about us

National Children’s Museum has served generations of Washingtonians since its initial founding in 1974, when there were only nine other such institutions in the country (fast forward 50 years and there are now nearly 600). After a few years of operating in spare rooms at Lovejoy Elementary in Northeast DC as The Children’s Museum of Inquiry and Discovery, the institution adopted the name Capital Children’s Museum and in 1979 opened its own building on Third and H Streets NE.

For 25 years, families, dignitaries, and celebrities alike flocked to the H Street location, where popular experiences included a Chuck Jones animation exhibit, an immersive Mexico exhibit, and one of the country’s first public access computer labs

In 2003, the institution received its congressional designation and was renamed National Children’s Museum. After selling its H Street building in 2004, it operated as a “museum without walls” and later from a space at the newly developed National Harbor before making the move back to DC in 2020. After an 18-month COVID closure, the Museum opened its current home at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in September 2021.

Throughout this evolution, the Museum has remained dedicated to providing hands-on play opportunities for children.