National Building Museum
 

Homeschool Day

Date:
Friday, May 24, 2019
Time:
9:30 AM - 3:00 PM

Green-by-Design-Homeschool-Kevin-Allen.pngThe National Building Museum invites individual families to register for the Museum’s Homeschool Day on Friday, May 24, 2019.

In the morning, sign up for an age-specific workshop where your child can build a working green roof, tell stories through design, and find symbolism in the Museum’s architecture. During the afternoon open house, explore the Museum with special, facilitated opportunities just for homeschool families. See Afternoon Open House below for details.

You must register for each portion of the day separately. Pre-registration is required by the end of the day on Monday, May 20. Pre-registration is encouraged for morning and afternoon activities, however, walk-in registration will be available for the afternoon open house and any morning workshops not filled during pre-registration. If you have any questions about the event, please read the Homeschool Day FAQ or contact the Museum at 202.272.2448 or at youthgroups@nbm.org.

Morning Workshops, 10 am – 12 noon

Build a Green Roof, 4-6 year olds, 10:30 am to 12 noon

Storybuilders, 7-9 year olds, 10 am to 12 noon

Symbolic Architecture, 10-14 year olds, 10 am to 12 noon

Descriptions of Programs

Afternoon Open House, 12:30 pm – 3 pm

Career Fair: Meet representatives from NASA and the National Capital Planning Commission, as well as other area organizations. Learn about their work and how to further your interest in architecture, engineering, and design.  

Frieze It: Inspired by the Museum’s exterior frieze, Museum staff invite you to contribute to a community-created frieze, measuring more than 50 feet long.

Circles: Shapes in Architecture: A Museum teacher guides students through reflections on how architects use shapes in their designs and how those shapes change the experience of people using the buildings. Finally, students and parents alike will have the chance to design a building using a collage of shapes.

Animate It: Inspired by the exhibition Flickering Treasures, students will learn about zoetropes, one of the earliest animation devices, which later inspired the creation of modern motion pictures. Students will have the opportunity to animate their own film strip using a zoetrope. Families can take home an instruction sheet to build their own zoetrope at home.

Family Building Lounge: A chance for homeschooling families to meet and mingle while completing some building projects of their own. Older students, with parent help, will be guided through the construction of paper models. Younger students can try out their skills with a variety of building toys. Both experiences are inspired by the Museum’s collection.

Story Time: Explore books and the built world in everyday life with DC Public Librarians. Story Times are for children ages 5 and under and are packed full of reading, songs, and activities designed to promote language and literacy skills.

Discovery Carts: Learn about the forces of tension and compression as you participate in a docent-led discovery cart about bridges and arches and trusses.

Historic Building Tour: Learn the hidden history of the Museum’s historic building through a docent-led historic building tour. Special tours are scheduled as part of Homeschool Day just for homeschool families.

Exhibition Visit: The open house ticket includes student admission to the Museum exhibitions. View a complete list of current exhibitions here.  

Cost

Tickets are $10 for the morning programs and $5 for the afternoon open house. Each ticket covers one child’s participation. Children under 3 do not need tickets.

There is no cost for adults to participate as chaperones during scheduled activities. If an adult wishes to visit an exhibition independently of their participation in morning or afternoon programs, admission can be purchased at the admission desk at the regular rate of $10.

Please note that tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. 

Expectations for Adult Participation

For the safety of your children, adults must remain in the building during the program. During the morning workshops, adult guardians are highly encouraged to participate as chaperones, though it is not required. During the afternoon open house, children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Photo Notice/Release

The National Building Museum will be taking photographs at Homeschool Day. By participating in Homeschool Day programming, you agree to allow the Museum and associated event representatives to record you and or/or your child’s likeness and image for use in any media including television, the Internet, press, and promotion. If you object to the possibility of us using your or your child’s photograph, please inform a staff member at the Homeschool Day registration table.

We're sorry, the deadline for buying tickets for this event has passed.