About this project
An immersive Mexican Plaza in mid-celebration — five interactive exhibits that explore STEAM concepts through the iconic objects of Mexican play and celebration.
Built for National Children's Museum in Washington, D.C. as its 50th Anniversary Exhibition, Placita Mágica launched the anniversary year as a reimagined homage to the beloved Mexico exhibit from the museum's 1979 Capital Children's Museum days — now with STEAM woven throughout. It drops visitors into a plaza during a celebration. At the Projector Table, three stations filled with acrylic shapes invite guests to compose their own papel picado flag designs — experimenting with patterns, shapes, colors, and the properties of light along the way.
The Bernoulli Fountain invites visitors to play with airflow physics while anchoring the space as its central theming element, and the Maze Table lets guests build a custom cityscape, then navigate a ball through the streets they just made to reach the center.
