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Innovation / 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.

Smithsonian Voices

How Educators Can Boost and Activate Teen Voices

Amplify 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 "Eva Zeisel: Designing in the Air" workshop explores connections between a Zeisel ceramic prototype and her carpet sample design.

Smithsonian Voices

Understanding the Power of Primary Sources

Artifacts and archives are silent until they come out from the attic, the shoebox, or a museum’s archive to find life again through shared discovery

Because of their honeycomb shape, the huts can fit together like a beehive, expanding to fit growing needs.

Innovation for Good

The World’s First 3-D Printed School May Soon Be a Reality

Thinking Huts, a nonprofit founded by a 15-year-old, plans to kick off construction in Madagascar this summer

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 Voices

How to Take the Museum to Learners Who Can’t Be There

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

Smithsonian Summer Virtual Adventures will be held from June 21 through Aug. 27.

Smithsonian Voices

Smithsonian Summer Virtual Adventures Offer Live Learning Experiences for Kids

These online experiences offer children opportunities to explore, discover, create and go behind the scenes at the museums—online

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.

Smithsonian Voices

Changing the Game With Game-Based Learning

Educators stress that the mechanics for learning and embracing the playful are embedded in the structure of familiar games

A student does her remote learning at a Boys and Girls Club in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Education During Coronavirus

Ten Research-Backed Tips on Parenting in a Digital Era

With screen time at a high during the Covid-19 pandemic, two educators offer some advice

"A message of hope made of yarn <3" was submitted by London from Los Angeles, California to the #MomentsOfResilience online story collecting initiative.

Smithsonian Voices

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

HBCUs have consistently enrolled more Black women than men every year since 1976. As of 2018, those women comprise 62 percent of students.

How America’s HBCUs Produced Generations of Black Women Leaders

Take a deep dive into the Smithsonian’s artifacts and archives and explore the legacy of America’s historically Black colleges and universities

An artist's rendering of the five-planet system that orbits star HD 108236, or TOI-1233. In the foreground is a hot, rocky planet that resembles Earth.

Balancing Homework and A.P. Classes, These High Schoolers Discovered Four Exoplanets

Thanks to a Harvard-Smithsonian mentoring program, high school students Kartik Pinglé and Jasmine Wright helped discover new worlds

The Tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus, is a unique reptile found in New Zealand. New research suggests the species has two mitochondrial genomes.

Smithsonian Voices

Scientists Discover This Peculiar New Zealand Reptile Has Two ‘Powerhouse’ Genomes

The research could help zoologists understand what makes tuataras so genetically different from all other reptiles.

Between 1957 and 1982, “Sunrise Semester” broadcasted lectures from NYU faculty to the general public.

Education During Coronavirus

The 1950s TV Show That Set the Stage for Today’s Distance Learning

“Sunrise Semester” gave a generation of women a second chance at higher education

This telescope located in Cerro Tololo, Chile is just one of many within the MicroObservatory Robotic Telescope Network.

Smithsonian Voices

With This New Digital Telescope Tool, Anyone Can Access the Heavens

This freely available technology tool provides a unique learning experience for budding astronomers and artists alike

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.

Smithsonian Voices

Proactive Tips for Speaking With Children About Violence, Racism and Tragic Events

What do we tell children now? It’s time to ask ourselves what we are going to say and do before the next time this happens

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

Smithsonian Voices

Smithsonian Educators Offer Tips for 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.

(Top row) Jing Liu and Florian Idenburg, Barron Ryan, Arturo Elizondo, (middle row) Samantha Pratt, Gitanjali Rao, Anitra Belle Henderson, (bottom row) Kennyjie, Andrea Ponti and Brett Phaneuf

Innovation for Good

Ten Innovators to Watch in 2021

These visionaries are imagining an exciting future with chicken-less eggs, self-piloting ships and more

Projects that harness the public to make observations and report data about the health of our environment are growing. Anyone can join—no PhDs needed.

Innovation for Good

Twenty-Four Ways to Turn Outdoor Passions Into Citizen Science

Heading into the new year, consider collecting scientific data while skiing, hiking, surfing, biking and partaking in other adventures

Since the start of the pandemic, people all over the world have increased their time spent with nature.

Smithsonian Voices

Try These Tips from Smithsonian Educators to Make the Outdoors a Curiosity-Sparking Classroom

Make the Outdoors a Curiosity-Sparking Classroom

Our favorite books this year are ones with messages that help kids understand the world around them.

The Ten Best Children’s Books of 2020

These top titles deliver history lessons, wordplay and a musical romp through the animal kingdom

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 in 2014.

Smithsonian Voices

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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