Spy Store Curbside Pick-Up
We’re here to help you shop safely for the holidays 🎄🛍
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Order online at spymuseumstore.org and select In-Store or Curbside Pickup now available for your convenience 🚘 Questions? Call 202-654-0953. Happy Gifting, agents!
Former CIA Chief of Disguise Breaks Down Cold War Spy Photography | WIRED
During the Cold War, surveillance in Moscow was the most difficult kind of surveillance that the US had encountered around the globe. There are lots of was to collect intelligence, and cameras were former CIA Chief of Disguise Jonna Mendez's favorite.
WATCH - Jonna talks about all the different photography methods US spies used during the Cold War, from carrier pigeons holding tiny cameras to a variety of different spy cameras that could be hidden in pens, ties and pocketbooks. via WIRED
Former CIA Chief of Disguise Breaks Down Cold War Spy Gadgets | WIRED
During the Cold War, surveillance in Moscow was the most difficult kind of surveillance that the US had encountered around the globe. Moscow had its own set of rules since it was such a difficult place to work. Former CIA Chief of Disguise Jonna Mendez talks about some of the tactics, gadgets and disguises CIA operatives used in the field during the Cold War.
Check out Jonna Mendez’s most recent book "The Moscow Rules" or find more information about her on her website: https://www.themasterofdisguise.com/ | via WIRED
From the Vault: Intelligence & Analysis in the National Football League
*NEW #Spycast - Intelligence & Analysis in the NFL. If 1985 was “The Year of the Spy,” was 2019 its equivalent in the sporting world? The Patriots were accused of spying on the Bengals, Leeds Utd. of surveilling Derby County, and the Houston Astros of stealing-signs from, well, everybody.
Just before Super Bowl XLV (2011), high-school quarterback, artist and Spy Museum stalwart Dan Treado sat down with ex-intelligence officer, analyst, consultant and author T.J. Waters to discuss the secret world of the NFL. Briefing books. Secure Comms. Deception operations. Think states have a monopoly on intelligence and espionage: think again.
https://bit.ly/36XXwe8
Collection Highlight - Bolshevik Banner | ChON Flag
In this episode of SPY's Collection Highlights, historian and collector, H. Keith Melton showcases the one-of-a-kind Bolshevik Banner.
Felix Dzerzhinsky founded and led the Cheka, the first Soviet secret police, forerunner of the KGB, and one of history’s most feared intelligence agencies. As opposition to the Bolsheviks grew, so did the Cheka’s reach. It took brutality to new levels of sophistication during the Red Terror (1918–1922), a crackdown against the regime’s political foes. The Bolshevik Banner (USSR | circa 1922) depicts the “glory and service” of the ChON, which carried out “special tasks” for the secret police—including kidnapping, sabotage, and assassination.
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The International Spy Museum features the largest collection of international espionage artifacts ever placed on public display. Explore the Museum's artifact collection ONLINE: https://bit.ly/2Jc2BnB
Russian Red Atlantis Kiss Cocktail
Joining tonight's Virtual Happy Hour? Try out the “Red Atlantis” cocktail to help get in the mood, courtesy of a DC mixologist at a much-loved bar in a much-loved neighborhood: Lost & Found in Shaw.
Drink: Russian Red Atlantis Kiss
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Vodka
1oz cherry syrup (or grenadine)
Cherries
Muddle 3 cherries with the vodka and cherry syrup, shake and strain into a martini or coupe glass. Top with Club Soda, garnish with cherries. Cheers! https://bit.ly/3phnIZn
Rest in Peace, Alex Trebek
“It’s not just in movies, DC’s International Spy Museum has these disguised as pens, lighters, and a watch.”
Fondly remembering the Museum's Steineck Wristwatch Camera featured on Jeopardy! for the category Spy Stuff in 2018.
Thank you for instilling the love of learning in all of us. RIP Alex Trebek.
Happy Halloween
From our SPY family to yours, Happy Halloween! Stay safe and sp🎃🎃ky out there, agents! #TrustNoOne #AssumeNothing
Virtual Happy Hour - Astrology
Spies and Spymasters Virtual Happy Hour is back tomorrow! Join us for a look into a steamy cauldron of astrology, cryptology, and steganography with author and data scientist, Alexander Boxer.
