The Smithsonian opened registration Wednesday to attend a special lecture held by famed game designer Hideo Kojima. This conversation with Kojima will take place on the second day of the Smithsonian’s Game Fest, a three day festival kicking off the museum’s new The Art of Video Games exhibit. Game Fest begins Friday, March 16 in Washington DC.

If there ever was hesitation around attending this event, the Smithsonian seeks to dispel not only with the confirmation of Kojima but also with the price of attendance — free.

Other panels will include design and development notables like Ken Levine (BioShock, System Shock 2), RJ Mical (LittleBigPlanet 2, God of War III) and Kellee Santiago (Guitar Hero, Q.U.B.E.). In addition, attendees will be treated to screenings of the original TRON and The King of Kong.

The Art of Video Games exhibit will feature games spanning from the early 1980′s to now. Attendees will get a behind the scenes look at design documents, learn insights from top developers and, of course, play. A list of featured games can be found here.