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Autumn Splendor in Seneca Regional Park
Resident Associate Program
A guided hike through beautiful Seneca Regional Park, located upriver from Great Falls, Virginia, makes a fall morning an adventure. Along the way, interpretive naturalist Keith Tomlinson explores the forest’s natural history, with a special focus on landscape ecology—examining how topography, vegetation, and waterways shape this unique ecosystem.
Event Location: Tour meets at Seneca Regional Park 101 Seneca Rd, Great Falls, VA. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264746?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM.
CANCELLED - Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. CANCELLED - Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Architecture on the Nation's Front Lawn
Resident Associate Program
Bill Keene leads a walking tour through the history and design of the National Mall, tracing its transformation from early visions to its most recent landmarks. Discover a stunning array of architectural styles, from the Gothic Revival grandeur of the 1846 Smithsonian Castle to the bold, contemporary design of the 2016 National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Event Location: Tour meets outside the Smithsonian Metro, Mall Exit. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264743?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Lectures & Discussions.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM.
CANCELLED - Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
CANCELLED - Highlights Tour in Mandarin 館藏精華導覽
Gallery Talks & Tours
Join free walk-in tours in Mandarin. These one-hour, docent-led tours feature highlights from the museum’s collections, including the famous Peacock Room and select masterpieces of Chinese art. Each docent chooses an artwork to present in their own way, so you can learn something new every time. No registration is needed.
國立亞洲藝術博物館邀請您參加免費普通話導覽（無需預約）
在一小時的導覽中，我們的講解員將帶您聚焦博物館中的精華，包括舉世聞名的孔雀廳和精選的中國藝術品。每場導覽都是獨一無二的，讓您每次對藝術品都能有不同的了解。 Image credit: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1915.103a-b.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: West Building (Freer Gallery of Art) information desk 西樓（佛利爾美術館）咨詢臺. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
CANCELLED - Tours | Whistler's World
Gallery Talks & Tours
Join a walk-in, docent-led tour to explore the many sides of Whistler. Experience Whistler’s paintings along with objects by Asian artists that inspired his style and subjects. Image: Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room, James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), United Kingdom, 1876–77, room installation; oil paint and gold leaf on canvas, leather, mosaic tile, glass, and wood, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art Collection, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1904.61.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Mosaic Jewelry
Resident Associate Program
Learn the techniques needed to create fine mosaic jewelry as you make silver-plated mosaic pendants using mosaic gold, smalti, semiprecious stones, stained glass, and millefiori.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265193?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265193?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 12:00 PM – 3:30 PM.
CANCELLED - Beyond the Studio Workshop: Linocut with Lea Craigie
One-Time Events
SOLD OUT
Learn the art of linocut printmaking with artist and arts educator Lea Craigie. In this workshop, participants will prep, carve, and print a design of their own creation. Space is limited.
Image credit: Photo courtesy of the artist.
Venue: American Art Museum. Event Location: MacMillan Education Center. Cost: SOLD OUT. Get Tickets/Register: https://events.blackthorn.io/5f4ZMUx7/5a2bVR1zO9h. Categories: Workshops.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
CANCELLED - Art Studio
One-Time Events
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery's collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery's Eventbrite page.
Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-art-studio-tickets-1112707681629?aff=ebdsshcopyurl&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile&utm-share-source=organizer-profile. Categories: Workshops.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. CANCELLED - Permanent Collection Tour
Gallery Talks & Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 46,000 artworks from across Asia. Enjoy some of the finest on a docent-led tour and learn about commonalities and differences in cultures, aesthetics, and ideas.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. CANCELLED - This City is a Battlefield
Films
Watch the trailer
Director Mouly Surya has described Indonesia’s post-World War II years as “a weird story . . . full of sneaks, cheats, and bargains, but presented as heroic.” After declaring independence from Japan, Jakarta remained under Dutch control, triggering bloody clashes between the army and the resistance movement.
In this ambitious epic, a war hero turned violin teacher gets entangled in the resistance movement. He and his student prepare an underground mission to kill an important Dutch official in a bid to defend Indonesia’s independence. At the same time, his wife fights to protect her family while finding her feelings divided between the two men. Description adapted from Asian Shadows.
Director: Mouly Surya. Countries: Indonesia, Singapore, Netherlands, France, Norway, Philippines, Cambodia. Released: 2025. Length: 119min. Format: DCP. Language: Dutch, English, and Bahasa Indonesia with English subtitles. Image courtesy of Asian Shadows.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://indonesia2025.eventive.org/films. Categories: Films. Accessibility: Captioning. Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
CANCELLED - Tours | Arts Across Asia
Gallery Talks & Tours
Enjoy a guided tour of our East Building and its range of exhibitions. These tours can feature art from any of the exhibitions currently on view, with works from cultures as diverse as ancient Iran to contemporary Japan.
Please meet at the entrance to Gallery 22, near the gift shop, for the tour. Image: Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Collection, The Alice S. Kandell Collection, Photo by John Bigelow Taylor.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Building: East Building. Event Location: Gallery 22. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
CANCELLED - Tours | Arts of Japan
Gallery Talks & Tours
As the seasons change, enjoy a free, hour-long guided tour of the museum’s renowned collection of Japanese art. Experience a variety of artworks, including paintings, prints, screens, ceramics, metalwork, and more. Trees, Master of I-nen Seal (1600–1630), Japan, mid-17th century, ink, color, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1962.30.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: West Building. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Japanese Art from the Collection , Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea , The Print Generation , The Peacock Room , Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
CANCELLED - Spanish-Language Walk-In Tours
One-Time Events
Join a volunteer docent on select Sundays for a lively tour of the National Portrait Gallery in Spanish.
Event Location: F Street Lobby. Cost: Free. Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-spanish-language-docent-tours-tickets-1530971289339?aff=ebdsshcopyurl&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile&utm-share-source=organizer-profile. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Spanish-interpreted program.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. CANCELLED - Permanent Collection Tour
Gallery Talks & Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 46,000 artworks from across Asia. Enjoy some of the finest on a docent-led tour and learn about commonalities and differences in cultures, aesthetics, and ideas.
