One block south of the Mall at 14th and C sts SW; closest Metro stop is Smithsonian. MonFri 9am2pm (with extended evening hours from 57pm in summer); MayAug arrive early to pick up a timed ticket; SeptApril no ticket necessary. Closed Christmas to New Year. Admission free. tel 202/622-2000, www.moneyfactory.com/
In most ways, a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is like visiting any other printing plant. The difference is that the presses here crank out millions of dollars in currency every day, $120 billion a year. It's a surprisingly low-tech operation: the bills come off in huge sheets, which are sliced up into single bills by ordinary paper cutters, checked for defects and loaded into large wheelbarrows. The Bureau also produces all US postage stamps. A short film explains the basics of intaglio printing, and you can watch it all happen from a glassed-in upstairs gallery.