FORT MEADE, Md. –
The upcoming 75th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the release of two major World War II films coming this holiday season, "The Imitation Game" and "Unbroken," could spark renewed interest in that period of our nation's history. "The Imitation Game" tells the story of Alan Turing and his development of the cryptanalytic bombe, the machine that solved the code of the most powerful encryption machine ever invented until that time, Nazi Germany's Enigma machine. Every bombe was destroyed after the war - all but one, and it resides at the National Cryptologic Museum (NCM) located in Annapolis Junction, Md.
The NCM offers interactive displays that permit visitors to step into history. In fact, the NCM may be the only museum in the world where visitors can encrypt and decrypt their own messages - on authentic, working German Enigma machines.
Looking for something to do with your family during the holiday season? Come make and break codes at the National Cryptologic Museum. The museum is open from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday - Friday and from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. on the first and third Saturdays of the month. It is closed for all federal holidays. And, as always, parking and admission are free!
Visit the NCM's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/NationalCryptologicMuseum for more information about the museum and for notes on holiday season hours.