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Smithsonian Education

Five educators standing on a beach in Alaska hold up crabs found during a Smithsonian Classroom Cultivation workshop. Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III shakes hands with an educator at the 2025 Smithsonian National Education Summit.

2025 Smithsonian Education Impact Report Released

Newly released report shares insight into the programs and partnerships that link Smithsonian learning to communities, classrooms, and cultural institutions across the United States.

A sign says Registration and a group of people approach a table

An Educator's Guide to Attending the Upcoming Smithsonian Education Summit and Turning Inspiration into Impact

In summer 2026, the Smithsonian will host its sixth annual conference for educators. Local D.C. classroom teacher, Alejandro Diasgranados, shares his tips for how to prepare, insights on what to expect, and his approach for turning inspiration into real classroom impact.

A group of children sit on the grass to read silently to themselves

Pep Rally Celebrates Literacy and a Lifelong Passion for Learning With Seattle Youth

Collaborating national organizations Amazon, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, NFL Inspire Change, and the Smithsonian have come together to encourage excitement around reading. Their latest event in Seattle provided over 1,250 books to youth and their Club libraries

A woman reads with a young boy, the book says "wheelbarrow" in big letters

Embark on a Smithsonian Summer Reading Adventure

Smithsonian museum educators have curated a list of their top picks for summer reading to keep kids engaged and their imaginations active, including free online resources you can access and download today

A group of men and women are in an audience turning and talking to each other with smiles

2025 Summit Features Inspiring Keynotes, Deep-Dive Sessions and Hands-On Workshops for Educators

The Smithsonian returns with its 5th annual National Education Summit, a free three-day conference for educators preparing to teach the 250th anniversary of the nation

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In Conversation with 2024 National Teacher of the Year, Missy Testerman

Meet the Tennessee educator ensuring a sense of belonging in her classroom and supporting newcomer immigrant students and their families in her rural Appalachian community

Children Approaching the Smithsonian Building

Learning Alongside the Smithsonian for the Hundredth Day of School

As young students across the country celebrate this major milestone in the school year, the Smithsonian offers classroom connections to consider just how monumental 100 really is

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Heritage, Science, and Culture Take Center Stage with Discovery Theater Performances for Students

The Smithsonian makes learning come alive for visiting field trip groups through memorable and engaging theater performances

A group of students wait in line at a Post Office. Each student has a stamped envelope they are handing to the postal worker behind the counter.

Field Trips at the National Postal Museum Deepen Student Learning and Connections

At a Smithsonian museum just off the National Mall, PreK-8th grade students engage in free field trip experiences that focus on storytelling through design, problem solving, and object-based learning

Whale swimming in the water with a tear on the side of its body.

Saving Whales with Computational Thinking

Want to teach your students how to save whales using Computational Thinking? Researchers and educators have teamed up to share powerful case studies for the classroom

Playbill for "A Raisin in the Sun" with a black and white photo of playwright Lorraine Hansberry

Ten Education Resources to Explore this Women’s History Month

From videos to lesson plans and podcast episodes to coloring books, an educator from the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum shares her top picks for teaching and learning this Women's History Month.

Activities that give young children the opportunity to build meaningful, personal connections with animals can be the spark for a lifelong love of wildlife and cultivate a lasting conservation ethic.

Using Empathy for Animals to Engage Young Children in Early Engineering Education

How do you introduce engineering practices and skills to young learners? Smithsonian educators suggest it starts with empathy.

The Smithsonian's Under Secretary for Education welcomes teachers and students back to a new school year and highlights the ways the Smithsonian plans to build and enrich a national culture of learning. (Getty Images)

Back to School With the Smithsonian

The Smithsonian is committed to playing a role as one of the foremost education organizations in the country, offering innovative programming and resources for teachers and supporting a high quality, well-rounded education for all students.

Through co-creation efforts with K-12 educators and Asian American community partners, the National Veterans Network, elementary and middle school educators, Asian Pacific American Center interns and National Museum of American History staff, learn more about the stories behind objects. (Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center)

What's Missing from Classrooms When Asian American and Pacific Islander Voices Aren't Included?

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) have been present throughout America’s past through migration, labor, activism, science innovation, art, literature, community organizing, and so much more. When AAPI stories and voices are missing from what students learn, grappling with our current moment of increased hate and violence, and thoughtfully discussing this with students runs the risk of becoming even more difficult without support and resources to contextualize what we are witnessing today.

When the 2020-2021 school year started, 39 of the nation’s 50 largest school systems were among those that chose a distance learning instructional model. (ake1150sb/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Learning Science at Home

Homes are special places of discovery, abounding with scientific phenomena and engineering marvels.

Middle school students learning with educational resources on American Indian removal produced by the National Museum of the American Indian. (Alex Jamison)

Transforming Teaching and Learning About Native Americans

An ongoing goal of the National Museum of the American Indian is to change the narrative of Native Americans in U.S.'s schools.

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