XOXO: An Exhibit About Love & Forgiveness Opens January 21 at National Children’s Museum

WASHINGTON — This spring, share, listen, connect, ask, and learn about feelings and emotions at XOXO: An Exhibit About Love & Forgiveness, showing January 21 through May 14 at National Children’s Museum in downtown Washington, D.C.

Through facial expressions, words, movement, artmaking, and other hands-on activities, XOXO: An Exhibit About Love & Forgiveness provides children and caregivers the opportunity to think about and explore feelings to help them understand, appreciate, and express their emotions.

“The mission of National Children’s Museum is to inspire children to care about and change the world. One important way we do this is by providing children—and those who care for them—the tools to be empathetic and spread love, kindness, and forgiveness,” said Crystal R. Bowyer, President and CEO of National Children’s Museum. “This exhibit encourages families to come together to identify, discuss, and explore the emotions that power those skills, creating stronger bonds and shared memories.”

At XOXO visitors can:

• illuminate a hidden message about love by Holding Hands;
• answer questions about love and forgiveness and tie them to a wall for others to read at the Response Wall;
• write down loving thoughts and press them into Tokens of Love;
• work together to Balance on a seesaw or connect an infinite Story Puzzle;
• create Silhouettes using a unique set up of light boxes;
• build and explore a variety of facial expressions using Empathy Blocks;
• Release the Negative by drawing or writing down what makes them angry or sad and then crank it through a paper shredder; and
• speak intoTone Phones and watch how their voices affect shapes projected on a screen.

“XOXO: An Exhibit About Love & Forgiveness is built to be fun, interactive, thoughtful and a conversation starter,” said Anne Fullenkamp, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh Senior Director of Creative Experiences. “Since the exhibit debuted in Pittsburgh, we’ve watched kids and their families in XOXO play, act silly, and consider what makes them sad, mad, and happy,” said Fullenkamp, “and on countless occasions have seen those wonderful sparks that ignite and illuminate important entry points to explore and discuss the powerful feelings that accompany love and forgiveness.”

XOXO is included in the cost of Museum admission. Tickets to the Museum are $15.95 for adults and children 1 and older and are free for children under 1 and Museum members. For more information about the exhibit at National Children’s Museum, please visit the Museum’s website: www.nationalchildrensmuseum.org/visting-exhibit-hall.

Located at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW off the Woodrow Wilson Plaza, National Children’s Museum is open 9:30 am – 4:30 pm every day except Tuesdays.

XOXO: An Exhibit About Love & Forgiveness was created in 2014 by Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, with support from The Fetzer Institute.

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About National Children’s Museum

STEAM adventure awaits at National Children’s Museum, located in the heart of downtown Washington, D.C.! With a mission to inspire children to care about and change the world, the Museum sparks curiosity and ignites creativity for children under the age of twelve and their families. Through playful science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) based exhibits, programs, and virtual offerings, the Museum reaches millions of people each year. Learn more and plan your visit at nationalchildrensmuseum.org.

About Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh

Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is a place that provides innovative and inclusive museum experiences that inspire kindness, joy, creativity and curiosity for all learners. Our imaginative, open-ended exhibits and programs give families the opportunity to explore topics like art, making and social-emotional learning in ways that are authentic, meaningful, and most of all, fun!

About The Fetzer Institute

The Fetzer Institute is an organization that works to foster awareness of the power of love and forgiveness in the emerging global community. www.fetzer.org/.