The Big Build

Saturday, November 5, 2022, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm

All ages are invited to The Big Build, a FREE hands-on festival exploring a wide variety of unique, interactive activities with roofers, plumbers, home remodelers, construction workers, carpenters, designers, and artisans.

The Big Build celebrates the world we design and build and fills the Museum’s Great Hall with interactive booths including a nail driving contest and a structural engineering station with an earthquake simulation to discover how buildings can be built to be more stable. Everyone will be using real tools and you can even climb inside construction equipment in the outdoor Petting Zoo!

Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts can earn their STEM Career Exploration badges by discovering the many trade career possibilities and speaking with professionals in STEM positions. The Tech Room will have augmented reality demonstrations, VR experiences, and other immersive digital activities to engage older children and teens.  Books read in the Storytime Room will inspire younger visitors as they hear about architects, carpenters and roofer, building a new home.

Excited to attend The Big Build? Click here to sign up for a reminder email before the program.
2022 Big Build Exhibitors
Associated General Contractors of America (AGC)
Buro Happold and Consigli
Clark Construction
DC Public Library
Dewberry Engineers Inc.
DPR Construction
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
HITT Contracting Inc.
Inner Arbor Trust, Inc.
International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT)
Miller & Long
MindBloom
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA)
Professional Remodeling Organization (PRO)
Shapiro & Duncan
Walter P Moore
Washington Parent
WETA
Whiting-Turner
Zenith Community Arts Foundation

The Big Build is generously supported by