Potomac Atrium - Rainbows Under the Dome
A stop on Washington DC National Mall Walking Tour, a free self-guided tour.
The main entrance faces east and opens into the Potomac, a round atrium that rises about 120 feet to a dome. It is the heart of the building, used for dance, music and other gatherings, and its curving walls echo the shapes of the outside.
On sunny days, look for spots of rainbow light moving across the floor and walls. They come from eight glass prisms set into the south-facing windows, a work called Solar Spectrum by the artist Charles Ross. As the sun moves, the rainbows travel around the room, and they are at their brightest around the solstices.
The Potomac is a good place to get your bearings: the elevators take you to the exhibitions on the upper floors, and the Mitsitam Cafe is just off it.
Next, take the elevator up to Nation to Nation.
More on Wikipedia: National Museum of the American Indian
Stops on this tour
- Washington Monument
- National Museum of African American History and Cu
- National Museum of American History
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
- National Gallery of Art
- United States Capitol
- United States Botanic Garden
- National Museum of the American Indian
- National Air and Space Museum
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
- The Smithsonian Institution Building - The Castle
- Freer Gallery of Art
- Jefferson Memorial
- World War II Memorial
- Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
- Korean War Memorial
- Lincoln Memorial
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial
- White House Ellipse
- White House
- Lafayette Square