Visit the Museum
The National Capital Radio & Television Museum welcomes visitors three days a week: Friday (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Saturday (12 p.m. to 4 p.m.), and Sunday (12 p.m. to 4 p.m.)— and at other times by appointment. At the Museum in Bowie, there are two floors of exhibit galleries.
Admission :
$5.00 for seniors, students, and Bowie residents
Free for children under 5 years
Free for Museum members
- Basic and Ham memberships get free admission for themselves and 1 guest
- Family memberships get free admission for themselves and 3 guests
The Museum in Bowie, Maryland, contains seven galleries providing a chronological history of the receivers used by the radio listener and the television watcher over the years. Here, we provide a brief overview of what you will see.
The main floor is wheelchair accessible. A video tour of the second floor is available upon request for those who cannot navigate the stairs. The National Capital Radio & Television Museum offers docent-guided tours. Standard guided tours take approximately one hour.
In addition to the Museum in Bowie, we install exhibits at the Library of American Broadcasting, located in the Hornbake Library at the University of Maryland campus in College Park.
For more information, please call the museum at (301) 390-1020, or email the Museum at info@ncrtv.org.
Hours of Operation
Fridays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturdays and Sundays 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The Museum also can be opened for group and school tours by appointment.
Please call (301) 390-1020 or email info@ncrtv.org for scheduling.
Directions
From the North:
Take either I-95 or the Baltimore-Washington Parkway south to the Washington Beltway (I-495) and head south toward Richmond. Take exit 19 East (U.S. 50) toward Annapolis. Travel about seven miles to Exit 11 (Collington Rd., Bowie, Rt. 197). Bear right on Collington Rd. for just less than one mile, and then turn right on Mitchellville Rd., heading south for 1.3 miles. To your right, you will see a museum sign and driveway just before a stop light (Mt. Oak Rd.). There’s plenty of free parking at the Museum.
From Washington, DC:
Take New York Ave (U.S. 50) East toward Annapolis. After you cross the Beltway (I-495), continue on U.S. 50 east for about seven miles to Exit 11 (Collington Rd., Bowie, Rt. 197). Bear right on Collington Rd. for just less than one mile, and then turn right on Mitchellville Rd., heading south for 1.3 miles. To your right, you will see a museum sign and driveway just before a stop light (Mt. Oak Rd.). There’s plenty of free parking at the Museum.
From the South:
Drive north on I-95 until the Springfield Interchange, and follow signs for I-95 and I-495 North (they are the same highway for some distance in Virginia and Maryland). You will cross the Potomac River on the Wilson Bridge and drive about 15 miles to Exit 19 East (U.S. 50) toward Annapolis. Travel about seven miles to Exit 11 (Collington Rd., Bowie, Rt. 197). Bear right on Collington Rd. for just less than one mile, and then turn right on Mitchellville Rd., heading south for 1.3 miles. To your right, you will see a museum sign and driveway just before a stop light (Mount Oak Rd.). There’s plenty of free parking at the Museum.
From the West:
Take I-270 towards Washington, DC. When you reach the Beltway (I-495) proceed east. Follow the Beltway through Maryland and take Exit 19 East (U.S. 50) toward Annapolis. Travel about seven miles to Exit 11 (Collington Rd., Bowie, Rt. 197). Bear right on Collington Rd. for just less than one mile, and then turn right on Mitchellville Rd., heading south for 1.3 miles. To your right, you will see a museum sign and driveway just before a stop light (Mt. Oak Rd.). There’s plenty of free parking at the Museum.