Planet Word Museum

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Planet Word Museum Planet Word is an interactive museum of words and language in downtown Washington, D.C.

Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” might be the most quoted — and most misread — poem in the English language. It’s bec...
10/25/2026

Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” might be the most quoted — and most misread — poem in the English language. It’s become shorthand for individualism: take the road less traveled, dare to be different.

But read closely, and Frost never actually says one road was less traveled. He describes them as worn “really about the same.” The poem isn’t really about a bold choice at all — it’s about how we look back and tell ourselves a story about our choices, turning an ordinary fork in the road into something meaningful years later.

Read the full poem: https://poets.org/poem/road-not-taken

Can you recognize propaganda when you see it? Imagine you’re listening to a politician announce a new policy in a speech...
10/24/2026

Can you recognize propaganda when you see it?

Imagine you’re listening to a politician announce a new policy in a speech. Instead of saying, “Here’s why I think you should support this policy,” they say, “You’re either with us, or you’re against us.”

The first is a straightforward statement, but the second? It can be considered propaganda.

October 26–30 is U.S. Media Literacy Week. It’s a great opportunity to brush up on your media literacy skills at Planet Word, where you can find interactive displays on misinformation and disinformation, propaganda, truth in advertising, and asking good questions.

Happy birthday, Planet Word! On October 22, 2020, the museum first opened its doors. We’ve grown a lot since then! In th...
10/22/2026

Happy birthday, Planet Word! On October 22, 2020, the museum first opened its doors. We’ve grown a lot since then! In the last year alone, we’ve added 21 new books to our magical Library, three new immersive scenes in our painting with words gallery, and interactive displays about stuttering and the language of diplomacy. If you haven’t visited in a while, make plans to come see what’s new!

Born on October 21, 1929, Ursula K. Le Guin spent over five decades reshaping what fantasy and science fiction could do,...
10/21/2026

Born on October 21, 1929, Ursula K. Le Guin spent over five decades reshaping what fantasy and science fiction could do, using imagined worlds to explore real questions of power, gender, and freedom. She’s best known for her Earthsea novels — including A Wizard of Earthsea, which you can experience come to life on Planet Word’s Story Table — but her body of work also spans poetry, essays, children’s books, and translations, each shaped by the same clear-eyed, generous voice.

Here at Planet Word, we’re usually all about words. But World Statistics Day always falls right around Planet Word’s ann...
10/20/2026

Here at Planet Word, we’re usually all about words. But World Statistics Day always falls right around Planet Word’s anniversary, so it’s the perfect time to look at our year in numbers!

Since October 2025, we’ve welcomed more than 160,000 visitors to Planet Word, who have attended more than 70 programs — from reading lounges and film screenings to Wordplay Wednesday and Sunday Storytime — and participated in 220 educational Wordshops. And wow, have they had fun in our galleries.

Visitors have recorded 7,000+ videos about why words matter to them, recited 11,500+ speeches in our oratory gallery, sung 44,000+ songs in our karaoke room, and created 68,000+ ads in our copywriting interactive. And in our Library, they’ve watched the 100 books featured in our collection come to life on the Story Table more than 226,125 times.

That’s a lot of interactions with the fun, immersive exhibits here at Planet Word. If you’ve visited in the past 12 months, thanks for being part of another word-iful year!

Sweater weather, word games, and a pop-up bar — what more could you want on a Wednesday? Join us November 4, 5–8 p.m., f...
10/19/2026

Sweater weather, word games, and a pop-up bar — what more could you want on a Wednesday?

Join us November 4, 5–8 p.m., for Wordplay Wednesday, with after-hours museum access, karaoke, autumnal crafts and activities, complimentary treats, and drinks for purchase from Immigrant Food.

Pay what you can, $5–$25. Tickets: https://planetwordmuseum.org/events/wordplay-wednesday-22/

Achoo! Flu season is here. The shortened term for the annual affliction, “flu,” came into use in the 1830s. It comes fro...
10/19/2026

Achoo! Flu season is here. The shortened term for the annual affliction, “flu,” came into use in the 1830s. It comes from “influenza,” borrowed into English from Italian about a century earlier, back when our understanding of disease was a lot less scientific.

The word “flu” arose through a process called clipping, where a longer word is shortened to make a new word. It’s an unusual example, as it comes from the middle syllable of “influenza.” Most clippings come from the beginning or end of longer words (think, “ad” from “advertisement” or “phone” from “telephone”).

The etymology of the Italian “influenza,” however, is even more curious. It comes from the Latin astrological term “influentia,” which referred to the ethereal power of the stars. As early as the 1500s, “influenza” was used in Italian for many different types of diseases. Before germ theory and other advancements in medicine, disease was often attributed something more mysterious, astral, and occult.

Today, we know that disease comes not from the stars but from microbes. But, if you’ve ever suffered from the flu, the idea that you’ve been afflicted by some otherworldly force might make sense. Here’s hoping you stay healthy this year!

E.E. Cummings’s “[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]” is one of the most beloved love poems in the English langua...
10/18/2026

E.E. Cummings’s “[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]” is one of the most beloved love poems in the English language — and these final lines are the reason why. Cummings takes something as small and ordinary as carrying someone close to you and widens it until it holds the whole universe: roots, buds, trees, stars. By the time the poem returns to its opening line, “I carry your heart,” the phrase means something larger than it did at the start.

Read the full poem: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/49493/i-carry-your-heart-with-mei-carry-it-in

Address

925 13th Street NW
Washington D.C., DC
20005

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 10am - 6pm

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