Final Pictures from the Beach Exhibit

I just thought this was such a fun thing to go to. I decided to post a couple more pictures of my adventure at the Beach from last week.

One thing that I was surprised at was it was a little difficult to move around. The deep end of the pool is 3 and a half feet deep. It’s almost impossible to get your feet on the floor of the pool. That makes it a little difficult to get up.

That’s what I found when I buried myself up to my neck. I was a little concerned about that. I thought I might have to ask someone to give me a helping hand in order to get up. But I “swam” close to shore and was able to get up on my own.

Here's a little more from the Post on this great exhibit:

The inspiration for creating an indoor beach came from wanting to bring a classic American summertime activity to the city. The design, by architecture firm Snarkitecture, aimed to create a simple indoor version of a typical beach experience.

“You can jump off the pier, have a snack, hang out in a chair and read a book,” said Snarkitecture co-founder Alex Mustonen. “Basically what you would do at the beach.”

Besides everyday fun, every Wednesday “The Beach” will stay open until 9 p.m., and the museum will offer scavenger hunts, live music, tours and games. There are even plans for volleyball.

It took only two weeks to build the indoor beach, even though the pit holds about 1 million balls.

And, Mom won’t yell at you for swimming in the deep end. “You can’t really reach the bottom” of the ball pit, Mustonen said.

However, like in a real ocean, getting around can be tough. “They have this density that makes it so you can’t really walk or stand in them,” Mustonen said of the balls. They create a similar feeling of wading into the ocean with waves crashing around you.

The beach is here for a little while longer. Don't miss out on it.

Putting my feet in the water

Looks like I'm going down for the last time!

Oh noooooooo!!!!

The Beach from Afar

To get an idea of just how big the beach is you have to take a step back from it. Here are some shots of it from the second floor of the Building Museum. As you can see, it takes up a large part of the museum's first floor.

Here's an excerpt from a story from the Post on the Beach:

Normally, a sea of plastic would sound like a bad thing, such as trash bags and old water bottles floating in polluted water.

But the National Building Museum has turned the idea into something good. The sea is actually a giant plastic ball pit for you to play in.

As part of its annual summertime installation, the Building Museum is bringing the beach to Washington. The indoor exhibit in the museum’s Great Hall is made up of an “ocean” ball pit, a 50-foot shoreline covered in beach chairs and umbrellas, and a snack bar from the folks at Union Kitchen. 

The inspiration for creating an indoor beach came from wanting to bring a classic American summertime activity to the city. The design, by architecture firm Snarkitecture, aimed to create a simple indoor version of a typical beach experience.

“You can jump off the pier, have a snack, hang out in a chair and read a book,” said Snarkitecture co-founder Alex Mustonen. “Basically what you would do at the beach.”

Look for the man in the blue shirt by the right pillar, that's the day I took pictures of tossing his kids. He's still at it.

The Kid Toss — At the Beach at the National Building Museum

This dad was busy at the Beach. He tossed not one but two kids into the pool. They did this for a good while and had a blast doing it. The boy seems to really enjoy it when he's tossed but has as much fun watching his sister getting tossed as well.

Cannon Ball — More Fun at the Beach Exhibit

The start of the cannon ball

Here is a cannonball that one of the "swimmers" did at the Beach while I was there. So very cool.

The Beach at the National Buidling Museum

This was such an amazing exhibit.

The Beach is:

The National Building Museum presents a one-of-a-kind destination for visitors, an interactive architectural installation that brings the quintessential summer experience of going to the beach to downtown Washington, D.C. Spanning across the Museum’s Great Hall, the BEACH, created in partnership with Snarkitecture, will cover 10,000 square feet and include an “ocean” of nearly one million recyclable translucent plastic balls.

The BEACH is contained within an enclosure and built out of construction materials such as scaffolding, wooden panels, and perforated mesh, all clad in stark white. Monochromatic beach chairs and umbrellas sprinkle the 50-foot wide “shoreline,” and the “ocean” culminates in a mirrored wall that creates a seemingly infinite reflected expanse. Visitors are welcome to “swim” in the ocean, or can spend an afternoon at the “shore’s” edge reading a good book, play beach-related activities such as paddleball, grab a refreshing drink at the snack bar, or dangle their feet in the ocean off the pier.

 Here's the start of a bunch of pictures from the exhibit. I went on Sunday. Got there just before it opened. There was a line to get in.

I overheard one of the museum employees say they started out with 1 million balls but now have about 700,000.

Now for some pictures.