Smithsonian Education

Through Smithsonian programs, like ARTLAB and the National Youth Summit, museum educators demonstrate how adult mentors can elevate the voices of teens in their communities. (Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden)

How Educators Can Boost and Activate Teen Voices

Smithsonian educators, dedicated to amplifying the voices of teens, share their suggestions on how to support young leaders’ efforts without disrupting their individual agency.

A participant from Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum's

Understanding the Power of Primary Sources through Home, Hand, and Heart

Primary sources provide learners of all ages with opportunities for deep engagement. Staff from across the Smithsonian share memorable moments in their work that have helped audiences activate their senses, make deep connections to people of the past and see their own home in new ways.

Children participate in a hands-on science activity with the Smithsonian Latino Center for a Dia del Niño festival hosted by LA Plaza de Cultura y Arte in Los Angeles, California. (Smithsonian Latino Center)

Bringing the Smithsonian to Learners Beyond the Museum

Educators can make a big difference in the lives of young students who have never met a scientist, seen a microscope, or been to a museum.

Bioimplantable device. Developed by Ellis Developments Ltd., manufactured by Pearsalls Ltd., designed by Prof. Simon Frostick, Dr. Lars Neumann, Prof. W. Angus Wallace, and Dr. Alan McLeod between 1997 and 2003, textile designed by Peter Butcher in 2004. Polyester. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Gift of Ellis Developments, Ltd., 2004-15-1. Photo: Matt Flynn © Smithsonian Institution

The Unexpected Connections that Fuel Remarkable Innovations

Learn how to train the brain to be ready to generate new ideas everyday and find great ideas that strike a meaningful balance between inevitable and unexpected.

Elisa Hough interviews Dennis Zotigh (Kiowa/San Juan Pueblo/Santee Dakota), a cultural specialist at the National Museum of the American Indian. (Daniel Martinez, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives.)

Learning through Listening

The pandemic has provided the rare opportunity for many of us to slow down and listen to the world around us. At the Smithsonian, listening is an essential part of our work. Listening to individuals, communities, and organizations helps us better understand and serve the public as well as document and preserve our nation’s history.

At the Smithsonian, educators have used the pedagogy of game-based learning to create innovative programs and activities that open the door to vast content and collections for learners of all ages. (National Museum of Natural History)

Changing the Game with Game-Based Learning

Learn how museum educators at the Smithsonian are going all in with game mechanics for learning and embracing the playful, experimental side of education through the structure of familiar games.

How Museums Can Be Spaces for Reflection and Connection (Even with Their Doors Closed)

The pandemic has shown that museums have an important role to play as integral members of their communities.

When abstract concepts, such as fairness, race and differences, are explored with picture books, spoken about during play or introduced in activities like art-making, they are accessible to children and better understood. (Jaclyn Nash, National Museum of African American History and Culture)

Starting Conversations that Support Children Before Traumatic Events Happen

Several events over the last year have left caregivers and educators asking, “What do we tell children now?" But, it’s time to ask ourselves what we are going to say and do before the next time this happens. Our conversations with children need to shift from being reactive to being proactive.

Learning about a major news event as it transpires can be stressful for families to navigate and process together. (Getty Images)

Talking to Children After a Traumatic Event

As details about traumatic events unfold in the news, it is important for families to navigate these conversations with young children with care.

Museum educator Christopher Williams engages with student visitors during a Community Day in 2018. (Leah Jones, National Museum of African American History and Culture)

Cause and Effect: Stories of Inspiration and Representation in Education

Three Smithsonian educators pinpoint their motivations for careers in museums.

Theaster Gates, Ground rules. Free throw, 2015, wooden flooring, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2017.40, © 2015, Theaster Gates (Smithsonian American Art Museum)

How Art and Metaphor Help Students Unpack Complex Ideas

Smithsonian educators share how they frame artworks to explore complex ideas with students.

Since the start of the pandemic, people all over the world have increased their time spent with nature. (Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute)

Connecting (and Reconnecting) with the Natural World

Smithsonian educators provide tips for making the outdoors your very own curiosity-sparking classroom.

Hundreds of historic sites join forces through Made By Us, moving the needle with young people through innovative programs and driving interest back to the sites. (Made By Us)

More than the Sum of Our Parts

The future of cultural institutions is in collaboration. Made By Us and the National Museum of American History model what this looks like nationwide.

A boy adds a wish for the health of delivery workers during the 2020 pandemic. This paper wish tree is inspired by artist Yoko Ono’s Wish Tree for Washington, on view at the Hirshhorn Museum’s Sculpture Garden.

Using Museum Resources to Help Preserve Childhood in a Pandemic

Museum artifacts and artworks inspire early childhood educators to create hands-on experiences for learners and their families at home.

A student in Evansville, Wisconsin explores a 3D model of a 19th century life mask of President Abraham Lincoln from the National Portrait Gallery’s collections in his school’s computer lab. (Terry Medalen)

The Smithsonian’s Evolving Role as the Nation’s Knowledge Partner

Museum education has had a long, ever evolving history at the Smithsonian that can be found at the heart of its mission today.

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