National Portrait Gallery - Kogod Courtyard

The enclosed Kogod Courtyard of the National Portrait Gallery has an elegant glass canopy (designed by world–renowned architects Foster + Partners).  The roof is a wavy glass–and–steel structure that appears to float over the courtyard, letting in natural light. The double–glazed glass panels are set in a grid completely supported by eight aluminum–clad columns located around the perimeter of the courtyard so that the weight of the roof does not affect the National Historic Landmark building.  The courtyard's interior is designed with a variety of trees and plantings, as well as a unique water feature.
http://www.npg.si.edu/inform/courtyard.html
The water feature is shallow pool of water that is slowly draining across the floor.  One could easily walk through the fountain, enjoy splashing and pass a few feet beyond its borders only to find your feet completely dry. That was not the case with our visit.

At first the kids enjoyed walking over the water… but soon they were crawling and laying in the water.  Oh well.  By the end of the outing the kids were soaked and we changed them outside the museum front door in the warmth of the summer heat (and then proceeded to our car and found a $30 parking ticket for parking nose-end, versus parallel to the curb {the nose-end parking ends at 1400 on Sunday and turns into curbside parallel parking, we arrived prior to 1400 but left after1400, DOH!} ... so this trip to the museum was not free.)