National Cryptologic Museum
Encyclopedia
The National Cryptologic Museum (NCM) is an American
museum of cryptologic
history that is affiliated with the National Security Agency
(NSA). The first public museum in the U.S. Intelligence Community, NCM is located in the former Colony Seven Motel, just two blocks from the NSA headquarters at Fort George G. Meade
, Maryland
. The museum opened to the public on December 16, 1993, and now hosts about 50,000 visitors annually from all over the world. It is open Monday through Friday, 0900-1600 EST5EDT, as well as 1000-1400 EST5EDT on the first and third Saturdays of every month. It is closed on Sundays and all Federal holidays, and operates on NSA's emergency/weather closure schedule (e.g. if NSA is closed, the museum is closed as well).
Next to the museum is the National Vigilance Park
(NVP), where three reconnaissance aircraft are on display. A U.S. Army Seminole RU-8D
Reconnaissance Plane represents the Army Airborne Signals Intelligence contribution in the Vietnam War
. A Hercules C-130
transport, modified to look like a reconnaissance-configuration C-130A, memorializes a U.S. Air Force aircraft shot down over Soviet Armenia
during the Cold War
. Finally, the park contains a U.S. Navy Skywarrior EA-3B, commemorating a mission in the Mediterranean
on January 25, 1987 in which all seven crew members died.
NCM and NVP are open to the public and admission is free. Donations to the NCM Foundation are accepted. Photography is allowed inside the museum, however, flash photography is prohibited in certain areas of the museum due to the age of some of the artifacts.
German
Enigma machine
s (2 of them are available for visitors to try out), and a Navy Bombe used to break it. It also houses displays that discuss the history of American cryptology and the people, machines, techniques, and locations concerned. Initially housing NSA artifacts for viewing by employees, the museum quickly developed into a collection of U.S. cryptologic history
, with some artifacts dating back to pre-American Revolutionary War
times.
In addition to exhibits covering equipment used to encrypt, decrypt, and secure information, the museum features exhibits on the people who contributed to cryptography in America, such as George Washington
(who integrated military intelligence tactics, including coded messaging, into the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War), the Native American code talker
s (who protected U.S. communications during both World Wars by using their native languages to encode message traffic), and the Navy WAVES (who, like the WRENS of the British Royal Navy
, operated the Bombe to decrypt German military traffic during WWII).
Collections are divided into four major groupings:
In addition, there are galleries throughout NCM focusing on the roles of women and African-Americans in cryptologic history, the variety of languages in use throughout the world (including a replica of the Rosetta Stone
), and the code used by hobos to share information in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The NCM includes an unclassified library of books, papers, and other materials relating to the history of cryptography and cryptology as well. The library is open on weekdays when the museum is open. The library is non-circulating (that is, material cannot be borrowed or checked out by the public), but photocopying and photography are allowed. Patrons needing extensive or rare materials for research are encouraged to contact the museum to schedule an appointment with the librarian.
The size of NCM's library nearly doubled with the donation of an extensive collection of papers, books, and other artifacts related to codes and ciphers from cryptologic historian and author David Kahn. The donation was formally dedicated by the NCM during a recognition ceremony for Dr. Kahn on 26 October 2010.
who are retired NSA employees. Groups of six persons or more are requested to contact the museum in advance to schedule tours and ensure docent availability.
In addition, the NCM offers educational field trips, tours, talks, and interactive programs for students ages 9 and up, as well as programs for Boy Scouts
and Girl Scouts
of all ages to satisfy various pins, requirements, and electives; interested educators, scoutmasters, and troop leaders are encouraged to contact the museum for more details.
The NCM was the site of the 2010 activation ceremony for Marine Corps Forces, Cyberspace Command. The ceremony was attended by former CMC
General
Alfred M. Gray, Jr.
honoring individuals with distinguished service to American cryptology. Created in 1999, the standards are high for induction; honored individuals were innovators over their entire careers, whose expertise in various NSA subject matters far surpassed any of their peers, or who made major contributions to the structure and processes of American cryptology.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
museum of cryptologic
Cryptography
Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
history that is affiliated with the National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
(NSA). The first public museum in the U.S. Intelligence Community, NCM is located in the former Colony Seven Motel, just two blocks from the NSA headquarters at Fort George G. Meade
Fort George G. Meade
Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation that includes the Defense Information School, the United States Army Field Band, and the headquarters of United States Cyber Command, the National Security Agency, and the Defense Courier Service...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. The museum opened to the public on December 16, 1993, and now hosts about 50,000 visitors annually from all over the world. It is open Monday through Friday, 0900-1600 EST5EDT, as well as 1000-1400 EST5EDT on the first and third Saturdays of every month. It is closed on Sundays and all Federal holidays, and operates on NSA's emergency/weather closure schedule (e.g. if NSA is closed, the museum is closed as well).
