.webp?language=en-US)
As we get into the holiday weekend and peak summertime, we hope you have plans to set aside some time to relax, travel, or simply take a break with something fun. For a few ideas, peruse this gem from the archives: a look at how Professional Practice Network (PPN) members recharge, from hiking to visiting nurseries. The survey may have been conducted a decade ago, but the need for a restorative break every now and again is evergreen.
In case anyone is based in the DC area or coming to DC to celebrate the Fourth of July, here's a few things to check out in the area:
Through July 20, 2025, the West Court of the National Building Museum has been transformed into a parkour training course that draws inspiration from the work of landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, including Seattle's Freeway Park and Denver's Skyline Park. Halprin's designs often "emphasized interactive public spaces and dynamic, exploratory movement," making them ideal for parkour.
The parkour courses (one for younger kids and one for older kids and adults) are very effective in engaging children of all ages with an activity that they simply cannot do while holding a phone (though there is often a parent nearby, documenting the experience). Though adults may be more hesitant to try it themselves, I am in favor of any activity that rewards careful observation, focus on the environment, and imagination. With parkour, the whole can be much greater than the sum of its seemingly mundane parts. A simple feature (a block of concrete, a railing) can be the launching point for impressive kinesthetic fireworks.
For more, see the Building Museum's picks for the most iconic sites where design features present an open invitation to show off your parkour skills and check out the work of Carve Landscape Architecture.
If you'd choose skateboarding over parkour, then just head down to the National Mall for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, July 2-7, 2025. You'll find everything from skateboarders showcasing their tricks to master artisans (blacksmiths, luthiers, stone carvers, and more) in action.
If you're ready for a few hours in air conditioning, the National Museum of Natural History and its concise but potent Art x Climate exhibit, featuring artists whose work responds to climate change, is just a few steps away from the Folklife Festival. Catch it in the museum's Ocean Hall before its gone. After opening on Earth Day, it's unclear how long it will be up for—as of July 2, it is still in place.
