Education

Smithsonian is a laboratory for learning and innovation

The Smithsonian shares the depth and breadth of the institution’s extraordinary collections and research with learners of all ages and educators everywhere. Our more than 300 educators and 200 Affiliate organizations bring Smithsonian knowledge, compelling stories, exhibitions and artifacts, and inquiry-based lessons to more than 8 million learners across the globe each year.

All facets of the Smithsonian—21 museums, 14 education and research centers, and the National Zoo—are committed to reaching communities near and far. We connect with diverse audiences, including under-resourced communities and underserved individuals, to enrich programs, curriculum and exhibitions. We invite dialogue and exchange to inspire communities of learners to think critically about complex global challenges.

Smithsonian Education video

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[Narrator] The Smithsonian sparks discovery, exploration, curiosity, and a passion for knowledge.

There are so many venues and opportunities to reach people.

It's a place of rich potentials.

[Narrator] Inspiring generations of students to be innovators and lifelong learners. The work of Smithsonian Education can be found all over the world in museums, classrooms, online, and in the community.

Museums help open up your eyes to learn and see things that you never think you'd see.

Well, we find the stories, and then we tell them, and then people recognize themselves in them, and then they come to the Smithsonian.

[Narrator] Every day Smithsonian educators continue a legacy of learning.

I want to provide resources and programs to the kids who may never have any other opportunity to access this museum.

We really focus our evaluation work on understanding teachers and what happens in the classroom.

[Narrator] As the world around us grows and changes, Smithsonian Education has continued to developinnovative ways to share knowledge with as many people as possible.

We have to find new entry points for people to engage in museum experiences, and part of that means redefinig what an exhibition, or a collection, or a museum is in general

[Narrator] Smithsonian Education has given educators around the world the ability to bring the treasured resources of the Smithsonian to students far outside of Washington, D.C.

Because the museums are in Washington, D.C. a lot of us around the country don't realize the importance of the exhibitions, and also the traveling exhibitions that come right to our neighborhoods.

[Narrator] Help continue the Smithsonian's legacy of learning, and inspire learners now and for generations to come. Support Smithsonian Education today.

(en español)

student activity

Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology

The Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology (OET) produces the Smithsonian Learning Lab an engaging digital destination for the discovery, creation, and sharing of new ideas and knowledge and supports development of critical, lifelong skills. It offers free digital access to more than a million Smithsonian artworks, artifacts, specimens, and recordings; thousands of standards-aligned teaching materials; and hundreds of model learning collections the Smithsonian has created for the K-12 classroom. OET collaborates through partnerships with educational organizations, libraries, school districts, and universities to engage various audiences in using the Lab through formal training and special projects.

Learn more about Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology
DC Public Schools Night at the Air and Space Museum.

Learn with Smithsonian DC

Learn with Smithsonian DC is a first of its kind strategic initiative designed to cultivate a holistic approach to serving pre-K through grade 12 students, educators, and families in our local DC Metro communities. Our first institutional partner is DC Public Schools (DCPS). Working in direct support of the school system’s goals, Smithsonian educators are providing students with real-world, hands-on programs in our museums, curriculum-connected activities and online resources for use in classrooms, and professional development for educators. Our goal is to create rich and equitable learning opportunities for all pre-K-12 Metro DC students.

sharing resources

Smithsonian Affiliations

Smithsonian Affiliations share the Institution’s resources with Americans in their own communities by developing collaborative partnerships with museums, cultural, and educational organizations. Together, we bring the Smithsonian, in all of its breadth and scope, to local communities and create lasting experiences that broaden perspectives on science, history, world cultures, and the arts. There are more than 200 Smithsonian Affiliates in more than 40 states, Puerto Rico, and Panama.

Learn more aboutSmithsonian Affiliations
Miss Piggy on tour

Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service

The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service serves as the Institution’s ambassador and emissary through traveling and virtual exhibits that bring knowledge, discovery, and experiences to people across America and beyond. Wherever SITES goes, it stimulates conversations: between the national and local, between the expected and unexpected. SITES’ presence changes lives, institutions, and communities.

Learn more aboutSmithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
Two young girls working with science project.

Smithsonian Science Education Center

The Smithsonian Science Education Center is transforming K–12 Education through Science in collaboration with communities across the globe. This unique organization promotes inquiry-based STEM teaching and learning; ensures diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion in K–12 STEM education; advances STEM education for sustainable development; and translates the research and collections of the Smithsonian into meaningful tools and convenings for K–12 students, teachers and administrators through its STEM curriculum, digital assets, professional development, and leadership development. 

Learn more aboutSmithsonian Science Education Center
TSA Campers

Smithsonian Associates

Smithsonian Associates offers unparalleled access to the Smithsonian's world of knowledge through innovative, engaging programming that promotes learning, enrichment, and creativity for people of all ages. The largest museum-based educational program in the world, Smithsonian Associates annually offers more than 750 seminars, performances, lectures, studio art classes, and local and regional study tours. Performances at Discovery Theater and more than 80 educationally focused summer camps are among the programs that foster the joys of learning for young people and their families.

Learn more aboutSmithsonian Associates