The public can schedule reserved group tours using the online reservation form.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 3:15 PM – 4:15 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. CANCELLED - Boo at the Zoo
Special Zoo Events
Get ready for a WILD Halloween evening! Boo at the Zoo, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s beloved family-friendly event, is back Oct. 17, 18 and 19, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Due to the federal government shutdown, all dates for Boo at the Zoo (October 17, 18 and 19) have been canceled. We encourage you to show your support for animal conservation by donating the cost of your order using this form, which will be accepted until the date listed on your ticket. If you do not choose this option, your order will be automatically refunded the day after your ticket date.
Venue: National Zoo. Event Location: Throughout the Zoo. Cost: $35 (Members get a 15% discount!)
$30 parking per vehicle. Get Tickets/Register: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/visit/events/boo-zoo. Categories: After Five. Kids & Families.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM.
For more info visit nationalzoo.si.edu. Rick Steves: On the Hippie Trail
Resident Associate Program
In the 1970s, the ultimate trip for any backpacker was the storied “Hippie Trail” from Istanbul to Kathmandu. A 23-year-old Rick Steves made the trek and, like a travel writer in training, documented everything along the way, from jumping off a moving train to making friends in Tehran to getting lost in Lahore to battling leeches in Pokhara. Forty-seven years-later, Steves shares stories and the unforgettable moments, misadventures, and memories of his life-changing 1978 experience.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264734?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264734?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
Drawing Light and How the Masters Did It In Color
Resident Associate Program
Using watercolor, learn the strategies Morisot, Constable, Monet, and Cézanne employed to harness light in their images. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264205?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264205?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Portrait Gallery Kids
One-Time Events
Children and families are invited to learn, play and create at the Portrait Gallery! Join educators every Monday as we explore a variety of topics and artistic materials. Participants will get a closer look at art with hands-on activities, music and story times. Portrait Gallery Kids is a fun way to engage with art and each other.
Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-portrait-gallery-kids-tickets-654254040447?aff=ebdsshcopyurl&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile&utm-share-source=organizer-profile. Categories: Kids & Families.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Tours | Arts of China
Gallery Talks & Tours
Examine the diverse artistic and cultural traditions of one of the world’s oldest civilizations in this in-person, docent-led tour. Learn about Chinese artworks such as ritual bronze vessels, calligraphy, brush paintings in ink and color, and exquisite ceramics.
Please meet at the West Building Information Desk for the tour. Dish with foliate flaring rim; Ming dynasty, Xuande reign, 1426–35; Jingdezhen ware; porcelain with cobalt pigment under colorless glaze; H x Diam: 4.8 × 21.3 cm; National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1951.13a-b.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: West Building. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Leonardo Among Friends: Inspiration at the Milanese Ducal Court
Resident Associate Program
Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci began his career in the service of Ludovico Sforza, the duke of Milan, where he lived and worked from around 1482 to 1499. During that time, he connected with poets, mathematicians, philosophers, and other humanists at the court, stimulating his creative and intellectual practices. Art historian Jill Pederson explores how Leonardo's presence in this dynamic environment shaped his artistic output in works like The Last Supper, Portrait of Cecilia Gallerani (also known as Lady with an Ermine), and the Vitruvian Man. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264735?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264735?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM.
Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Converse with a docent. Learn how African Americans flourished in their own communities during the Era of Segregation 1876-1968 despite the turmoil around them. Under a time of intense pressure to take away their rights as citizens, African Americans not only survived the challenges set before them but crafted an important role for themselves in the nation.
Image Credit: NMAAHC.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: This one-hour tour program meets in the Defending Freedom, The Era of Segregation 1876-1968 exhibit, located on C2. Tours take place at 12:45 PM and 2:45 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 12:45 PM – 3:45 PM.
CANCELLED: Dive into the Deep
One-Time Events
Have you ever wondered what lives in the deepest parts of our ocean? Deep-sea ecosystems - from bioluminescent fish to giant tube worms around hydrothermal vents - thrive in these extreme environments. These mysterious habitats cover most of our planet, yet remain largely unexplored. Come learn how scientists explore these remote habitats and why protecting these ecosystems matters for our planet’s future!
Presented by:
Garret O’Donnell - Marine Biologist, NOAA Knauss Marine Policy Fellows
Alyssa Schultz - Marine Scientist & Geographer, NOAA Knauss Marine Policy Fellows
Jason Gronich - Marine Ecologist & Geographer, NOAA Knauss Marine Policy Fellows
Photos above courtesy of Garret O'Donnell, Alyssa Schultz, and Jason Gronich
Thumbnail image: NOAA Ocean Exploration.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, The Sant Ocean Hall. Cost: Free and open to the public. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Highlights Tour - Sports: Leveling the Playing Field
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Because sports were among the first and most high-profile organizations to accept African Americans on terms of relative equality, sports have a unique role in American culture. Go on a docent led tour. Hear about the contributions of athletes on and off the field.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: This one hour tour program meets at Level 3 in the Sports: Leveling the Playing Field exhibit. Tours take place at 1:15 PM and 3:15 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Slavery and Freedom Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Explore the complex story of slavery and freedom. Visitors will view priceless objects, connect to the past, and hear about the actions of ordinary men and women, demanding freedom and transforming our nation.
Photo Credit: NMAAHC.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets in the Slavery and Freedom exhibition, located on C3. One hour tours take place at 1:15 PM and 2:45 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Slavery and Freedom.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Gallery Talks & Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 46,000 artworks from across Asia. Enjoy some of the finest on a docent-led tour and learn about commonalities and differences in cultures, aesthetics, and ideas.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Tours | Arts of Japan
Gallery Talks & Tours
As the seasons change, enjoy a free, hour-long guided tour of the museum’s renowned collection of Japanese art. Experience a variety of artworks, including paintings, prints, screens, ceramics, metalwork, and more. Trees, Master of I-nen Seal (1600–1630), Japan, mid-17th century, ink, color, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1962.30.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: West Building. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Japanese Art from the Collection , Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea , The Print Generation , The Peacock Room , Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
Sketching Turner: Expressing Atmosphere and Skies in Watercolor
Resident Associate Program
This course is an introduction to J.M.W. Turner’s vast achievements in watercolor, with particular attention to his manner of expressing light and atmosphere. In-class exercises revolve around making studies of his masterworks with an emphasis on creating cohesive sketches, not replicas. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264206?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264206?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
CANCELLED - Meditation Mondays
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Join us for an evening meditation as a practice in liberation. This session provides an opportunity for participants of any experience level to explore the museum’s themes through mindfulness meditation practice.