Next to the museum is the National Vigilance Park
National Vigilance Park
The United States National Vigilance Park is a memorial to the military servicemen who participated in aerial reconnaissance during the Cold War. Dedicated on , NVP is located just one block from the NSA headquarters at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. It is open 24 hours a day for viewing...
(NVP), where three reconnaissance aircraft are on display. A U.S. Army Seminole RU-8D
L-23 Seminole
The Beechcraft L-23 Seminole was the United States Armed Forces designation for the Beechcraft Twin Bonanza and Queen Air aircraft in its inventory.-Design and development:...
Reconnaissance Plane represents the Army Airborne Signals Intelligence contribution in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. A Hercules C-130
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
transport, modified to look like a reconnaissance-configuration C-130A, memorializes a U.S. Air Force aircraft shot down over Soviet Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. Finally, the park contains a U.S. Navy Skywarrior EA-3B, commemorating a mission in the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Basin
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation...
on January 25, 1987 in which all seven crew members died.
NCM and NVP are open to the public and admission is free. Donations to the NCM Foundation are accepted. Photography is allowed inside the museum, however, flash photography is prohibited in certain areas of the museum due to the age of some of the artifacts.
Collections
The NCM collection contains thousands of artifacts, including numerous working World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Enigma machine
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
s (2 of them are available for visitors to try out), and a Navy Bombe used to break it. It also houses displays that discuss the history of American cryptology and the people, machines, techniques, and locations concerned. Initially housing NSA artifacts for viewing by employees, the museum quickly developed into a collection of U.S. cryptologic history
History of cryptography
The history of cryptography begins thousands of years ago. Until recent decades, it has been the story of what might be called classic cryptography — that is, of methods of encryption that use pen and paper, or perhaps simple mechanical aids...
, with some artifacts dating back to pre-American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
times.
In addition to exhibits covering equipment used to encrypt, decrypt, and secure information, the museum features exhibits on the people who contributed to cryptography in America, such as George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
(who integrated military intelligence tactics, including coded messaging, into the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War), the Native American code talker
Code talker
Code talkers was a term used to describe people who talk using a coded language. It is frequently used to describe 400 Native American Marines who served in the United States Marine Corps whose primary job was the transmission of secret tactical messages...
s (who protected U.S. communications during both World Wars by using their native languages to encode message traffic), and the Navy WAVES (who, like the WRENS of the British Royal Navy
Women's Royal Naval Service
The Women's Royal Naval Service was the women's branch of the Royal Navy.Members included cooks, clerks, wireless telegraphists, radar plotters, weapons analysts, range assessors, electricians and air mechanics...
, operated the Bombe to decrypt German military traffic during WWII).
Collections are divided into four major groupings:
- Early Cryptology, which deals with cryptologic history prior to the formation of NSA, with exhibits dating back to the 16th century (the Renaissance-era book Polygraphiae) forward to the early 1950s, focusing on artifacts from the Founding Fathers of the United StatesFounding Fathers of the United StatesThe Founding Fathers of the United States of America were political leaders and statesmen who participated in the American Revolution by signing the United States Declaration of Independence, taking part in the American Revolutionary War, establishing the United States Constitution, or by some...
, the American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the United States ArmyUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Code talkerCode talkerCode talkers was a term used to describe people who talk using a coded language. It is frequently used to describe 400 Native American Marines who served in the United States Marine Corps whose primary job was the transmission of secret tactical messages...
s, World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and the Korean WarKorean WarThe Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union... - Cold War/Information Age, which deals with cryptology and cryptanalysisCryptanalysisCryptanalysis is the study of methods for obtaining the meaning of encrypted information, without access to the secret information that is normally required to do so. Typically, this involves knowing how the system works and finding a secret key...
on both sides of the Cold WarCold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, the early years of NSA, and the rise of the modern age of computers, including the development of supercomputerSupercomputerA supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
s - Information Assurance, which deals with the rise of satelliteSatelliteIn the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
technology, secure voice communications, tamper-evidentTamper-evidentTamper-evident describes a device or process that makes unauthorized access to the protected object easily detected. Seals, markings or other techniques may be tamper indicating.-Tampering:...
technologies, and use of biometricsBiometricsBiometrics As Jain & Ross point out, "the term biometric authentication is perhaps more appropriate than biometrics since the latter has been historically used in the field of statistics to refer to the analysis of biological data [36]" . consists of methods...
in data protection - Memorial Hall, one side of which features the NSA Hall of HonorNSA Hall of HonorThe Hall of Honor is a memorial at the National Security Agency headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland. It honors individuals who rendered distinguished service to American cryptology.-The Hall of Honor:...