He’ll be dissecting the strange and wondrous ways that ancient people made sense of the heavens using astrology as predictive technology.
Need drink ideas? Bartender Keith Dengenis from Dish at the River Inn will shake up a cocktail suitable aptly named, the Marrying Potion.
Be sure to register and download the drink recipe! https://bit.ly/3kCaC6t
A Message from Jonna Mendez
Mission Alert - A Message from Jonna Mendez!
Experience the shadowy world of espionage from the remarkable women who practiced them professionally. Real Spies. Real Stories.
Learn more - https://bit.ly/3ibfGMP
60 Minutes with Dr. Fauci | CBS
WATCH | Be sure to tune-in to tonight's 60 Minutes (CBS 7 p.m. ET/PT) with Dr. Fauci, as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases gives Jon LaPook the latest information on how the U.S. is faring in the pandemic.
Pssst...look closer, you may spot the Spy Museum as the filming location. 👀
How to Make Invisible Ink
Learn how to make eight different formulas for creating Invisible Ink! Download the Museum's briefing guide with step-by-step instructions (link below).
Don't forget to test out the Secret Message Egg Challenge on the back https://bit.ly/342w6TV
Spies in Disguise
Halloween is right around the corner! Take your transformation to the next level and join our family virtual disguise workshop TODAY.
You'll meet Jonna Mendez, former CIA Chief of Disguise, and learn tips from professional make-up artist, Roger Riggle.
Using materials gathered from home, you will practice creating effects such as old age, glamour, scars, and more!
Don't miss "Spies in Disguise: Halloween Edition" today at 5:30 PM. Register: https://bit.ly/34HVvlc
CBS's FBI Declassified: Spies Next Door
For a decade, the FBI monitored a network of Russian spies masquerading as normal American families. It was like "The Americans" in real life. Agents bugged the spies’ homes, followed their travels, and ultimately cracked their secret communications network, to try to stop sensitive information from getting into the hands of the Russian government.
Don't miss "The FBI Declassified | The Spies Next Door" TONIGHT at 10/9c on CBS.
WATCH ---> https://cbsn.ws/3lBlMbs #FBIDeclassified
Putin Birthday
Today in #SpyHistory: Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of Russia and former KGB intelligence officer was born, 1952. The rest is a long and storied history...
A Call To Spy
At the dawn of World War II, a desperate Winston Churchill orders his new spy agency—the Special Operations Executive (SOE)—to recruit and train women as spies. Their daunting mission: conduct sabotage and build a resistance.
SOE's "spymistress," Vera Atkins (played by Stana Katic), recruits two unusual candidates: Virginia Hall (Sarah Megan Thomas), an American journalist from Baltimore hampered by a wooden leg, and Noor Inayat Khan (Radhika Apte), a wireless officer of Indian descent and an avowed pacifist.
Together, these lady spies worked to undermine the Nazi regime in France. The courage, sacrifices and grit of these three women helped quell the Nazi occupation – and ultimately turned the tide of the war. Inspired by true stories.
Watch #ACallToSpy in theaters or stream at home beginning October 2. Visit acalltospymovie.com for more information.
Do you have what it takes to be a spy? Join us for a Safe and Stealthy mission.
New measures are in place including capacity limits, social distancing, mask requirements and enhanced cleaning.
Advance ticket purchase is recommended. Plan a visit today! https://www.spymuseum.org/visit/
Spies and Spymasters Happy Hour
Need cocktail ideas for tonight's Spies and Spymasters Virtual Happy Hour? Prepare with a diabolical drink aptly named "The Invisible" courtesty of InterContinental The Willard Washington D.C..!
1 oz Tanqueray London Dry Gin
0.5 oz Lemon Juice
0.5 oz Champagne & Berries Tea Syrup
2 oz Champagne or Prosecco
Cheers! https://bit.ly/2RTYLnk
Covert Couch Challenge
How INCREDIBLE is your family? Can you create coded messages, slip into disguise and design a super stealthy spy gadget? Tonight, join SPY for the ultimate Family Game Night with the Covert Couch Challenge (5-6PM).
Do you have what it takes to be spies? Your family’s teamwork abilities and trade-craft skills will be put to the test! Register-->https://bit.ly/2RBrLjI
Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite!