For inquires, please email NMAAHCEngage@si.edu.
Event Location: Online. Cost: Cancelled. Categories: Webcasts & Online. Workshops. After Five.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 6:00 PM – 6:45 PM.
1968: The Extraordinary Events of a Memorable Year
Resident Associate Program
The year 1968 encapsulates the narrative of the 1960s in America. Leonard Steinhorn, an affiliate professor of history at American University, offers a perspective on a seminal year marked by war, the assassinations of leaders, student unrest, cultural and racial hostilities—and how the Sixties reshaped America.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264736?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264736?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 6:30 PM – 7:45 PM.
Contemporary Portraiture
Resident Associate Program
Building on centuries of tradition, contemporary creators are reimagining portraiture in provocative ways through painting, sculpture, photography, and video. Art historian Jennie Hirsh surveys portraiture in the late 20th and early 21st century, highlighting artists whose work invites viewers to consider how likeness is constructed and understood from visual and cultural perspectives. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264737?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264737?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM.
Demosthenes: Democracy's Defender
Resident Associate Program
Demosthenes, the greatest orator of his day, established himself as one of history’s most eloquent defenders of democracy. Classicist James Romm of Bard College explores the mind of the man who took on the challenge of saving Greek freedom in the face of a threat from Philip of Macedon in 340 B.C.E. and examines how democracies can be destroyed by internal divisions.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264617?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264617?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 6:45 PM – 8:00 PM.
Postmarks and Paperbacks October Meeting
One-Time Events
Join staff from the Smithsonian National Postal Museum for a discussion of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Swiss student Victor Frankenstein uncovers the secret to bringing life to what is lifeless, and in assembling body parts to create a monster, ultimately sets the stage for his own destruction and that of everything that he loves when the monster is rejected by society. Told through letters, this story focuses on a young scientist who created life but was horrified by what he had made.
If you have any accessibility requirements to participate in the program, please email NPMprograms@si.edu and we will do everything we can to meet your needs.
A Zoom link will be emailed to participants prior to the program. Registration is required.
Event Location: Online. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/postmarks-paperbacks-frankenstein-tickets-1702770144339?aff=oddtdtcreator. Categories: After Five.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
For more info visit postalmuseum.si.edu. Out of the Shadows: Film Noir Photography
Resident Associate Program
In this course, learn how to create a mood of darkness in your photos by looking at iconic film noir images and studying the genre’s characteristics.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264207?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264207?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM.
Little Critters: Nature Play at the Bird House (Animal Patterns)
NZP Kids and Families
Join us for creative, drop-in play at the Zoo! Stripes, spots, and everything in between!
Let's learn together about animal patterns. Create your own unique stripe patterns on animals, explore cause and effect, and observe different patterns through sensory play! Little Critters: Nature Play is designed for ages 0-5 and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome. Parents and guardians must remain with their children.
Location: Bird House Classroom.
Venue: National Zoo. Event Location: Bird House Classroom. Cost: Free drop-in program; no pre-registration required.Parents and guardians must remain with their children. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit nationalzoo.si.edu. Big Objects, Big Stories: The Paradox of the Liberty
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Join us for a docent-led tour to get a fresh look into the Museum's featured object. At each of these 15-minute talks visitors will hear incredibly big stories about a big object.
About this Program: The paradox of the American Revolution is the fight for liberty in an era of widespread slavery. Talk with a museum docent and explore the tension between slavery and freedom—who belongs and who is excluded. Consider how this paradox resonates through the nation’s history and spurs the American people to wrestle constantly with building “a more perfect Union.”.
Event Location: Program meets at the Paradox of Liberty section, Level C3. Talks take place at: 10:30 AM, 11:30 AM, and 12:30 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
CANCELLED: Play Date at NMNH: Awesome Arachnids!
One-Time Events
UPDATE: Play Date for Tuesday, October 21st is cancelled. Join us on Tuesdays for special family play dates with museum educators!
Tuesday, October 21 is all about arachnids! Come join us as we celebrate the many wonderful ways arachnids help our planet, make observations of different arachnid species, and create art inspired by different arachnid postage stamps! Families will be able to explore through play, art, and select specimens from our collection.
The event is part of our drop-in program, Play Date at NMNH. Play Date at NMNH is a program designed for early learners (ages 0-5) and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome.
Location: This program is held in Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center, on the Ground Floor of the museum. Please enter through the Constitution Avenue entrance. Q?rius is located on the right as you enter the museum.
Accessibility: Access services such as American Sign Language interpretation,…
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center (Ground Floor). Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM.
DC | Cradleboards and Crawlers
One-Time Events
Designed for early learners (ages 0-2), their caregivers, and families, this drop-in program offers young visitors the opportunity to enjoy a book by a Native author or illustrator read by a Museum Educator, engage in free play and sensory enrichment, and participate in other hands-on learning.
*Due to limited capacity in our spaces, tickets may be needed to enter the Activity Center and therefore the Story room (limited to 25 persons max). Please see staff at the entrance desk of the imagiNATIONS Activity Center on Level 3.
**Recommended for visitors ages 0-2 years old accompanied by an adult caregiver.
Venue: American Indian Museum DC. Event Location: Level 3, imagiNATIONS Activity Center. Cost: FREE. Categories: Kids & Families.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 11:15 AM – 11:45 AM.
Sneak Peek | Listening to Chinese Calligraphy
Lectures & Discussions
How could one listen to a piece of Chinese calligraphy? In this online talk, Dr. Weitian Yan, Indiana University, explores the questions of aurality in the antiquarian culture of Qing dynasty China (1644–1912) through a calligraphic couplet at the National Museum of Asian Art.
In 1793, the epigraphic scholar Gui Fu (1736–1805) brushed this work as a gift to Huang Yi (1744–1801), a fellow enthusiast of early inscriptions. With reference to an ancient stone engraving at Huishan Temple in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, Gui invited Huang to imagine the sound of pinecones falling on a boulder. Such sonic imagery meaningfully evoked memories of antiquarian learning that these two like-minded friends had conducted together. The couplet by Gui Fu is among a body of Qing calligraphic writings that appropriate early ideas of sound to celebrate contemporary scholarship.
