What are the opening hours?

Monday 9:30am - 4:30pm Wednesday 9:30am - 4:30pm Thursday 9:30am - 4:30pm Friday 9:30am - 4:30pm Saturday 9:30am - 4:30pm Sunday 9:30am - 4:30pm

National Children's Museum

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National Children's Museum

Founded in 1974. Celebrating 50 years of play. Plan your visit to experience the joy of hands-on learning!

06/11/2026

Due to ongoing road closures around the Museum, the After-Hours Ice Cream + PJ Drive event has been rescheduled for July 31. Join us then for an after-hours, fun-filled midsummer bash filled with sweet treats and summer vibes. 🍦😎

The rest of our Summer Celebration is wrapping up soon! We're rounding out our special events with a members-only early morning tinkering with print on June 14! Create with our Tinkerer-in-Residence Chitra Sharma Noctiluna before doors open with a special block printing session on fabric. Bring an old t-shirt for a colorful makeover and contribute to a collaborative art piece that will become part of a future exhibition!

Want to join in on the fun? Take advantage of our membership promotion through June 14 and unlock access to exclusive member-only events.

06/10/2026

Did you know tomorrow, June 11, is International Day of Play? 🎉

At National Children's Museum, playful learning is at the heart of everything we do. Through hands-on exhibits, programs, and workshops designed for young learners, we encourage tinkering, creating, exploring, and problem-solving to build curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking skills that last a lifetime. Every day is a celebration of play and we're proud to inspire children to care about and change the world, one playful experience at a time. Come play with us! ✨🌈

06/08/2026

Happy World Oceans Day! 🌊💙 In honor of this special day, we're channeling our inner Water Warriors and challenging you to explore your water footprint with this month's mission. Set a goal to take one new water-saving step each week and help protect our oceans and waterways. Small actions at home can make a big difference for the health of our oceans and the planet we all share. Every drop counts! 💧 Discover your inner climate hero and explore monthly missions at climate-heroes.org

And who better to celebrate World Oceans Day with than the residents of Bikini Bottom? Dive under the sea with SpongeBob and friends in our Lights, Camera, Ocean exhibit! Plan your visit today 🧽🌊

06/01/2026

June has arrived and summer is alive, here's your guide to a month packed with play! ☀️

🐵 swing into Curious George™: Let’s Get Curious!, now open in our Visiting Exhibit Hall through September 6
🎉 celebrate summer with $25 off memberships, $100 off birthday parties, and special events
🎥 explore stop-motion animation and zoetropes in the Tinkering Corner, plus learn printmaking with our Tinkerer-in-Residence Noctiluna
🇧🇷 get moving with a capoeira performance and outdoor lesson from the Brazilian-American Cultural Center on June 27
🌈 find us out in the community at the DC STEAM Expo, Swedish Midsummer Fest, and the National STEM Festival
⏰ enjoy extended hours June 19-21 and 27-28, 9 am - 5 pm
✨ members: magic hour on June 6, fairytale storytime on June 12, and early morning tinkering with print on June 14

Your summer adventure starts here! Visit our website to plan your visit today.

05/30/2026

What an unforgettable night of whimsy and celebration! 🎉✨

On May 2, we gathered over 300 guests to celebrate play, honor champions of innovation and early education, and raise $500,000 in support of hands-on learning for children across DC and beyond.

Thank you to everyone who made Play Soirée so special! View photos from the evening, learn about our 2026 honorees, and make a gift to support the next generation of innovators, dreamers, and changemakers: https://nationalchildrensmuseum.pulse.ly/aff5dvhnze

05/29/2026

A huge thank you to MathWorks for bringing hands-on technology demos to the Museum this spring! 🤖✨ Young learners explored innovating computer concepts like deep learning and facial recognition through play-based discovery. We're grateful for partners who inspire the next generation of innovators!

05/27/2026

Didn’t you hear? Summer is near! 🏖️☀️ And we’re celebrating the coming season with sales and special events for the whole family.

From June 6 - June 14, you can enjoy:
☀️$25 off any membership level
☀️$100 off summer birthday parties
☀️summertime programs, from an outdoor Plaza Party to an after-hours Ice Cream Social!

So save the date for savings and STEAM! Learn more at https://nationalchildrensmuseum.pulse.ly/pfskpdl8fw

05/26/2026

Culture, play, and good fortune! Our friends from Taiwan Fun are joining us May 29, 10 am - 12 pm, for a special partner pop-up. Shake fortune sticks, toss wooden poe blocks, and explore Taiwanese culture through interactive play.

Visit the link in bio to plan your visit!

05/23/2026

We give this exhibit two opposable thumbs up! 🐵👍👍

There are so many fun-filled, hands-on adventures waiting for you in Curious George™: Let’s Get Curious! now open in our Visiting Exhibit Hall through September 6! Curious George can’t wait to show you are around the town, with experiences like:
🌆 using pulleys to help Curious George scale the apartment building
🚦 climbing the fire escape to play with color, light, and shadow
🍌 exploring shapes, sorting, weighing, and counting at the neighborhood produce stand
🏗️ tinkering with building materials and machines at the construction site
⛳ experimenting with physics and engineering as you putt through three holes of mini golf
🚀 exploring the rocket Curious George took on his space adventure
🐷 taking care of the animals and building whirligigs at the farm

So, visit our website to learn more and plan your visit today! https://nationalchildrensmuseum.org/explore/exhibits/curious-george-lets-get-curious

05/21/2026

We're going bananas for the opening of Curious George™: Let's Get Curious! this Saturday, May 23! But, did you know George has already arrived in our gift shop along with other fun games and toys? New items include:
🐵 Curious George plushies, books, and jack-in-the boxes
🔵 ONO signet fidgets
🧩 Kanoodle brainteaser games

Be sure to swing by the gift shop during your next visit to National Children's Museum!

Address

1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington D.C., DC
20004

Opening Hours

Monday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Friday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Saturday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Sunday	9:30am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+12028442486

Website

https://nationalchildrensmuseum.org/

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