Macabre exhibits galore pack this Department of Defense鈥搑un museum. The stomach-shaped hairball leaves a lasting impression (a 12-year-old girl ate THAT?), as does the megacolon (use your imagination). The showpiece is the bullet that killed Abraham Lincoln, encased alongside bits of his skull. The museum is located at Fort Detrick鈥檚 Forest Glen Annex. That鈥檚 officially out of the District, but just over the border in Silver Spring, MD.
Opened in 1862, the museum is one of the oldest in the DC area. The focus of the museum鈥檚 eclectic collection is military medicine 鈥 the displays on Civil War combat 鈥榥ursing鈥 are gruesome and fascinating in equal measure. It鈥檚 not for the faint-hearted 鈥 visitors will see the effects of diseases, the tools used to battle them and all the messy side and after effects
Unfortunately, the Metro won't get you very close (the station is a mile from the site), so it鈥檚 easiest to drive out. Parking is free. Bring photo ID.