, and the other side of which features exhibits honoring those who lost their lives in cryptologic missions represented by the aircraft at NVP as well as others who lost their lives in cryptologic service to America (U.S.S. PuebloUSS Pueblo (AGER-2)USS Pueblo is an American ELINT and SIGINT Banner-class technical research ship which was boarded and captured by North Korean forces on January 23, 1968, in what is known as the Pueblo incident or alternatively as the Pueblo crisis or the Pueblo affair. Occurring less than a week after President...
, U.S.S. LibertyUSS Liberty (AGTR-5)USS Liberty was a Belmont-class technical research ship that was attacked by Israel Defense Forces during the 1967 Six-Day War.-History:...
, The Pentagon on September 11, 2001American Airlines Flight 77American Airlines Flight 77 was American Airlines' daily scheduled morning transcontinental flight, from Washington Dulles International Airport, in Dulles, Virginia to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California...
, and a replica of NSA's National Cryptologic Memorial)
In addition, there are galleries throughout NCM focusing on the roles of women and African-Americans in cryptologic history, the variety of languages in use throughout the world (including a replica of the Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek...
), and the code used by hobos to share information in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The NCM includes an unclassified library of books, papers, and other materials relating to the history of cryptography and cryptology as well. The library is open on weekdays when the museum is open. The library is non-circulating (that is, material cannot be borrowed or checked out by the public), but photocopying and photography are allowed. Patrons needing extensive or rare materials for research are encouraged to contact the museum to schedule an appointment with the librarian.
The size of NCM's library nearly doubled with the donation of an extensive collection of papers, books, and other artifacts related to codes and ciphers from cryptologic historian and author David Kahn. The donation was formally dedicated by the NCM during a recognition ceremony for Dr. Kahn on 26 October 2010.
Activities
The museum offers tours for members of the public, both scheduled and walk-in, that describe cryptology’s impact on history and jobs in the field. Tours are led by docentsMuseum docent
Museum docent is a title used in the United States for educators trained to further the public's understanding of the cultural and historical collections of the institution, including local and national museums, zoos, historical landmarks, and parks. In many cases, docents, in addition to their...
who are retired NSA employees. Groups of six persons or more are requested to contact the museum in advance to schedule tours and ensure docent availability.
In addition, the NCM offers educational field trips, tours, talks, and interactive programs for students ages 9 and up, as well as programs for Boy Scouts
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
and Girl Scouts
Girl Scouts of the USA
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...
of all ages to satisfy various pins, requirements, and electives; interested educators, scoutmasters, and troop leaders are encouraged to contact the museum for more details.
The NCM was the site of the 2010 activation ceremony for Marine Corps Forces, Cyberspace Command. The ceremony was attended by former CMC
Commandant of the Marine Corps
The Commandant of the Marine Corps is normally the highest ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff...
General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Alfred M. Gray, Jr.
Alfred M. Gray, Jr.
Alfred M. Gray, Jr. , is a retired United States Marine Corps general who served as the twenty-ninth Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1987-91. He retired from the Corps in 1991 after 41 years of service.-Personal:Alfred M. Gray, Jr...
NSA Hall of Honor
The NSA Hall of Honor is a memorialMemorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
honoring individuals with distinguished service to American cryptology. Created in 1999, the standards are high for induction; honored individuals were innovators over their entire careers, whose expertise in various NSA subject matters far surpassed any of their peers, or who made major contributions to the structure and processes of American cryptology.
See also
- National Vigilance ParkNational Vigilance ParkThe United States National Vigilance Park is a memorial to the military servicemen who participated in aerial reconnaissance during the Cold War. Dedicated on , NVP is located just one block from the NSA headquarters at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. It is open 24 hours a day for viewing...
- Bletchley ParkBletchley ParkBletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
- Arlington HallArlington HallArlington Hall was a former girl's school and the headquarters of the US Army's Signal Intelligence Service cryptography effort during World War II. The site presently houses the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center, and the United States National Guard Readiness Center. It...
- International Spy MuseumInternational Spy MuseumThe International Spy Museum is a privately owned museum dedicated to the field of espionage located within the 1875 Le Droit Building in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, D.C., across the street from the Old Patent Office Building and one block south of the Gallery Place Metro...
- Red telephone
External links
- National Cryptologic Museum
- The National Cryptologic Museum Foundation
- Rosetta Stone Replicas, provider of the Rosetta Stone replica at NCM
- A review of the museum
- A set of photos of the museum by Austin Mills
- A set of photos of NCM and NVP by Mike Newton