"On Pennsylvania Avenue, just a few blocks from the National Mall, kids get a museum all about child's play (with some education snuck in too). Designed to appeal to toddlers up to elementary schoolers, this brand-new iteration of the National Children's Museum opened in February 2020. The Visiting Exhibit Hall highlights traveling exhibits for children from around the world, and this fall, kids will learn about the universe of Finnish cartoon characters the Moomins. Clips from cartoons are displayed, with Marimekko floor pillows to sit on and crafts to create. As with the rest of the museum, the lower-level space feels light and bright, with white paint everywhere and bursts of bright colors. Note that the first thing you will see as you enter the museum is the Dream Machine, a cloud-like, rigging-covered, three-story slide and climbing structure that kids can (and do) clamber up and slide down for an hour, if you let them." - Amy McKeever, Adele Chapin