This program is part of the monthly lunchtime series Sneak Peek, where staff members and outside scholars share personal perspectives and new research…
Event Location: Zoom. Cost: Free. Register in advance (required). Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CvQHhF-MShat7idObJfeYg. Categories: Lectures & Discussions. Webcasts & Online.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 12:00 PM – 12:40 PM.
Tours | Whistler's World
Gallery Talks & Tours
Join a walk-in, docent-led tour to explore the many sides of Whistler. Experience Whistler’s paintings along with objects by Asian artists that inspired his style and subjects. Image: Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room, James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), United Kingdom, 1876–77, room installation; oil paint and gold leaf on canvas, leather, mosaic tile, glass, and wood, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art Collection, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1904.61.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Meditation and Mindfulness
Workshops
Register to join the sessions.
Join a free online guided meditation. In these 30-minute sessions, DC-based meditation teachers lead a variety of mindfulness practices. Friday sessions take inspiration from art in our museum’s collections.
All are welcome! No previous experience is required. Image: Taki Katei; Autumn landscape; Japan, 1890; ink and color on paper; Gift of Toshio and Yuka Fujikura in memory of Tome Fujikura, F2014.8.28a-d.
Event Location: Online. Online Link: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/NeVySe_xTkGKsbcKbl_syQ. Cost: Free; registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/gz7O3IOSRJKzNc-CWszhlg. Categories: Workshops. Webcasts & Online. Related Events: Meditation and Mindfulness (Online).
Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Gallery Talks & Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 46,000 artworks from across Asia. Enjoy some of the finest on a docent-led tour and learn about commonalities and differences in cultures, aesthetics, and ideas.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. DC | Welcome to a Native Place
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Enjoy tribal songs from Alaska to Florida with Dennis Zotigh (Kiowa/Isanti Dakota/Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo) in the Potomac Atrium. At the end of the 30-minute presentation, visitors are encouraged to ask questions pertaining to the museum and Indigenous culture, past and present. Presentations may be canceled without prior notice.
Venue: American Indian Museum DC. Event Location: Potomac Atrium. Cost: Free. Categories: Performances.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
CANCELLED: The Ocean Around Us Tour
One-Time Events
Explore the Sant Ocean Hall to learn about some of the exciting animals and habitats featured and how they are connected to your everyday life no matter where you live. This is a 30-minute interactive walking tour where you can meet a North Atlantic Right Whale, find out what is the most productive marine ecosystem, touch coral, and so much more.
Registration is required for this small group tour of up to 10 people. Each visitor may bring up to 3 guests, but the total number of visitors on the tour will be capped at 10.
Photo by Phillip R. Lee, Smithsonian Institution.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, The Sant Ocean Hall, Under the Large Jellyfish. Cost: Free. Registration is required. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: The Sant Ocean Hall. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM.
Tours | Arts of Japan
Gallery Talks & Tours
As the seasons change, enjoy a free, hour-long guided tour of the museum’s renowned collection of Japanese art. Experience a variety of artworks, including paintings, prints, screens, ceramics, metalwork, and more. Trees, Master of I-nen Seal (1600–1630), Japan, mid-17th century, ink, color, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1962.30.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: West Building. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Japanese Art from the Collection , Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea , The Print Generation , The Peacock Room , Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
Virtual Tour | Ghosts and Demons
Gallery Talks & Tours
How does art communicate how we imagine the supernatural? In this tour, you’ll meet scary ghosts, powerful demons, and comical monsters in works of art from Japan. Learn about theatrical plays and folktales that feature these supernatural beings and the heroes, guardians, and everyday people they menace. Image: Tsukioka Kogyo 月岡耕漁 (1869–1927); The ghost of a fisherman; Japan, March 1, 1899; ink and color on paper; National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Gift of Robert O. Muller, S2003.8.2898.
Event Location: Zoom. Cost: Free. Register in advance (required). Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_F9OFCegrSNSspwo4TGzR9Q. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Webcasts & Online. Accessibility: Captioning.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Beyond the Frame: An Inside Look at the Portrait Gallery
One-Time Events
Curious about the inner workings of a museum? Ever wondered how conservators care for centuries-old artworks or how lighting designers illuminate exhibitions? Peek behind the curtain at the National Portrait Gallery and hear from staff who work behind the scenes to bring our collection to life.
Event Location: G Street Lobby. Cost: Free. Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-the-frame-an-inside-look-at-the-portrait-gallery-tickets-1334324994979?aff=ebdsshcopyurl&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile&utm-share-source=organizer-profile. Categories: Lectures & Discussions. Gallery Talks & Tours.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. John Muir: Conservation Pioneer
Resident Associate Program
John Muir founded the Sierra Club in 1892, igniting a national passion for nature through his vivid storytelling that made plants and animals come alive. After years of doing farm work, he discovered his true calling—the great outdoors—while working as a shepherd in the Sierra Nevada foothills. For the next 45 years, he explored and wrote passionately about the California mountains, the Cascades of Washington and Oregon, the Arizona desert, and the glaciers of Alaska. Zoologist Fred Bercovitch traces Muir’s life and enduring legacy and reveals his surprising connection to the Smithsonian.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264765?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264765?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM.
Storytime Studio: The Beauty of the Night
One time events
ABOUT STORYTIME STUDIO
Storytime Studio is a captivating blend of play, educator-led read-alouds, and art exploration designed for kids from birth to age 6 and their caregivers. Every Wednesday morning at 10 and 11 AM, visitors are welcomed into our studio to enjoy a special Storytime adventure.
Storytime Studio has limited capacity. Entry is first-come, first-served. THIS WEEK
Don’t be afraid of the dark! We’ll appreciate the night sky by looking at Max Ernst’s (1891–1976) painting Beauty of the Night (1954) and reading Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle. Then we’ll create our own artworks that explore the night sky’s many wonders.
Featured Book: Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle, KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Storytime Studio is a one-hour experience
There are two Storytime sessions each Wednesday, with entry times at 10 and 11 AM. Participation for each adult and child is limited to one hour.
No pre-registration required
Entry to Storytime Studio is first-come, first-served. Once…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum. Event Location: Art School on the Lower Level. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Events: Storytime Studio, About Hirshhorn Kids, Visiting with Kids, Art Project: Naturally You! Art Project: Over the Moon.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.si.edu. Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Outdoor Walking Tour: The Museum, A Century in the Making
Ongoing Tours & Activities
During this 25-min outdoor walking tour, visitors hear the story behind the design of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and explore its unique architectural features.
