First Saturday: October

Fun for Kids

Storytime

Atrium, 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Let’s play together while reading aloud the children’s book In Praise of Mystery by Ada Limón in English and Spanish. We welcome all ages, especially our youngest visitors and nursing parents.

Fun for Kids

Art Carts

East Building Ground Level, Mezzanine, Upper Level, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Stop by an art cart in the galleries and discover how art works can inspire poetry of all colors, shapes, and sizes. 

Fun for Kids

Face Painting

Education Studio, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Become a work of art! Stop by the Cascade Café to get your face painted from The Face Paint Lady Inc. 

Fun for Kids

NASA Pop-Up Table

Library Entrance, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Explore space-related materials with NASA, learn about the Europa Clipper mission to study Jupiter’s moon Europa — the spacecraft carries the poem “In Praise of Mystery” by US Poet Laureate Ada Limón — and discover how art and science connect through space exploration.

Lectures and Book Signings

Ada Limón and Peter Sís: In Praise of Mystery

East Building Auditorium, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Join U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón and Caldecott Honoree Peter Sís for a reading and discussion of their transcendent new children's book. The book features Limón's poem “In Praise of Mystery,” which will be engraved on the Europa Clipper spacecraft that launches to Jupiter and its moons in October 2024. Published as Limón’s debut picture book, this luminous poem is illustrated by internationally renowned artist Peter Sís. In Praise of Mystery celebrates humankind’s endless curiosity, asks us what it means to explore beyond our known world, and shows how the unknown can reflect us back to ourselves.

Drop-in Activity

Typewriter Poetry

East Building Concourse, Mezzanine, and Upper Level 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Meet a typewriter poet! They will transform your discoveries about a work of art into a personalized keepsake haiku, typed up the old-fashioned way.

Fun for Kids

Drop-In Artmaking

Atrium, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

All ages welcome; children must be accompanied by an adult. First come, first served. This month we will draw and color with illustrations by Peter Sis, illustrator of In Praise of Mystery by Ada Limón! 

Drop-in artmaking is a great way to try your hand at creating art in an informal, relaxed environment. Artmaking activities are designed for all ages and abilities.

Fun for Kids

Pop-Up Library

Study Center Atrium, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Enjoy special selections from the National Gallery of Art Library along with quiet activities for kids.

Fun for Kids

Kids' Play Space

Atrium, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Children must be accompanied by an adult. 
First come, first served

Designed for our littlest art lovers. Play, build, sort, and stack in a hands-on space.

Lectures and Book Signings

For Freedoms: Where Do We Go From Here?

East Building Auditorium, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Highlighting the importance of art in public spaces and the legacy of creative civic action, For Freedoms co-founders Eric Gottesman and Hank Willis Thomas, along with local artist Nekisha Durrett, will discuss creativity as a democratic value and art and collaboration as activism. Moderated by Philip Brookman, the National Gallery's consulting curator in the department of photographs.

A book signing of For Freedoms: Where Do We Go From Here? follows in the East Building Concourse Shop.