Step inside America’s secret codebreaking world at the National Cryptologic Museum near Fort Meade. This free Maryland museum offers hands-on spycraft exhibits, historic code-breaking machines, and a fascinating look at cryptology, linguistics, and national defense.
I didn’t walk into the National Cryptologic Museum expecting to be as absorbed as I was. This felt like one of those “let’s pop in for an hour” stops—something interesting to fill an afternoon near Fort Meade. Instead, I found myself slowing down, reading nearly every placard, and realizing just how much of world history unfolded quietly, behind locked doors, by people most of us will never know by name.
Located just outside Fort Meade, next to the National Security Agency headquarters, the museum offers a rare public look into the Intelligence Community. It’s not flashy, it’s not gimmicky, and that’s exactly why it works so well. This place treats its subject matter—and its visitors—with respect…