D.C.’s next children’s museum will be at Fort Totten, deliver 2019

Washington, D.C. is going to get a new museum, and this museum will be called “Explore!”

D.C. developer and philanthropist Jane Cafritz plans on opening the museum at her three-building, 520-unit project Fort Totten development, Art Place at Fort Totten, reported Bisnow. The project won’t deliver until mid-2019, and the age range that the museum will target is between 18 months to 8 years old.

Before the opening of the museum in Fort Totten, there will be a temporary exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery that will debut on January 28. It will allow hands-on activities in order for children to create their own portraits.

Washington Business Journal reported that the temporary exhibit will cost approximately $200,000 to install and maintain. The purpose of the exhibit is to attract more donors for the construction of Explore!, which will later feature additional retail spots that will cater to children.

The last children’s museum that served the D.C. area was located at National Harbor. It closed in 2014, according to Washington Business Journal. There is also a “KID Museum” in Montgomery County, but it’s a small space on the ground floor of a public library.

• Here's the plan to bring a children’s museum back to Greater Washington [Washington Business Journal]

• Jane Cafritz wants to build a children’s museum at Fort Totten [Bisnow]