Photo Credit: NMAAHC.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Programs meets at the oculus, located on 14th Street and Constitution Ave. Each 25-min program start at: 10:30 AM, 11:30 AM, and 12:30 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 10:30 AM – 12:55 PM.
Storytime Studio: The Beauty of the Night
One time events
ABOUT STORYTIME STUDIO
Storytime Studio is a captivating blend of play, educator-led read-alouds, and art exploration designed for kids from birth to age 6 and their caregivers. Every Wednesday morning at 10 and 11 AM, visitors are welcomed into our studio to enjoy a special Storytime adventure.
Storytime Studio has limited capacity. Entry is first-come, first-served. THIS WEEK
Don’t be afraid of the dark! We’ll appreciate the night sky by looking at Max Ernst’s (1891–1976) painting Beauty of the Night (1954) and reading Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle. Then we’ll create our own artworks that explore the night sky’s many wonders.
Featured Book: Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle, KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Storytime Studio is a one-hour experience
There are two Storytime sessions each Wednesday, with entry times at 10 and 11 AM. Participation for each adult and child is limited to one hour.
No pre-registration required
Entry to Storytime Studio is first-come, first-served. Once…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum. Event Location: Art School on the Lower Level. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Events: Storytime Studio, About Hirshhorn Kids, Visiting with Kids, Art Project: Naturally You! Art Project: Over the Moon.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.si.edu. CANCELLED: Science on a Sphere
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Come explore our blue planet with NMNH Ocean Educators. Through NOAA’s Science on a Sphere technology, you’ll encounter a series of interactive visualizations projected on the Sant Ocean Hall’s giant globe. Watch sea turtles migrate coast to coast, track ships through global waters in real-time, explore the changing climate patterns shaping our planet, and much more!
Photo credit: Jennifer Renteria, Smithsonian Institution.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, The Sant Ocean Hall. Cost: Free and open to the public. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: The Sant Ocean Hall. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
Big Objects, Big Stories: Southern Railway Car No. 1200
Ongoing Tours & Activities
At each of these 15-minute talks visitors will hear incredibly big stories about a big object. Visit the Southern Railway No. 1200, a segregated passenger from the Jim Crow era. Get the inside scope, about the role of Pullman porters and coach attendants—key figures in the African American community.
Photo Credit: NMAAHC.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets at the railway car, Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation 1876-1968 exhibition, located on C2. Each 15-minute program starts at: 11:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 12:30 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation 1876-1968.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 11:00 AM – 12:45 PM.
DC | Cradleboards and Crawlers
One-Time Events
Designed for early learners (ages 0-2), their caregivers, and families, this drop-in program offers young visitors the opportunity to enjoy a book by a Native author or illustrator read by a Museum Educator, engage in free play and sensory enrichment, and participate in other hands-on learning.
*Due to limited capacity in our spaces, tickets may be needed to enter the Activity Center and therefore the Story room (limited to 25 persons max). Please see staff at the entrance desk of the imagiNATIONS Activity Center on Level 3.
**Recommended for visitors ages 0-2 years old accompanied by an adult caregiver.
Venue: American Indian Museum DC. Event Location: Level 3, imagiNATIONS Activity Center. Cost: FREE. Categories: Kids & Families.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 11:15 AM – 11:45 AM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Gallery Talks & Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 46,000 artworks from across Asia. Enjoy some of the finest on a docent-led tour and learn about commonalities and differences in cultures, aesthetics, and ideas.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Conservation Classroom: Suited for Survival
NZP Kids and Families
Suited for Survival
This virtual school program is part of Conservation Classroom, a collection of monthly lessons for K-5 students. Each lesson has four elements: wonder (video), engage (live virtual program), act (activities), and connect (video). Follow along with all four parts or pick and choose the videos and activities you want to explore. Explore the Suited for Survival Resources
Grade/Learning Level: K-5
Standards: Supports NGSS K-LS1-1, K-ESS2-2, K-ESS3-1, 1-LS1-2, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS3-1, 3-LS3-2, 3-LS4-3, 4-LS1-1
Crosscutting Concepts: patterns, structure and function
Program Details: Suited for Survival explores animal adaptations from pokey porcupines to super soft chinchillas. Students will learn how unique adaptations help animals survive. , Aligned with K-5 Next Generation Science Standards , Designed for all audiences, from individual students to large groups or schools , Webinar-styled; Participants’ audio and video will be off , Students can engage with hosts by…
Event Location: Online. Cost: Free! Registration required. Categories: Kids & Families. Webcasts & Online. Accessibility: ASL-interpreted program. Captioning. Spanish-interpreted program.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
See Me at the Smithsonian with the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum
See Me at the Smithsonian
See Me at the Smithsonian is a free program that fosters connection and belonging for adults with dementia and their companions through discussions and reflections on museum objects.
Join the Office of Visitor Accessibility and the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum on October 22!
In this program, we will explore the textiles of Dorothy Liebes. Liebes was one of the most influential designers of the 20th century, whose career as a handweaver, textile designer, and color authority made an impact in homes and businesses throughout the United States. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in close looking and discussion about Liebes' colorful and textured designs.
Please contact Access@si.edu for more information.
Event Location: Zoom. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/uc5V4SHRQNGgXrscuynnag. Categories: Lectures & Discussions.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Tours | Arts of Japan
Gallery Talks & Tours
As the seasons change, enjoy a free, hour-long guided tour of the museum’s renowned collection of Japanese art. Experience a variety of artworks, including paintings, prints, screens, ceramics, metalwork, and more. Trees, Master of I-nen Seal (1600–1630), Japan, mid-17th century, ink, color, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1962.30.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: West Building. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Japanese Art from the Collection , Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea , The Print Generation , The Peacock Room , Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
Exploring Portrait Mode: The Divine Selfie
One-Time Events
Join the Portrait Gallery and Poetry Camera for a new kind of poetry workshop. Created by Kelin Carolyn Zhang and Ryan Mather, Poetry Camera is a camera that writes poems about what it sees. Using this unique technology as a platform for discussion, explore portraits in the museum's collection through a new lens. In the second half of the workshop, turn the camera inward to create a poetic portrait of yourself. Explore questions of selfhood, bias, authorship and dignity in the age of AI through the Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection. For ages 18+.