It’s been 10 years since the creation of The Great Truce, a cyber system to calm cats and dogs when conflicts arise. But, when a villain hacks the system, the battle between cats and dogs is reinstated. Now, a team of animal agents must find a way to restore peace.
Don’t miss the return of CATS & DOGS 3: PAWS UNITE! Available today on Digital and on Blu-ray™ 10/13. https://bit.ly/CatsDogs3_MovieWB
Spy Museum's Cyber Infinity Room
Have you experienced the Spy Museum's Cyber Infinity Room?
Design agents at Territory Studio worked with Gallagher & Associates to create an immersive infinity room experience with a narrative foreshowing the complexities of modern cyber intelligence. Take a look!
SPY Trivia is back this week! Test your history and spy knowledge with a virtual trivia game as we bring you a live scored game on Wed., Aug. 12; 5:30 p.m. and see if you have what it takes be the best Trivia Agent out there. This week's theme is "50s".
Registration is limited to only **75 players** so grab your spot today! https://bit.ly/3gKM217
Today in #SpyHistory: The U.S. Navy established the Code and Signal Section in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, 1916.
This was the beginning of communications intelligence (COMINT) research in the development of codes and ciphers.
Tonight's Spies & Spymasters Virtual Happy Hour - Hollywood Spies calls for a truly glamorous drink, the French 75:
INGREDIENTS
2 oz dry gin
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Dash of simple syrup
5 oz chilled dry sparkling wine
Lemon Rind
Put ice, gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a shaker. Shake well. Strain over a champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine and garnish with a lemon rind twist.
Spies and Spymasters Virtual Happy Hour
Spies and Spymasters Virtual Happy Hour is back! Join us tonight at 5:30 p.m. for some unusual celebrity gossip at this all-new happy hour feat. Hollywood Spies and special guest, Jonna Mendez!
From Marlene Dietrich’s sultry propaganda song to Sterling Hayden’s mysterious WWII activities, we'll tell you some of our favorite stories about operatives who loved the limelight more than the shadows.
Jonna Mendez will give us the inside story on her Hollywood experiences: from working with special effects artists to advising on films to walking the red carpet with her husband Tony Mendez.
Register --> https://bit.ly/3hrVGWD
Atlas Obscura - Object of Intrigue | Five Second Mask
Where did US Navy SEAL Clint Emerson use this full-face latex mask? Details are still classified. It’s called a “five second mask” because the user should be able to put it on in less than five seconds. https://bit.ly/39joyNK
During her tenure as the former CIA Chief of Disguise (a real job!), Jonna Mendez oversaw the equipment used by spies to conceal their identities, including this realistic five-second mask.
Don't miss Jonna in tomorrow's Spies and Spymasters Virtual Happy Hour - Hollywood Spies. She'll give us the inside story on her Hollywood experiences: from working with special effects artists to advising on films to walking the red carpet with her husband Tony Mendez. https://bit.ly/3hrVGWD
Spy Trivia Night!
SPY Trivia is back! Test your spy knowledge with a virtual trivia game this Wednesday, July 22 5:30 p.m. as we bring you a live scored game and see if you have the intel to be the best Trivia Agent out there! *This week's theme is, "Games!"
Registration is limited to only **75 players** so grab your spot today. https://bit.ly/2CwboRz
Can you recover the intel?
Do you have what it takes to be a spy? Escape your world inside and visit the newly reopened museum, you’ll be totally immersed into the world of espionage.
Get your timed tickets now for a #SafeandStealthy mission - https://www.spymuseum.org/
NBC News - Museums adjust to coronavirus pandemic
During the pandemic, many museums turned to online tours and virtual classes. Now they’re working back to in-person visits with new safety measures in place. Those include reconfigured exhibits, timed tickets and state-of-the-art cleanings.
In Washington D.C., the International Spy Museum’s “Safe and Stealthy” campaign gives every visitor their own stylus to manipulate digital interactive exhibits. Capacity is limited and masks are required.
“We have a whole website on preparing for your visit. This is also a spy skill-operational planning is very important,” says Director of Youth Education, Jacqueline V. Eyl. “You don’t want to go on any mission without knowing what you’re in for.” -- via NBC News