National Archives

The National Archives is a pre-War building that housed an agency that was charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records. The building is relatively undamaged, but the documents and records have mostly been destroyed or ruined. It has also become home to super mutants, centaurs, and robots; one of which has a personality. The super mutants have placed many traps around to keep out unwanted visitors.

It also houses the Declaration of Independence, the Magna Carta, and the Bill of Rights. The Declaration of Independence is in a small room behind a robot who claims to be the second signatory of the Declaration, Button Gwinnett.

Location
The National Archives is in the northeast part of The Mall. It's east of Museum of History and north of Museum of Technology (and their corresponding Museum station exits), across The Mall battlefield.

The Mall Northeast station is across the street from the back door of the National Archives. You can get in that way, but you will not get credit for having "discovered" it and thus will not be able to fast travel back to it, so it is probably best to walk around to the front door.
 * The Mall Northeast station is just across the underground platform from the Penn. Ave South station entrance. Penn. Ave South, which in turn is a short walk from the Metro Central station.

Layout
Upon entering the building, there is a terminal mounted on the wall facing the Rotunda labeled as National Archives Guess and Win! featuring a mini-game related to American history. The mini-game consists of 8 questions. Answering all 8 questions correctly awards you an Archives prize voucher, which may be redeemed at the prize redemption terminal mounted on the same wall. For promotional reasons, your choice of prize involves 3 unique Mentats: Glamorously Grape, Brilliantly Berry, and Observantly Orange. Answering a question incorrectly will reset all questions, but you may reattempt with no apparent penalty. When reattempting the mini-game, previously selected answers will appear highlighted. The correct answers, in order, are: The Second Continental Congress, Thirteen, John Hancock, 56, Ratification, King George III, Happiness, and Thomas Jefferson. There are also 6 Archives prize voucher in a locked safe (average) in the Archives Administrators Office.

Opposite the previously mentioned terminals is the Rotunda. Sydney, a relic-hunter, will be waiting in the Rotunda, surrounded by many frag mines. She hails you, asking for help in fighting off a variety of super mutants, and to avoid the many frag mines. Upon reaching her location, super mutants will spawn outside the Rotunda, and begin their assault. After exterminating the first group of super mutants, another group will appear possibly wielding miniguns or missile launchers. If Sydney is killed during the assault, you are able to loot Sydney's 10mm "Ultra" SMG, a unique 10mm submachine gun (but you may want to keep her alive, as later on there is a way for you to receive infinite copies of Sydney's 10mm "Ultra" SMG when she's in Underworld if you have the holodisk A note from Little Moonbeam's father from the Statesman Hotel midlevel and deliver it to Sydney in Underworld). You will also have to open the Secret Elevator manually by accessing Sydney's remote terminal nearby.

After the assault, you have the option to partner up with Sydney to find the Declaration of Independence. If selected, she will open the Secret Elevator, taking you directly to the Archival Secure Wing East, or you may choose to open the Secret Elevator manually by accessing Sydney's remote terminal nearby yourself. If you retrieve the Declaration of Independence without speaking with her, she will disappear and you will be unable to trade with her in Underworld. If you wish to keep Sydney alive, in hopes of obtaining Sydney's 10mm "Ultra" SMG, it may be in your best interest to have her wait in the Rotunda until you have successfully exterminated super mutants and sentry bots.

Traps
In the ladies restroom on the ground floor of the West wing, a burned corpse is face-down in a toilet with a battery and wires attached to it, apparently electrocuted. If you attempt to activate (drink) the toilet, the character will be shocked and take 25 points of damage. You may retrieve 35 microfusion cells without taking any harm if your repair skill is 20 or higher. The trap itself is fitted inside the toilet tank; walk right up to the tank and activate the microfusion cells.

In the room with the door to the Archival Strongroom, there is a terminal that has been rigged with a grenade. It's very easy to see since the back is pried off and there is an antenna sticking out of the top.

There are also numerous physical traps with swinging engines, battering rams, and lumps of meat. These traps are also sometimes combined with explosives, particularly on staircases. A particularly nasty one is on the East stairs up from the lower level, especially if you have Light Step and are trying to keep Sydney alive. First, when you go up the stairs, you will release a swinging bull's head which will hit Sydney, then if you get by that, when Sydney starts up the stairs, she sets off a grenade bouquet which is above the stairs beyond the next landing. (The tripwire for this is located at the base of the stairs and can be triggered by Dogmeat). You can have Sydney wait while you move ahead and disarm them (again, assuming you have Light Step). If you approach these stairs by going East from the entry lobby, they are probably easier to disarm.

Mines are littered throughout the site and are worth collecting either to sell or to use to defend Sydney by placing them in the entrance way before walking up to her.

Appearances
The National Archives only appear in Fallout 3.

Behind the scenes
The maintenance notice on the "Thomas Jefferson" protectron is signed by "P. Brantseg - Robotics Team". This is a reference to Patrick Brantseg, art director and cast member on the canceled TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000. He was the voice and puppeteer of the robot Gypsy on the show's final two seasons.