Event Location: G Street Lobby. Cost: Free. Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-exploring-portrait-mode-the-divine-selfie-tickets-1688128861869?aff=ebdsshcopyurl&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile&utm-share-source=organizer-profile. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Workshops.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. A History of Fantasy
Resident Associate Program
Fantasy is now an established and lucrative genre with a dizzying array of popular iterations across literature, games, and film. But the story of how hobbits, dungeons, knights, and dragons took over our collective imaginations is a long, complex one. In a fall series, historian Justin M. Jacobs explores the origins of the modern fantasy genre, from the evolution of obscure Gothic novels to the iconic works of J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and the co-creators of Dungeons & Dragons. This session focuses on the history of fantastic storytelling.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264586?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264586?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: After Five. Workshops.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM.
America's Main Street: Pennsylvania Ave
Resident Associate Program
America’s most famous avenue connects the White House and the United States Capitol, but it hasn’t always been a grand thoroughfare. Pennsylvania Avenue and the surrounding neighborhood have been renovated, re-imagined and revitalized repeatedly. From Murder Bay, a center of crime, gambling, and prostitution in the mid-19th century to the stately boulevard of presidential inaugurations, Carolyn Muraskin of DC Design Tours, unfolds a story of metamorphosis along what came to be known as America’s Main Street.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264766?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264766?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM.
Private Visions, Public Treasures: Exploring Hillwood and The Phillips Collection
Resident Associate Program
Tucked away in the charming, tree-lined neighborhoods of Washington, D.C. are two remarkable gems where art, history, and personal passion meet. Join art historian Judy Pomeranz for an insider’s look at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens and The Phillips Collection—two of the city’s most intimate cultural landmarks, each housed in the former homes of their visionary collectors. (World Art History Certificate elective, ½ credit).
Event Location: Departs Mayflower Hotel, DeSales St side 1127 Connecticut Ave NW. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264777?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM.
Urban Oasis: Rock Creek Park History Hike
Resident Associate Program
More than 2, 000 acres winding through Northwest Washington, D.C. were set aside as a refuge for wildlife and an escape for District residents. While the landscape feels natural today, much of the park was meticulously laid out by a noted landscape architectural firm, Olmsted Brothers. Hike through the park with tour leader Carolyn Muraskin, founder of DC Design Tours, to see and hear about its natural beauty and some of its historic structures, memorials, ruins, and other remnants of the past.
Event Location: Tour meets outside West entrance of National Zoo, near lion statues. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264750?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
Little Critters: Nature Play at the Bird House (Animal Patterns)
NZP Kids and Families
Join us for creative, drop-in play at the Zoo! Stripes, spots, and everything in between!
Let's learn together about animal patterns. Create your own unique stripe patterns on animals, explore cause and effect, and observe different patterns through sensory play! Little Critters: Nature Play is designed for ages 0-5 and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome. Parents and guardians must remain with their children.
Location: Bird House Classroom.
Venue: National Zoo. Event Location: Bird House Classroom. Cost: Free drop-in program; no pre-registration required.Parents and guardians must remain with their children. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit nationalzoo.si.edu. Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Big Objects, Big Stories: Point of Pines Plantation Slave Cabin
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Join us for a docent-led tour to get a fresh look into the Museum's featured object. At each of these 15-minute talks visitors will hear incredibly big stories about a big object.
About this Program: Visitors cannot overlook the Point of Pines Plantation Slave Cabin, a circa early 1800s slave cabin from the Point of Pines Plantation on Edisto Island, S.C. The cabin is one of two remaining slave dwellings on Edisto Island. Its story provides a revealing glimpse into the most formative and troubling chapters in American history.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets at the Point of Pines Planation Slave Cabin, Level C3. Talks take place at: 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Tours | Whistler's World
Gallery Talks & Tours
Join a walk-in, docent-led tour to explore the many sides of Whistler. Experience Whistler’s paintings along with objects by Asian artists that inspired his style and subjects. Image: Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room, James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), United Kingdom, 1876–77, room installation; oil paint and gold leaf on canvas, leather, mosaic tile, glass, and wood, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art Collection, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1904.61.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Sketching the Smithsonian: Weekly Lunchtime Drawing Series
Resident Associate Program
Pull out your sketchbook and pencil to take an artful break as you explore the Smithsonian while drawing objects from vast, fascinating collections. The theme is inspired by the shifting of the seasons and heavily features nature and objects that speak to the changing colors of fall.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264424?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264424?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Converse with a docent. Learn how African Americans flourished in their own communities during the Era of Segregation 1876-1968 despite the turmoil around them. Under a time of intense pressure to take away their rights as citizens, African Americans not only survived the challenges set before them but crafted an important role for themselves in the nation.
Image Credit: NMAAHC.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: This one-hour tour program meets in the Defending Freedom, The Era of Segregation 1876-1968 exhibit, located on C2. Tours take place at 12:45 PM and 2:45 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 12:45 PM – 3:45 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Gallery Talks & Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 46,000 artworks from across Asia. Enjoy some of the finest on a docent-led tour and learn about commonalities and differences in cultures, aesthetics, and ideas.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Complete Colored Pencils
Resident Associate Program
Colored pencil, an often-overlooked dry medium, is coming into its own. Whether used in fine art or illustration, they can enliven work with rich, vibrant color and a dizzying range of effects. Learn basic to intermediate methods and strategies.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264208?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264208?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Landscapes in Collage and Mixed Media
Resident Associate Program
Discover the essence of what you see in landscapes near and far and respond by creating art in collage and mixed media. You are introduced to the materials, tools, and technologies to use.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264209?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264209?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM.
Tours | Arts Across Asia
Gallery Talks & Tours
Enjoy a guided tour of our East Building and its range of exhibitions. These tours can feature art from any of the exhibitions currently on view, with works from cultures as diverse as ancient Iran to contemporary Japan.
