The National Building Museum

Today, I checked out the National Building Museum. It's located in the Judiciary Square (yes, I linked to Wikipedia - I'm a Millennial and it's an everyday part of my search for understanding, okay?) neighborhood, home to the FBI's Washington Bureau, the District Court for DC, the Department of Labor, the Government Accountability Office, and more. I had been excited about this visit for a while, after one of my intern friends mentioned that there is a giant maze inside the building all summer! As I have read the Maze Runner series, this is of course what I pictured:

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And, as a Harry Potter fan, this also crossed my mind:

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It turns out, surprisingly enough, that I was incorrect on both counts. This is what the maze looks like from above:

And this is what the outside looks like:

As you can probably tell, it's not enormous, deadly, or filled with anything but fellow visitors who are also trying to find their way to the center. It is, however, very cool, and the architecture that went into it is pretty impressive. From the website: "From outside, the maze's cube-like form hides the final reveal behind its 18-foot-tall walls. On the inside, the walls slowly descend towards the center which concludes with a grand reveal—a 360 degree understanding of your path in and how to get out." The maze will be in the atrium through September 1, 2014. Tip: When you buy your ticket to the maze, the receptionist will hand you a piece of cardstock with a colorful picture of a maze on one side and some text on the other. This is your ticket, so don't lose it if the maze isn't your first stop!

It took us about 10 minutes to get through the maze - it was definitely fun, but I wouldn't say it was worth $13. We had to pay for admission to the exhibits, which was $5 with a valid student ID ($8 otherwise), plus the $8 maze admission fee. The exhibits were cool, but not as impressive as I would have hoped. We saw the Cool & Collected: Recent Acquisitions exhibit (through May 25, 2015), which featured some cool artifacts from the planning and construction of the World War II Memorial, as well as some other random stuff, and the House & Home exhibit (long-term), which showed a progression of architectural styles in scale models, as well as a collection of items that have, over time, been used to turn houses into homes. There was also a section about different types of neighborhoods (community housing, affordable housing, planned neighborhoods), which was pretty cool! I really liked those two exhibits, and would happily pay $5 to see them again. We also visited the museum store, which had a lot of books, Lego sets, and a surprising amount of cookware. It was a pretty typical museum store: very cool, very pricey. 

We didn't see the Play Work Build exhibit (long-term), which is described in the museum's brochure as a place where "children and adults alike are encouraged to let their imaginations run wild with blocks - small, big, and virtual," or the Building Zone (long-term), which  is meant for ages 2-6. According to the brochure, it "introduces children to the building arts through play," which includes dress-up, picture books, building blocks, and a life-size play house. We also didn't see Designing for Disaster, which is described as a showcase of "how regional, community, and individual preparedness are the best antidotes to disaster." 

The building that houses all of these exhibits is extremely impressive. Built from 1882-1887, the building was originally used as the Pension Building. Its interior contains some of the tallest interior columns (Corinthian, for any architecture enthusiasts) in the world, each of which is built of 70,000 bricks. There are also 72 ground floor Doric columns, and 72 ground floor Ionic columns. As far as I know, that's every type of column! The building has seen 18 inaugural balls, from Grover Cleveland's in 1885 to President Obama's in 2009. 

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This museum is actually not a Smithsonian; instead, the National Building Museum was chartered by the US Congress in 1980 as a private, nonprofit institution dedicated to educating the public about the impact of the built environment on people's lives.

It's free to enter the building or take a docent-led tour, so I highly recommend at least stopping by! It's beautiful and there is free wi-fi, so check it out!

What to Bring
Nothing special; there are water fountains, bathrooms, and the Firehook Cafe inside the museum. No food or drinks are allowed inside the exhibits, and there are security guards who check your bag when you enter the building, so I would be cautious about bringing snacks or juice boxes.

What You'll Spend
If you're a student, senior, or under 18: $5
If you're over 18 without a valid student ID: $8
If you're just going into the building, cafe, or store: FREE

If you're going into the maze: $13 or $16, depending on your age (parents, any kids under 12 will need supervision, so you'll have to go, too)

If you're going into the Building Zone and NOT the other exhibits: $3 (adult supervision required)

If you arrive after 4 pm: FREE

How to Get There
Without question, take the Metro to get to the Building Museum. The Judiciary Square stop is literally across the street from the entrance - when you get off the train, go to the F Street exit, and you will be looking at the museum.

This photo is actually taken from behind the Metro stop, but gives a good idea of what you'll see when you emerge from the escalator. photo credit

When to Go
The museum is open from 10 am - 5 pm Monday through Saturday, and 11 am - 5 pm Sunday. The Building Zone is only open until 4 pm, and tickets for the maze are only sold until 4 pm.

What's Around
The Judiciary Square plaza is beautiful, and home to the National Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial (the fountain in the picture above, plus some statues of lions and tigers that aren't in the photo but are very impressive). Chinatown is about half a mile Northwest of the museum, and is home to some good shopping and restaurants, as well as the Spy Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.

The Capitol Building is about 1.3 miles to the Southeast, and is located on the East end of the National Mall (pretty far from the monuments, but the grass is pretty).

To the Southwest lie the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden (0.6 miles), Museum of Natural History (0.8 miles), and the Museum of American History (1.1 miles).

Finally, about half a mile to the West are the National Archives.

The Crowd
The Building Museum is pretty catered to small children, and likely will not be too crowded.