DC Family Weekend Picks: Engineering, Art, and Tiny People

My lovely local DC readers, looking for something to do with the family this weekend? There’s some fun events to check out:

Discover Engineering Family Day at the National Building Museum.

Our family attended last year’s Discover Engineering Family Day. Make sure you get their early because it gets crowded! There plenty of hands on activities that will make you say, “Wow, that’s science?” The event is free and runs from 10AM until 4:30PM. I recommend taking the Metro if you can. Parking was very difficult for us last year.

Here are some activities you can expect this year:

Design Squad host Nate Ball and former cast member Deysi Melgar will be demo’ing their dance moves and the electrical engineering behind a supersized dance pad every hour, on the hour. There will be something for folks of all ages at the event, including dozens of hands-on engineering activities, fun design challenges, and lots of giveaways. Also, the National Society of Professional Engineers will be offering the Design Squad (DS) activity, Pop Fly, where kids will launch a ping-pong ball into the air using a foot-powered lever of their design.

Find out more on the National Building Museum website.

Play With Your Food at Strathmore

As parents we’re constantly telling our kids not to play with their food. This Saturday, let their creativity run free during the Play With Your Food workshop. Presented in conjunction with Strathmore’s You Are What You Eat exhibition (February 11-March 17),the workshop is recommended for young people ages 6-11.

Here’s a description of the workshop:

The National Gallery recently showcased 16th-century painter Guiseppe Arcimboldo’s innovative “Vegetable Portraits” of nobility. In the spirit of Arcimboldo’s whimsical paintings, kids create a series of edible portraits using everything from fruit and candy to veggies and pasta. At the end of the workshop, the group will photograph their edible masterpieces, and then enjoy the feast!

Doesn’t that sound like fun? The workshop is Saturday, February 18 and starts at 10:30AM. For more info and to purchase tickets, visit the Strathmore website.

If you can’t make it this weekend, there are plenty of family friendly activities in conjunction with the You Are What You Eat exhibition. Some activities are free while some require tickets.

The Secret World of Arrietty

As a young child, I imagined a secret world full of magical people and creatures. The Secret World of Arrietty brings that world to life when a human boy, or a Bean as they are otherwise known, catches a glimpse of Arrietty, who is a Borrower. Once they are seen by a Bean, Borrows leave for fear of being found.

Arrietty and Shawn quickly become friends despite their differences. Inspired by the book The Borrowers by Mary Norton, the movie is a beautiful story about friendship and acceptance. Like Studio Ghibli’s other movies Ponyo and Spirited Away, The Secret World of Arrietty brings an imaginative and beautiful world alive.

Our family got a sneak peek last week and the kids absolutely adored it. Now whenever something goes missing in our home, we make up stories on what a Borrower might have done with it. The Secret World of Arrietty opens tomorrow, Friday, February 17.

Don’t forget you can enter to to see their bug exhibit. Giveaway ends February 19!

Our family was invited to a screening of The Secret World of Arrietty. Affiliate links are included in this post.