The day provides a variety of art activities on the plaza along with storytelling, treasure hunts, refreshments, music, and drawing in the Sculpture Garden. The Duke Ellington School of the Arts Show Choir also performs. Children explore art in the Sackler for design ideas, observe a kite maker at work, and then make their own kites. Children explore art in the Sackler for design ideas, observe a kite maker at work, and then make their own kites. Children and their adult companions join Judith Gravitz in a movement and storytelling workshop for families to explore action in art.
Participants also create kinetic images out of wire.
Professional illustrators are on hand to give assistance and career information. Participants must provide their own art supplies. Within These Walls Exhibition Opening Celebration National Museum of American History Hands-on activities and demonstrations of household activities from colonial times to the World War II era are offered. Activities include woodworking, plastering, lacemaking, and quilt making. Contra dancing lessons with live music, a quartet singing abolitionist songs, and the unveiling of the museum's new WWII-era Victory Garden are also scheduled.