Please meet at the entrance to Gallery 22, near the gift shop, for the tour. Image: Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Collection, The Alice S. Kandell Collection, Photo by John Bigelow Taylor.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Building: East Building. Event Location: Gallery 22. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Tours | Arts of Japan
Gallery Talks & Tours
As the seasons change, enjoy a free, hour-long guided tour of the museum’s renowned collection of Japanese art. Experience a variety of artworks, including paintings, prints, screens, ceramics, metalwork, and more. Trees, Master of I-nen Seal (1600–1630), Japan, mid-17th century, ink, color, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1962.30.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: West Building. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Japanese Art from the Collection , Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea , The Print Generation , The Peacock Room , Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
Spanish-Language Walk-In Tours
One-Time Events
Join a volunteer docent on select Sundays for a lively tour of the National Portrait Gallery in Spanish.
Event Location: F Street Lobby. Cost: Free. Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-spanish-language-docent-tours-tickets-1530971289339?aff=ebdsshcopyurl&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile&utm-share-source=organizer-profile. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Spanish-interpreted program.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Edward Hopper: American Modernist
Resident Associate Program
Many of the noir films of the 1940s and 1950s reflect Edward Hopper’s vision of New York City as depicted in his paintings: austere, silent, moody, and lonely. Art historian Bonita Billman explores the sociopolitical and cultural contexts in which he lived and worked as she focuses on paintings including Automat, Chop Suey, New York Movie, and Nighthawks. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264650?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264650?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM.
Drawing Birds from Around the World
Resident Associate Program
Draw birds from around the world in creative ways using a variety of mediums, including ink, watercolor, and charcoal.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264210?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264210?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Thursday, October 23, 2025, 6:45 PM – 9:00 PM.
Yoga with the Siamangs at Gibbon Ridge
Special Zoo Events
Celebrate International Gibbon Day with a truly unforgettable morning at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo!
As the sun rises over Gibbon Ridge, join our certified yoga instructor for an all-levels class surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature, including the powerful morning songs of our siamangs — the largest members of the gibbon family.
This small-group experience is designed to foster mindfulness, wellness, and a deeper connection with these incredible primates. The total capacity per class is capped at 20 participants.
Two sessions will be held at 8:15 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. (45 minute sessions).
Please bring your own yoga mat, water bottle, and comfortable clothing. The class will be held outdoors.
The event will be held rain or shine, so pack your poncho if there is inclement weather.
Want to visit but you're not an early riser? Get your tickets to Night of the Living Zoo the same day!
Venue: National Zoo. Event Location: Gibbon Ridge (across from Great Ape House). Cost: $40 per person
Includes yoga registration + Zoo entry pass
(Parking is not included and costs $30 if purchased in advance.). Get Tickets/Register: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/visit/events/yoga-siamangs-gibbon-ridge. Categories: Demonstrations. Workshops.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 8:15 AM – 9:15 AM.
For more info visit nationalzoo.si.edu. Urban Oasis: Rock Creek Park History Hike
Resident Associate Program
More than 2, 000 acres winding through Northwest Washington, D.C. were set aside as a refuge for wildlife and an escape for District residents. While the landscape feels natural today, much of the park was meticulously laid out by a noted landscape architectural firm, Olmsted Brothers. Hike through the park with tour leader Carolyn Muraskin, founder of DC Design Tours, to see and hear about its natural beauty and some of its historic structures, memorials, ruins, and other remnants of the past.
Event Location: Tour meets outside West entrance of National Zoo, near lion statues. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264751?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Understanding Northern Renaissance Art
Resident Associate Program
Northern Renaissance artists imbued their paintings with religious and philosophical symbolism, an approach that remained central to the visual culture of the Low Countries in the wake of the Protestant Reformation. Art historian Aneta Georgievska-Shine highlights these “painted treatises” and explores their symbolic content in a range of genres, from domestic interiors to market scenes and images of children’s games. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264618?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264618?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Enid A. Haupt Garden Tour
Smithsonian Gardens
Enjoy a fall Friday in the Enid A. Haupt Garden and join one of our knowledgeable volunteers or staff for a free garden tour! Tours are offered each Friday in October at 10:00 a.m. and run approximately 40 minutes.
Meet at the tour sign near the northwest entrance to the Enid A. Haupt Garden on Jefferson Drive, SW (between the Smithsonian Castle and the S. Dillon Ripley Center). No reservation is required. Tours may be subject to cancellation in the event of inclement weather.
Venue: Smithsonian Gardens. Event Location: Enid A. Haupt Garden, Meet at the northwest entrance to the garden on Jefferson Drive, SW. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 10:00 AM – 10:45 AM.
For more info visit gardens.si.edu. Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Grandma Moses: A Good Day’s Work Gallery Talk
One-Time Events
SOLD OUT
Join us for a midday gallery talk to celebrate the opening of the exhibition Grandma Moses: A Good Day’s Work. Leslie Umberger, senior curator of folk and self-taught art, and Randall Griffey, head curator at SAAM, are joined by Jane Kallir, president of the Kallir Research Institute and director of the Galerie St. Etienne, for a discussion of Moses as a multidimensional force in American art and how SAAM established a destination collection by acquiring some of the artist’s most important paintings.
Image credit: Grandma Moses, We Are Resting, 1951, oil on high-density fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Kallir Family, in Memory of Hildegard Bachert © Grandma Moses Properties Co. NY.
Venue: American Art Museum. Event Location: Meet in G Street lobby. Cost: SOLD OUT. Get Tickets/Register: https://events.blackthorn.io/5f4ZMUx7/5a2bVR1zZcz. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Grandma Moses: A Good Day’s Work.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 11:45 AM.
Tours | Arts of China
Gallery Talks & Tours
Examine the diverse artistic and cultural traditions of one of the world’s oldest civilizations in this in-person, docent-led tour. Learn about Chinese artworks such as ritual bronze vessels, calligraphy, brush paintings in ink and color, and exquisite ceramics.
Please meet at the West Building Information Desk for the tour. Dish with foliate flaring rim; Ming dynasty, Xuande reign, 1426–35; Jingdezhen ware; porcelain with cobalt pigment under colorless glaze; H x Diam: 4.8 × 21.3 cm; National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1951.13a-b.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: West Building. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Meditation and Mindfulness
Workshops
Register to join the sessions.
Join a free online guided meditation. In these 30-minute sessions, DC-based meditation teachers lead a variety of mindfulness practices. Friday sessions take inspiration from art in our museum’s collections.
All are welcome! No previous experience is required. Image: Taki Katei; Autumn landscape; Japan, 1890; ink and color on paper; Gift of Toshio and Yuka Fujikura in memory of Tome Fujikura, F2014.8.28a-d.
