Events & Online Programming

Previous Programs

• Spotlight on Design: Folger Shakespeare Library Renovation August 8, 2022 $10 Museum and FSL Members / FREE Students / $15 Non-member

  • Museum Exhibitions & More
  • Spotlight on Design
  • Upcoming Programs

  Learn about the renovation of Washington DC’s Folger Shakespeare Library, designed by Paul Cret in 1932. Michael Witmore, Library director, and Stephen Kieran, FAIA, LEED Fellow, partner, KieranTimberlake, explore how a historically listed 1930s building can become a more fully accessible cultural hub for the 21st century. Enhancements include new entry plazas and gardens, permanent and temporary exhibitions, study rooms for researchers, and an Education Laboratory.

  The National Building Museum and the Folger Shakespeare Library, in association with the University of South Carolina, are partnering this summer to present The Playhouse. Starting on Friday, July 1–and running through August 28, 2022–visitors can step back in time with the Bard for the latest iteration of the Museum’s Summer Block Party.

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• NBM Late Night: Frontera Performance August 1, 2022 $10 Member/ $5 Student / $25 Non-member

  • Museum Exhibitions & More
  • Upcoming Programs

  Visit the Museum after hours to explore our exhibitions, including The Wall/El Muro: What is a Border Wall? before diving deep into life at the border with The Frontera Project – an interactive, bilingual theater event created by a company of Mexican and US artists who use music, movement and play to engage audiences in a compassionate, often joyous conversation about life at the US/Mexico Border. Specifically focused on Tijuana/San Diego, they will explore the varied lives of people on both sides of the Border – for audiences who may never have been there themselves. Their mission is to create the possibility for recognition across difference – of perspective, identity – and spark a dialogue about what divides us, and what we share. After the show, stick around for post-performance conversation!

  Visite el Museo durante nuestro programa después de horas para explorar exposicíones, incluyendo The Wall/El Muro: What is a Border Wall? antes de sumergirse en la vida en la frontera con The Frontera Project – una evento teatral interactiva y bilingüe, que incopora además la música y el juego para involucrar activamente al público en una conversación integral sobre la vida en la frontera México/Estados Unidos, más allá de la situación política y la realidad mostrada en los medios de comunicación. De esta manera, más que contar una sola historia, se construye un mosaico de pequeñas anécdotas (personales y ficcionadas) que celebran la riqueza y las contradicciones de la vida fronteriza, particularmente en las ciudades de Tijuana/San Diego, recreando experiencias diversas de personas en ambos lados de la frontera para públicos que quizá nunca han estado ahí. El tema es la Frontera, pero el objetivo del proyecto es crear la posibilidad de reconocernos en las diferencias: de perspectiva, identidad o experiencia, para lograr una conexión que realmente signifique cruzar una frontera. Es por ello que la obra busca llegar a públicos familiares para abrir la posibilidad de diálogo sobre lo que implican las fronteras en el mundo actual. Lo invitamos a quedarse después de la experencia interactiva para una conversacion con los creativos de The Frontera Project.

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• AECOM July 25, 2022 $10 Museum Member | Free Student | $15 Non-member

  • Spotlight on Design
  • Upcoming Programs

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  In-person and Live Broadcast

  Understand how the recently completed Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in Washington DC is more than just a physical way for people to cross the Anacostia River. Panelists discuss how the bridge will also bridge a social/economic divide and provide important, equitable, and lasting connections between two wards of the capital city.

  This program will be held in-person at the National Building Museum as well as live streamed via Zoom Webinar. Upon completion of your payment here, you will receive a confirmation with instructions on how to register for the Zoom event. .

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• Spotlight on Design: Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge July 25, 2022 $10 Museum Member | Free Student | $15 Non-member

  • Spotlight on Design
  • Upcoming Programs

  Register

  Understand how the recently completed Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in Washington DC is more than just a physical way for people to cross the Anacostia River. Named to commemorate the famed African American abolitionist who fought for equality for all mankind, the striking bridge symbolically bridges a social/economic divide and provides important, equitable, and lasting connections between two wards of the capital city. Alan Harwood, Principal and Vice President, AECOM; Jon Niemuth, FAIA, LEED AP, Vice President and Director, Sports + Venues, AECOM; and others discuss the project and its role as a catalyst for change. The program is facilitated by Ryan Bouma, RLA, Principal, Urbanism + Planning Lead-East, AECOM.

  This program will be held in-person at the National Building Museum as well as live streamed via Zoom Webinar. Upon completion of your payment here, you will receive a confirmation with instructions on how to register for the Zoom event.

  For anyone attending in-person, masks are encouraged.

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• Creating the Playhouse July 18, 2022 $10 Museum Member / FREE Student / $15 Non-member

  • Museum Exhibitions & More

  In-Person Program

  Learn about the National Building Museum’s latest iteration of its Summer Block Party The Playhouse, presented with Folger Shakespeare Library, in association with the University of South Carolina. Aileen Fuchs, Museum president and executive director, and Karen Ann Daniels, Folger Theatre artistic director, lead a lively conversation about the creation and activation of the Festival Stage within the Museum’s Great Hall, while Jim Hunter, stage developer, offers insight into the unique challenges and exciting opportunities afforded by the project. This program takes place on the Festival Stage, the centerpiece of the Museum’s Summer Block Party The Playhouse, and will be followed by a public reception.

  Please note: online ticket sales end at midnight on July 17. Availability permitting, tickets can be purchased day-of at the door.

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• Video
  Climate ABC: Urban Sequoia June 28, 2022

  • Climate ABC

  Learn about Urban Sequoia, an innovative concept that asks what if buildings could act like trees—capturing carbon, purifying the air, and regenerating the environment?

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