4 Best Sights in Silver Spring, Montgomery County

This three-screen, state-of-the-art center for film is a restoration of architect John Eberson's art deco Silver Theatre, built in 1938. The AFI hosts film retrospectives, new releases, on-stage appearances, and tributes to stars that have included Jeanne Moreau and Russell Crowe. Each June, in partnership with the Discovery Channel, the AFI hosts the glitzy SILVERDOCS. This documentary film festival is one of the world's best, supporting independent storytellers and honoring artistic excellence of the caliber of Spike Lee and Martin Scorcese through the Charles Guggenheim Symposium.

At the rolling 50-acre Brookside Gardens, the series of theme areas highlight roses, azaleas, flowers with particularly potent fragrance, and plants that attract butterflies, among many others. Two conservatories house seasonal displays and exotic tropicals throughout the year. The visitor center has an auditorium, classrooms for adults and children, a 5,000-volume horticulture library, a gift shop, an information booth, and horticulture-related works by local artists on display.

A selection of historic trolleys have been rescued, restored, and put on display at the National Capital Trolley Museum, along with streetcars from Europe, Canada, the District of Columbia, and elsewhere in America. The museum is run by volunteers whose childhood fascination with trains never left them at the station. Take a short ride through the countryside or play with an interactive model trolley display.

Founded in 1862, this museum chronicles the history and practice of American medicine—especially military medicine—over the centuries. It has one of the world's largest collections of microscopes and human remains. Because some exhibits are fairly graphic (with wax surgical models and preserved organs), the museum may not be suitable for young children or the squeamish, but may be perfect for teenagers. It's a rare opportunity to see the effects of different diseases on the human body. In the presidential display you'll see one of the most famous artifacts: the bullet that killed Abraham Lincoln. "Trauma Bay II" shows the floor of an emergency room of an Air Force tent hospital in Balad, Iraq during the Iraq War. In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the museum is exhibiting artifacts and specimens from 1865. For up-to-date information check www.facebook.com/MedicalMuseum.