Here, it’s OK to tell your sister to get lost

• What: The BIG Maze.

• Where: The National Building Museum, 401 F St. N.W., Washington, D.C.

• When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays though Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 1.

• Cost: $16 adults; $13 ages 3 to 17. Admission to other exhibitions is included.

• Information: www.nbm.org or 202-272-2442 or.

WASHINGTON — The National Building Museum has an amazing new attraction. It’s a maze, like the corn mazes that appear around Halloween. But this one is made of wood.

“It’s a beautiful design,” said Cathy Frankel, the museum’s vice president for exhibitions and collections. Once you arrive at the center, “there’s a reveal of where you came from.” That’s because the maze’s plywood walls rise 18 feet at the perimeter of the structure but just 3½ in the middle. The Danish architectural company Bjarke Ingels Group designed the maze, which opened Friday.

“We were trying to create something that really works with our building,” Frankel said. “You can get above it and see people in the maze.”

Museum officials estimate it will take visitors 20 to 30 minutes to find the center and then navigate their way out. Frankel said museum officials wanted the maze to be for all ages but didn’t want it to be too easy.

“We will have guards in there,” she said. “We want to make sure people don’t get too lost.”

The attraction includes a history of mazes, which date to ancient times. There’s also an explanation of how a maze is different from a labyrinth.

The project is a follow-up to the mini-golf attraction that the Building Museum installed for the past two summers.

“Creating these fun experiences are a great way to get new audiences in here,” Frankel said.

Frankel said she doesn’t think the maze will be back for a second summer. “It’s probably a one-time deal,” she said.