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Pinball is pretty serious beans. Or, at least it was considered serious between the 1940s and 1970s, when the machines, lumped in with sinful “games of chance,” were banned in major cities including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. (Most of the bans were reversed by the ’70s.) Another distressing chapter in pinball history? The closing of the National Pinball Museum, which loses the lease on its Georgetown location today. With hordes of playable games and interactive exhibits, the museum, in all its 14,000 square feet of gamey goodness, deserves your careful, uh, study. Curators have slashed admission to $3, and games are only 75 cents per play. Employee Kyle Lawson says the museum hopes to release information about its new location soon, but dash to the Shops at Georgetown Park today to rock out like a Pinball Wizard as soon as possible. And please, don’t tilt the machines.
The museum is open noon to 6 p.m. on the street level of The Shops at Georgetown Park, 3222 M St. NW. $3 for ages nine and up; free for nine and under.