Visitors can wander through the structures, climb up a lookout bridge and use two slides to return to the sea floor. Daikaya will provide Japanese kakigori shaved ice in such flavors as red bean, mocha, vanilla and condensed milk, which museum-goers can eat on one of the many ice chunk-shaped bean bags. On Wednesdays, the museum will stay open until 10 p.m. for Late Nights, a ticketed after-hours event featuring food, special guests and family friendly activities.
During a press preview of the installation, Corner said he wants "Icebergs" to be a journey to an otherworldly place, but also inform visitors about climate change and global warming. While iceberg facts do punctuate the exhibit, the structures themselves also relate back to that message: They're made up of such reusable construction materials as scaffolding and polycarbonate paneling.
Last year's "the Beach" installation drew thousands of visitors a day; about 50,000 people wandered through a maze the year before. But neither installation managed to draw the public to the other corners of the museum. Designed to be more inclusive of the rest of the building, "Icebergs" allows visitors to take in different views from the museum's second and third floors.
"The layering was very intentional," said Cathy Crane Frankel, the museum's vice president for exhibitions and collections. "Last year’s extremely popular installation, "Beach," drew 183,000 people in two months. But visitors stayed in the ball pit for up to 6 hours, not exploring other areas."
"Icebergs" will also offer refuge from D.C.'s hot and humid summers. “We thought, 'Wouldn’t it be great to come into an environment that is literally cool?'" Corner said.
"Icebergs" opens to the public at the National Building Museum on July 2. Through Sept. 5. $13-$16.
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