| | | Welcome | | Monique M. Chism, PhD Smithsonian Under Secretary for Education |
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We're only weeks away from the start of the 2023 Smithsonian National Education Summit! This highly anticipated annual event is dedicated to celebrating and empowering teachers, while showcasing classroom-ready Smithsonian instructional resources and strategies. We’re back with eight new featured resources that revolve around the Summit's four distinct tracks: Life on a Sustainable Planet, STEAM Education, Reckoning with Our Racial Past, and An Integrated Arts Education. Each free resource comes with a recommended virtual or in-person Summit session that serves as a perfect complement. Whether you’re planning to join us virtually or in-person, we look forward to welcoming you to the Summit. Our lineup of conversations is thoughtfully designed to inspire and bring new ideas to your classroom. Get ready for an extraordinary experience! |
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| | Open for Registration: National Education Summit 2023 | | Exciting news! Free registration is now open for the 2023 National Education Summit. Join us July 18-20, 2023 for this year’s Summit, offering limited capacity spots for in-person professional learning and networking, as well as online-specific sessions. This event will feature museum experts and teacher practitioners in free online webinars, plus in-person skill-building workshops and deep-dive discussions at the Smithsonian in our nation’s capital, Washington D.C. Either way, you’ll leave with a toolbox full of classroom-ready ideas. Be sure to register soon to “save your seat”! | | | Resources for July | | Each month we’ll feature education resources from across the Smithsonian that highlight relevant interdisciplinary content, concepts, and skills for grades PK–12+. | | Life on a Sustainable Planet |
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| | “Secrets of the Sea” Online Game
Navigate the hidden treasures of a coral reef in the “Secrets of the Sea” online interactive. From the tiniest plants to the largest hunters, discover the connections between the creatures in a coral reef. Recreate a healthy ecosystem by finding living things and returning them to the coral reef. | | If you liked playing this game, check out the Summit session: “Bringing the Science of Climate Change to the Classroom” 7/20 | 1:00 PM–2:00 PM EDT (online and in-person) |
| | National High School Design Competition
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum launched the National High School Design Competition in 2016. Every year, students around the country are challenged to design a solution to a unique scenario, inspired by Cooper Hewitt’s rich collection and stimulating exhibitions. | | If you like this challenge, check out the Summit session: “Design as a Tool for Student Sustainability Leadership” 7/19 | 1:00 PM–1:50 PM EDT (online). |
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| | Reckoning with Our Racial Past |
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| | Deconstructing Power: W. E. B. Du Bois at the 1900 World’s Fair
This online exhibition places decorative arts from Cooper Hewitt’s permanent collection in dialogue with 20 innovative data visualizations that W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963) created for the 1900 Paris World’s Fair to explore how design can both reveal and mask dynamics of power and equity.
| | If you like this exhibition, check out the Summit session: “Deconstructing Power: Using Data in the Classroom” 7/20 | 1:00 PM–1:50 PM EDT (online) |
| | Smithsonian Summer Sessions: Interrogating the Stories We Tell
In this edX course, educators from six Smithsonian museums dive deeply into the objects in their collections to interrogate the stories we know and tell our students. They explore connections among their collections and model teaching strategies that participants can implement with their students.
