The DEA Museum Educates, Engages, and Inspires All Ages

The DEA Museum, which originally debuted in 1999, was reimagined by staff and partners in 2021 to engage and educate the public in a colorful, contemporary space. Interactive exhibits, artifacts, and diverse, personal histories make the Museum a modern and compelling exploration of the long, dynamic history of drug use, misuse, and law enforcement.

There is something for everyone at the DEA Museum. Its innovative learning environment boasts over 40 hands-on activities, 180 artifacts, a changing exhibit space, and an education room outfitted with distance learning technology.

Touchscreen timelines reveal how drug law enforcement has changed as technology, medicine, and society changed. Younger visitors can earn a Junior Special Agent badge by completing word searches, letter scrambles, and other challenges. Exhibits and activity stations beckon every guest to inspect artifacts, examine fingerprints, go on virtual missions, and more.

The Museum tells the story of DEA and its predecessor agencies. Visitors can delve into this history and learn about the impact of illicit drug use on Americans’ lives over 200 years. Exhibits on the science, manufacturing, and distribution of opium, marijuana, cocaine, and other drugs, including synthetic drugs, empower visitors. The Drug Wall exhibit is accessible, interactive, and highly educational.  

The renewed visitors’ experience builds upon the Museum’s rich history serving DEA and local communities. Its collection grew from humble beginnings: an assortment of narcotics law enforcement badges gathered by a special agent. Twenty years later, a small team of DEA employees transformed objects into an engaging exhibit space that probed the history of substance misuse in the United States and how government addressed this problem. And now, with the newly reimagined space, visitors can also learn about the various career roles at DEA.

The captivating and changing exhibit areas keeps visitors coming back for more. Presently visitors will learn about the 50-year history of DEA – its operations, employees, global collaborations, and the bravery of special agents. The exhibit features artifacts, artwork, photographs, and a facsimile of the Executive Order that formed DEA in 1973. A video featuring oral histories from retired DEA special agents and employees can be found in the education space, which is also used for classes and presentations. A rotating spotlight exhibit highlights noteworthy moments in DEA’s history. This year’s spotlight exhibit is Breaking the Mold and highlights three extraordinary DEA women.

An important experience of any visit is DEA’s Wall of Honor, a central, yet serene, place of reflection located in the Museum's lobby. Newly commissioned portraits in a  dignified brass display respectfully shines with 24-hour illumination, and an interactive kiosk shares the stories of each hero. DEA is unified in remembrance of its fallen—an unforgettable part of its history.

In the adjacent lobby, an exhibit honors New York Task Force Officers who died as a result of aiding the rescue and recovery efforts after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The Faces of Fentanyl a powerful exhibit on the dangers of fentanyl and other illicit drugs, features portraits of young and old alike – a sample of the many who have lost their lives due to drug overdoses.

In all, the DEA Museum is a must-see for tourists and residents alike.  Explore this website and learn about tour options and classes for school groups. You can also find lectures, panel discussions, online exhibits, and a wealth of information. 

Come visit soon!

The DEA Museum is located at 700 Army Navy Drive in Arlington, Virginia. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., admission is free. Closed on federal holidays and for special events.