It would be a crime to miss new Washington museum

— -- Commit a crime? You'll do the time.

That sobering sentence is delivered at Washington's new Museum of Crime & Punishment in a variety of ways — from a high-speed police chase simulator and the bullet-riddled car used in the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde to a death penalty exhibit with scale models of a guillotine, gas chamber and "Old Sparky," a Tennessee electric chair responsible for 125 electrocutions. The $21 million musem, which opens in D.C.'s increasingly popular Penn Quarter today, traces the history of American crime and its consequences, and encompasses such varied villains as Wild West outlaws, serial killers and cyber criminals. Museum partner John Walsh, host of the TV series America's Most Wanted, will tape the show from a museum-based studio about once a month. Tickets cost $17.95 for adults, $14.95 for kids 5-11. Information: 202-393-1099; crimemuseum.org