[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 31 (Friday, February 14, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E188]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           INTRODUCTION OF THE NATIONAL CHILDREN'S MUSEUM ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 14, 2020

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I rise to introduce the National 
Children's Museum Act, which would require the Administrator of the 
General Services Administration (GSA) to enter into a cooperative 
agreement with the National Children's Museum (NCM) to allow NCM to 
remain in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, a 
federally owned building, without charge. My bill would allow the newly 
redesigned NCM, the nation's first combination children's museum and 
science center, to remain centrally located in the nation's capital for 
the benefit of all.
  Originally named the Capital Children's Museum, NCM was a staple in 
the District of Columbia for decades. The institution opened in 1974 in 
a former convent on H Street Northeast. In 2003, Congress recognized 
the immense value in having a children's museum in the District and 
officially designated the museum the National Children's Museum. By 
2004, NCM had outgrown its home on H Street, but had difficulty 
securing a new location. Since 2015 NCM's presence has been digital, 
serving D.C. public school students and public libraries online.
  Now located in its new home in the Ronald Reagan Building at 1300 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, NCM is poised to bring new and innovative STEAM 
(science, technology, engineering, arts, math) exhibits to the nation's 
capital, building on more than 30 years of educating D.C. children and 
families.
  Despite its many benefits it brings to the nation's capital, NCM 
remains an outlier in terms of upkeep and maintenance. NCM is the only 
congressionally designated museum expected to pay rent in a federal 
building. This bill would allow NCM to remain in its current federal 
location without payment of rent, allowing staff to focus on bringing 
21st century STEAM learning techniques to the nation's capital.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.

                          ____________________