You need game plan to see as much as you can at the Smithsonian museums!

The Smithsonian consist of several museums; each museum you could spend an entire day viewing the collections. Youth Tour students will only have one afternoon to visit everything. Without a plan your visit can be very overwhelming. Speaking from experience, it's a good idea to talk to your friends on the trip to decide what is important to each of you and then move quickly so that you can accomplish your goals.

You can download an app that will help you discover all you can do and see while at the different museums. You can download it here. The museums are spread out; plus you have to go through security at each one. You will have to go with a game plan!

Here is a brief description of each museum on the National Mall:

Smithsonian Institution Building - The historic building, also known as the Castle, is a good place to start your tour of the museums.

Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building - The original home of the National Museum is currently closed for renovations.

Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum - This impressive museum displays the largest collection of air and spacecraft in the world as well as smaller items like instruments, memorabilia, and clothing.

Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden - The modern and contemporary art exhibits include arts of traditional historical themes and collections addressing emotion, abstraction, politics, process, religion, and economics.

Smithsonian Freer Gallery - The world-renowned collection highlights art from China, Japan, Korea, South and Southeast Asia, and the Near East.

Smithsonian Sackler Gallery - This unique building is connected underground to the Freer Gallery of Art.

Smithsonian National Museum of African Art - The collection includes ancient as well as contemporary works from Africa.

Smithsonian Natural History Museum - At this family favorite museum you will see a variety of artifacts including an 80-foot dinosaur skeleton, a life size model of a blue whale, an enormous prehistoric white shark, and a 45-and-a-half carat jewel a known as the Hope Diamond.

Smithsonian American History Museum - With more than 3 million artifacts of American history and culture, visitors learn about the nation's history from the War of Independence to the present day. At the heart of the museum, the Star-Spangled Banner—one of the most recognized symbols of the nation—has been given a new state-of-the-art gallery.

Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian - The newest museum on the National Mall in Washington, DC showcases Native American objects from ancient pre-Columbian civilizations through the 21st century.

Smithsonian International Gallery - Housed in the S. Dillon Ripley Center, this is the education and membership branch of the Smithsonian Associates and hosts a variety of traveling exhibits.