WMATA & International Spy Museum:
Metro Smart Spy
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WMATA x International Spy Museum “Metro Smart Spy” Campaign: Unlock the Secrets Beneath the Surface
What happens when the city’s most secretive museum partners with the city’s most essential network? You get “Metro Smart Spy”—a clever collaboration between WMATA and the International Spy Museum that turned the Washington Metro into a full-blown espionage adventure.
Inspired by real-life spy stories rooted in DC history—like the Watergate audio recordings and famous Cold War operations—the campaign transformed everyday Metro stations into sites of intrigue. Riders were challenged to spot special “Metro Smart Spy” posters hidden throughout the system, each revealing a different covert story from the world of espionage.
Once they found a poster, participants could scan the QR code to uncover exclusive content and unlock a discounted ticket to the International Spy Museum. The experience blended curiosity, history, and interactivity, encouraging commuters to look closer and think smarter—just like a real spy would.
The campaign turned the daily commute into a mission, bringing together WMATA’s citywide reach and the Spy Museum’s storytelling magic to create a playful, educational experience that reimagined public spaces as places of discovery.
Metro Smart Spy—because every ride holds a secret.
Alan Turing, known as the father of computer science, single handedly solved the unbreakable German Enigma code. Like most geniuses, he displayed odd behaviors. His colleagues noted that he had a strange habit of chaining his coffee mug to a radiator in his office as theft protection.
On June 17, 1972, burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee's headquarters in the Watergate Office Building leading to what would become the Watergate scandal, eventually leading to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
Alger Hiss was a well respected lawyer and State Department employee when he was accused of being a Soviet Spy by Whittaker Chambers.
Tony Mendez was decorated for his on-the-scene management of the "Canadian Caper" during the Iran hostage crisis, in which he exfiltrated six American diplomats from Iran in January 1980. This story was adapted for the screen and became the Academy Award winning film ARGO.
VENONA was a top secret United States counter-terrorism program that intercepted and analyzed Soviet diplomatic communications during from 1940-1980.
Margaretha Zelle, better known by the stage name Mata Hari, was a Frisian exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy and executed under charges of espionage for Germany during World War I and consequently causing the deaths of at least 50,000 soldiers.