NEW YORK >> An upcoming installation at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan invites kids to explore the sounds, sights and flavors of New York.

Young visitors will play-act parallel parking, driving a taxi and writing a parking ticket inside an interactive 3,000-square-foot gallery.

They can pretend to be a construction worker by moving blocks with a conveyor, serve up their creations at “Taste of NYC Food Cart” or make music inside a soundproof laser tunnel.

The museum says the goal is to develop children’s cognitive and motor skills and help them make sense of the world around them.

“NYC & Me: A Little Bite of the Big Apple” will run from Sept. 24 to Jan. 18. For more information visit www.cmom.org.

D.C. crime museum to close

WASHINGTON >> Washington’s National Museum of Crime & Punishment has announced that it will be closing its doors soon.

The museum’s chief operating officer, Janine Vaccarello, says terms from a lease agreement are forcing the museum out of its three-story building at the end of September.

Vaccarello says the museum will search for other space in the area or look to partner with another organization to sell its paraphernalia.

The museum, which opened in 2008, features attractions that include a police driving simulator and an interactive police lineup.

Free concert to mark pope’s trip

WASHINGTON >> The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is hosting a free concert in honor of Pope Francis’ visit to the nation’s capital. The free concert will be open to the public and take place Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. with ticket distribution at 6 p.m.

The concert will be held on the pope’s first full day in the city, but he will not attend.

It will feature the National Symphony Orchestra along with Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves and 10-year-old jazz pianist Jose Andre Montano. Actress Eva Longoria will also participate.

A message from Francis will be read by Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington. The pope leaves Washington for New York on Sept. 24.