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Visitors immerse themselves in the cars, gadgets and legacy of James Bond
BY JAMIE GHOLSON, CULTURE EDITOR
Your heart races as a suited man approaches, eyes lock on you. You give your alias, but one wrong answer exposes you. Just like that, your cover is blown at the International Spy Museum in D.C.
The Museum’s latest exhibit, Bond in Motion, brings the world of espionage to life through the lens of James Bond. Visitors enter a high-stakes environment where technology, action, and intrigue come together.
“It was a big moment for us, an exciting opportunity,” said Aliza Bran, the museum’s director of media relations. Bond in Motion is the first exhibit in the museum’s new space since it opened in May 2019. “We set aside a temporary exhibit space so that we could bring in and create new exhibits that could keep our local audience excited about this material and seeing new dynamic spaces,” Bran said.
The exhibit features 17 original vehicles from the James Bond films, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the captivating technology. Visitors can experience everything from the Aston Martin Vanquish, which transforms into camouflage in Die Another Day, to interactive displays that explain the science behind spy gadgets.
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The Bond franchise began in 1953 with Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, introducing the MI6 agent 007. The novels were later adapted into a blockbuster film series, starting with Dr. No in 1962, starring Sean Connery. Over the years, different actors — including Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig — have brought their own flair to the character. A hallmark of the series has been Bond’s gadgets, blending fantasy with espionage.
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Bran explained how the museum partnered with EON Productions and the Ian Fleming Foundation to bring the exhibit to life. She emphasized the thrill of working with existing artifacts while adding the museum’s own twist. “Artifacts are not traditionally meant to be touched,” she said. “The skimobile set up in the exhibit as a photo op is rare because it’s so exciting to touch an actual artifact. It’s a unique opportunity for visitors.”
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The exhibit not only highlights Bond’s high-tech gadgets but also provides insight into how the franchise has evolved over time. “That’s what’s so interesting about the Bond franchise. It has spanned so much time that it has changed with the culture outside of it,” Bran said. “Not only do you watch the movies and see the cultural shift, but you also see how the cars and technology in the films mirror our evolving world.”
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For visitors like Hallie Tran, a graduate student at George Washington University, the exhibit provided a new perspective on the franchise. “I thought that they had a lot of information for someone who hasn’t watched the movies,” Tran said. She visited during spring break and found herself wanting to watch the films after seeing the cars on display. “My favorite car was the Aston Martin DB6 from Quantum of Solace. It was cool to see how Bond used it in an action scene.”
While the Bond films are filled with action-packed sequences featuring ejector seats and high-tech gadgets, real-world espionage is much more subtle. Bond in Motion highlights the creativity behind both fictional and real-life intelligence work. The exhibit reminds visitors that while 007’s adventures are thrilling, real spies rely more on intellect and strategy than gadgets and charm.
“A lot of people don’t realize this, but there is a big relationship between Hollywood and intelligence history,” said Lauren VonBechmann, the museum’s manager of exhibitions. “The imagination of coming up with gadgets from a Bond movie is the way some people come up with spy gadgets and vice versa. They kind of speak to each other really nicely.”
The exhibit explores how espionage and Hollywood influenced each other. “The imagination of coming up with gadgets from a Bond movie is similar to how some real-world spy gadgets are conceived,” VonBechmann explained. “They inspire one another, blurring the lines between fiction and reality.”
Bran expressed excitement about the museum’s future exhibits. “We have exciting opportunities coming up and are talking about our next special exhibit,” she said. “I think it’s going to be really incredible. It’s created by our own hands and [we] will be developing it from scratch ourselves.”
VonBechmann also shared some challenges in curating the exhibit. “I think the hardest part of curating the Bond in Motion exhibit was the space,” she said. “The vehicles do a really great job at encapsulating this timeline of what Bond is.” She added that her favorite part of the collection was the first-edition books by Ian Fleming. “You get to see where the Bond movies all began.”
The museum’s next special exhibit is set to open in March 2026. The Bond in Motion runs through September 2025, inviting visitors to step into the world of espionage — just be careful not to blow your cover.