| | If you like this course, check out the Summit session: “Inspire Creative Changemakers” 7/20 | 12:00 PM–12:50 PM EDT (online) |
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| | | Smithsonian Early Learning Resources
The resources on this page, curated by the Smithsonian Early Learning Collaborative, teach children active observation and questioning skills that will help them stay curious and become critical thinkers and creative problem solvers. | | If you like these resources, check out the Summit session: “Promoting Historical Thinking Skills in Young Learners” 7/19 | 12:00 PM–12:50 PM EDT (online) |
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Protecting Whales
In this instructional unit developed by the Smithsonian Science Education Center, you'll learn how to integrate computational thinking into your elementary STEM classroom. It uses both hands-on and high-tech resources to help students solve the problem of whales getting hit by ships. | | If you like this classroom unit, check out the Summit session: “Saving Whales with Computational Thinking” 7/20 | 12:00 PM–12:50 PM EDT (online) |
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| | An Integrated Arts Education |
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| | Social Emotional Learning Toolkit
"This toolkit, created by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and tested by educators across the US and two D.C.-based art therapists, can help you regulate your emotions, identify supportive connections, and speak your mind. | | If you like this toolkit, check out the Summit keynote: “Belonging Fuels Motivation & Learning” 7/20 | 10:30 PM–11:45 AM EDT (online and in-person) |
| | “Smithsonian Music” Collection
The Smithsonian’s combined musical resources constitute the world’s largest museum of music. Music is an integral part of the Smithsonian’s connective tissue, spanning a remarkable number and diversity of collections, programs, and exhibitions. | | If you like these jams, check out the Summit keynote: “Equipping & Inspiring LAUSD’s Student Musicians” 7/20 | 3:00 PM–4:15 PM EDT (online and in-person) |
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| | Upcoming Events | | Virtual Story Time | National Postal Museum Join educators from the National Postal Museum for live, interactive story time. Educators will read stories aloud and lead related activities in a Zoom meeting for children and their caregivers. Explore a range of postal-related topics and more! Sessions will be interactive and last approximately 45 minutes. Caregivers are expected to be present with children for the duration of the program. Designed for children ages 3-6, but all are welcome!
Virtual event. Monday, July 10, 2023, 11:00 AM–11:45 AM EDT. Registration required. | |
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| | The Freedmen's Bureau and Reconstruction (Educator Professional Learning Session) | National Museum for African American History and Culture
Do you want to find more ways to bring the period of Reconstruction into your classroom studies? Immerse yourself in of one of the most pivotal time periods in American history by understanding the Freedmen’s Bureau and the experiences of the newly freed. Join fellow educators for a three-day exploration of the Freedmen’s Bureau and its records, Reconstruction, and ways that these resources can be brought into your classroom.
On Location Event. Tuesday, July 11, 2023, 9:00 AM–3:00 PM EDT. $50, registration required. | |
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| | Storytime: Space Spinners | National Air and Space Museum
Join us for a reading of Space Spinners by Suse MacDonald and learn about a real science experiment with spiders that was conducted aboard SkyLab 50 years ago. Try a few experiments at home that were conducted on the first American science laboratory in space.
Virtual event. Friday, July 14, 2023, 10:00 AM–10:45 AM EDT. Registration required. | |
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| | SAAM Arcade 2023 | Smithsonian American Art Museum Turn the volume up for our annual exploration of video games and art, SAAM Arcade 2023! This year, the popular Indie Developer Showcase will highlight games that use music and sound design in engaging, experimental, and inventive ways, from rhythm games to musical instrument simulators to groundbreaking soundtracking. Play classic video and arcade games provided by local partner MAGFest and explore SAAM's collection with a sonic-inspired art scavenger hunt.
On location event. Saturday, July 22, 2023, 11:30 AM–7:00 PM EDT | |
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| | Hello, Museo | National Postal Museum
Join educators from the National Postal Museum every other Tuesday for a bilingual program featuring music, stories, crafts, and gallery exploration. Designed for children ages 2-5 and their caregivers, but all are welcome!
Únase a los educadores del Museo Postal Nacional cada dos martes para un programa bilingüe que presenta música, historias, artesanías y exploración de galerías. Diseñado para niños de 2 a 5 años y sus cuidadores, ¡pero todos son bienvenidos!
On Location. Tuesday, July 25, 2023, 10:30 AM–11:30 AM EDT.
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| | Young Portrait Explorers | National Portrait Gallery
Join our interactive virtual workshop for children ages 3-6 and their adult companions to explore portraiture, history, and culture. This thirty-minute program incorporates close looking at art, movement, and creativity. Learn new stories about changemakers, ranging from astronauts to activists, presidents to painters!
Virtual event. Wednesday, July 26, 2023, 11:00 AM–11:30 AM EDT. Registration required. | |
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