2026 Summit Spotlights Civics Teaching through Connections to Art, Culture, History, and Science

The Smithsonian continues its 250th celebration of the nation with a free three-day Summit for educators featuring more than 40 sessions through virtual and in-person programming

As the Smithsonian continues its celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, educators from across the Smithsonian's museums, research and education centers, and the National Zoo will come together to present an education conference unlike any other. Now in its sixth year, the Smithsonian National Education Summit has become a favorite professional development opportunity among classroom teachers, librarians, museum educators, and non-profit leaders, who return year after year. This free Summit offers participating educators new resources and tools for engaging students in civic inquiry across subject areas, alongside actionable teaching and learning strategies and a unique opportunity to network with peers in their field. 

Across three days, the Summit theme, "Together We Thrive: Towards a More Perfect Union" invites educators to explore civic connections across art, culture, history, and science. On Tuesday, July 14, the Summit begins with eighteen dynamic sessions livestreamed and offered online for a national audience. Concurrent session offerings allow educators to select from a wide range of topics with civic inquiry at the heart of each session. From the Smithsonian American Art Museum's session highlighting tools that help students connect with and analyze photography tracing continuity and change over time to a session from the Smithsonian Office of the Under Secretary for Education's Regional Collaboratives team that brings together a spectrum of six Smithsonian program models engaging young people in conversations about their communities and about themselves as valued voices in civic dialogue, the session line-up provides transferrable strategies that can be adapted to any learning environment.

On Wednesday, July 15, educators can join us in-person at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. for keynote sessions, hands-on workshops, and opportunities to connect with Smithsonian educators and staff through exhibitor tables and with each other over lunch and an evening networking reception at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery. Hands-on sessions will highlight classroom-ready ideas that educators will have a chance to experience as learners, including a session presented by educators at the National Postal Museum that includes a simple printmaking activity and actionable strategies for integrating art, history and civic engagement through the study and design of postage stamps and a session led by the National Museum of the American Indian that leverages a teaching poster highlighting case studies of three Native women historically significant during the American Revolution and the ways they continue to inspire descendants today.

New this year during the evening networking reception, thanks to Horace Mann Educators Foundation, the Smithsonian will honor the first‑ever recipient of the Smithsonian Educator Excellence Award, celebrating an educator who exemplifies creativity, leadership and community impact. 

On Thursday, July 16, educators have the unique opportunity to visit Smithsonian museums across Washington, D.C. for educator-facilitated experiences that bridge museum and classroom learning. Exhibitions, programs, and museum collections, such as the Anacostia Community Museum's new "We Make History" exhibition and Growing Community program, the National Museum of Natural History's "Bison Standing Strong" and "From These Lands" exhibitions, and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center's "How Can You Forget Me: Filipino American Stories" exhibition, serve as the foundation for small group tours that offer new ideas and inspiration for the school year ahead. 

This year’s Smithsonian National Education Summit is more than a conference; it is a collaborative call to action for educators to bridge our collective expertise and build a future where every student has the tools, the voice, and the community support they need to truly thrive. 

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For more details on the 2026 Smithsonian National Education Summit session line-up and to register for free, visit the Summit website at https://s.si.edu/EducationSummit2026.

The Smithsonian gratefully acknowledges Horace Mann for their support of the 2026 Smithsonian National Education Summit.

Ashley Naranjo | | Read More

Ashley Naranjo is a museum educator, specializing in the use of digital resources for teaching and learning. She currently leads education partnerships as the Assistant Director, Education and Outreach Strategy in the Smithsonian’s Office of the Under Secretary for Education. She has developed and implemented professional development opportunities for teachers, librarians and fellow museum educators since 2011. She holds a B.A. in Human Development from the Lynch School of Education at Boston College and a M.Ed. in Learning Design and Technology from the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. She is a 2019 graduate of the Getty Leadership Institute’s NextGen of Museum Leaders program.