot air balloons, there were pigeons. During World War I, carrier pigeons, outfitted with a small camera, flew over military sites to gain images of the enemy's weapons and armor. Take note of the birds' wings in the edges of the photos!

M-209 Cipher Machine

Circa 1943, U.S. Army Issue: The M-209 is a small, lightweight, portable hand-operated mechanical cipher machine, developed by Hagelin in Sweden for the U.S. Army as the successor to the M-94 hand cipher.

Insectothopter

1976, USSR (KGB): Russian intelligence made this model of the CIA's original 1976 Insectothopter -- a dragonfly-shaped drone that carried a microphone. It was too small to be remotely controlled, and there was no surveillance equipment tiny enough for it to carry.

Ice Ax Used to Kill Trotsky

The assassination of Leon Trotsky was known as the crime of the century when it occurred in Mexico in 1940. The ice-climbing ax used in the assassination was missing for decades before it resurfaced in 2005. The handle still sports a rust mark from a bloody fingerprint.

George Washington Letter

This original letter, written on Feb. 4, 1777, by George Washington, enlisted Mr. Nathaniel Sackett, a New Yorker who had proven himself a valuable spy catcher, as his "intelligence director." Washington agreed to pay him $50 per month, plus $500 to set up a spy network.

M-94 Cipher Device

Circa 1922-1943, U.S. Army: The M-94 cipher device was used from 1922 to 1943 by the U.S. Army. Using the same principle as Thomas Jefferson's cipher device, disks are rotated to encipher a message. During WWII, the M-94 was replaced by the more complex M-209 (1943).

Bulgarian Umbrella

In 1978, the KGB used an umbrella like this -- modified to fire a tiny pellet filled with poison -- to assassinate dissident Georgi Markov on the streets of London.

Amber Drone

The grandfather to the Predator drone. This artifact, hanging from the ceiling of the Spy Museum's lobby, is the sixth model of the device ever produced.

Military Patches

The museum has a large collection of military patches.

In addition to adding videos of its online programs, the museum is spotlighting artifacts from its collection in videos released every Tuesday. Check out the first three below:

Insectothopter

Heavy Water

Walker's Silver Bar