- Title: USA-BEACH/EXHIBIT Beach full of plastic balls makes a splash in Washington, DC
- Date: 23rd July 2015
- Summary: STEEL DRUM BAND PLAYING IN LOUNGE AREA
- Embargoed: 7th August 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVADC0DIGFL4K7GH6IZXL31Z96JR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: People of all ages frolicked in a 10,000 square foot "ocean" of translucent plastic balls in downtown Washington, D.C., on Wednesday (July 22) instead of going to a sun-drenched beach.
The National Building Museum's latest exhibit called "The BEACH" attracted a huge fun-loving crowd to their evening event, including the after-work professional crowd.
Washingtonian Merideth Baker wore a dress, but said she didn't have time to change.
"I did come from work. I had planned to wear like a swimsuit or something more appropriate beach attire, but it didn't work out," Baker said.
The museum teamed up with Brooklyn-based Snarkitecture to create the beach-themed exhibit in their majestic Great Hall. "The BEACH" is self-contained and is built out of construction materials such as scaffolding, wooden panels, and perforated mesh. White beach chairs and umbrellas sit on the 50-foot wide "shoreline," and nearly one million recyclable translucent plastic balls comprise the "ocean," according to the National Building Museum.
"We said to Snarkitecture, 'we want to do something interactive, it should be large scale, should be summery, fun and interactive," said Brett Rodgers, Vice President for Marketing and Communications at the National Building Museum. "And it was really Snarkitecture who really took that that to the extreme and they went to what they think as the quintessential summer activity, which is the outdoor natural environment of the beach, and they brought that inside the building -- beautifully designed with some interesting sensory touches."
Virginia resident Ian Campbell said the concept turned out well.
"It's very different from anything I've ever experienced. It feels like a real beach honestly, which is strange. They did a very good job at portraying the beach in this scenario. I was very surprised about that, but no one here is not having fun. Everyone's having a good time and this is a very awesome interactive art piece. Honestly, I love it," Campbell said.
The giant ball pit gave many adults an excuse to act a little younger, like Fonda Nichols, who came to the interactive exhibit with a group of friends.
"This is the first time I've ever been in a ball pit let alone white balls. And it's just a lot of fun. It's a lot of fun to be a kid, you know, for a change. You're an adult but you're being a kid," she said.
Besides a strenuous swim in the "ocean", visitors are invited to dangle their feet off the pier, lounge on the shore's edge, play beach-related games and grab food or beverages at the snack bar. With a variety of musicians scheduled to play on Wednesday nights, children and adults take advantage of the later closing time of 9pm.
There's plenty of splash to go around. "The BEACH" will last at the museum until September 7, 2015. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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