Event Location: Online. Online Link: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/NeVySe_xTkGKsbcKbl_syQ. Cost: Free; registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/gz7O3IOSRJKzNc-CWszhlg. Categories: Workshops. Webcasts & Online. Related Events: Meditation and Mindfulness (Online).
Friday, October 24, 2025, 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM.
House of Alkara Trunk Show
National Museum of Asian Art
House of Alkara is a global luxury brand where art transforms into fashion and every creation tells a story. Drawing from original artwork, cultural influences, and master craftsmanship, the brand creates themed collections inspired by travel, nature, and heritage.
Rooted in India’s rich craftsmanship traditions, House of Alkara reinterprets ancient techniques through a modern lens, seamlessly merging artistic vision with cutting-edge design. Each design begins as a painting and evolves into vibrant apparel—silk and velvet jackets, beautiful dresses, and hand-painted scarves—as well as jewelry carefully crafted from responsibly sourced gemstones and precious metals. With a strong focus on sustainability and ethical sourcing, every step of the process honors both people and the planet.
Stop by the trunk show Friday, October 24, 1–9:30 p.m. , Saturday, October 25, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Image provided by House of Alkara.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Building: East Building. Event Location: NMAA Shop. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Shopping/Book Signing. After Five. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 1:00 PM – 9:30 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Gallery Talks & Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 46,000 artworks from across Asia. Enjoy some of the finest on a docent-led tour and learn about commonalities and differences in cultures, aesthetics, and ideas.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Tours | Arts Across Asia
Gallery Talks & Tours
Enjoy a guided tour of our East Building and its range of exhibitions. These tours can feature art from any of the exhibitions currently on view, with works from cultures as diverse as ancient Iran to contemporary Japan.
Please meet at the entrance to Gallery 22, near the gift shop, for the tour. Image: Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Collection, The Alice S. Kandell Collection, Photo by John Bigelow Taylor.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Building: East Building. Event Location: Gallery 22. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Tours | Arts of Japan
Gallery Talks & Tours
As the seasons change, enjoy a free, hour-long guided tour of the museum’s renowned collection of Japanese art. Experience a variety of artworks, including paintings, prints, screens, ceramics, metalwork, and more. Trees, Master of I-nen Seal (1600–1630), Japan, mid-17th century, ink, color, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1962.30.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: West Building. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Japanese Art from the Collection , Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea , The Print Generation , The Peacock Room , Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
Asia After Dark | Diwali
Performances
Celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, with an evening of food, music, dance, and activities! Learn how different regions celebrate this Hindu holiday, create crafts to take home, see the museum lit up once the sun goes down, and end the night with a dance party.
Find more Diwali events.
Register in advance for the best experience.
Don’t give up if the festival is sold out! We use a registration limit to get a sense of how many people will attend. You can always attend without registering.
Food Vendors
4–9:30 p.m.
West Building (Freer Gallery of Art), Plaza
Enjoy cuisine from the Indian diaspora. Local food vendors include: Rasa , Himalayan Soul Food , CHA Street Food , Prana Kitchens , Swaadish by Neelma, Crafts and Activities Decorate a rangoli with Kulture Khazana
4–9 p.m.
East Building (Arthur M. Sackler Gallery), Gallery 27, level B1 , Create a diya with Sanyukta Mathur and Courtney Pippin-Mathur
4–9 p.m.
West Building (Freer Gallery of Art), South Corridor , Watch artist Shanthi…
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: National Museum of Asian Art. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/asia-after-dark-diwali-festival-tickets-1665389688389?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl. Categories: Celebrations. After Five. Performances. Related Exhibition: Body Image: Arts of the Indian Subcontinent , The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. ASL-interpreted program.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 4:00 PM – 9:30 PM.
Curator Tour | Body Image
Gallery Talks & Tours
Get an exclusive tour of Body Image: Arts of the Indian Subcontinent during our annual Diwali celebration with curator Debra Diamond.
There are two chances for a tour: 5–6 p.m. , 7–8 p.m. See objects in the museum’s collection that outline how artists from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka express fundamental beliefs around both the human and godly body.
Please meet in gallery 1 for the tour. Image: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Photo by Sonya Pencheva.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Gallery 1, Gallery 2. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: After Five. Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: ASL-interpreted program. Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
Conservation Cart Talk | Metals and Diwali
Lectures & Discussions
Metals play a meaningful role in Diwali celebrations, especially on Dhanteras, when families clean and restore treasured objects. Explore how metals like gold, silver, brass, and bronze are conserved in museum settings with Dhruvika Bisht, our Gretchen and David Welch Conservator in Training. Examine samples of metals and alloys, find out how we identify and manage corrosion, and learn how we care for metal objects from the Indian subcontinent. Image: Department of Conservation and Scientific Research.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Gallery 1. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: After Five. Gallery Talks & Tours. Celebrations. Related Exhibition: Body Image: Arts of the Indian Subcontinent. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. Assisted listening devices.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM.
Curator Tour | The Art of Knowing
Gallery Talks & Tours
Get an exclusive tour of The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas during our annual Diwali celebration with curator Emma Natalya Stein.
There are two chances for a tour: 6–7 p.m. , 8–9 p.m. Experience highlights from our collections on religious and practical knowledge across time, space, and cultures. Featuring stone sculptures, gilt bronzes, and painted manuscripts from India, Nepal, historical Tibet (in modern-day China), Bangladesh, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia, this exhibition illuminates the critical role of visual culture in conveying Buddhist and Hindu teachings from the ninth to the twentieth century.
Please meet at gallery 22 for the tour. Image: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Photo by Sonya Pencheva.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Building: East Building. Event Location: Gallery 22. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: After Five. Celebrations. Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: ASL-interpreted program. Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM.
NY | Nightmare at the Museum: "SEEDS"
One-Time Events
Ziggy (Kaniehtiio Horn) receives her first internet influencer job offer to promote the seed and fertilizer company Nature’s Oath. When her cousin calls her back to the rez, she is forced into a battle to save her people’s legacy and finds her power along the way. Director: Kaniehtiio Horn (Kahnawake Mohawk), Canada, 2024, 82 min. This film contains violence, horror, and coarse language. It is intended for mature audiences.
Doors open at 6:45 PM ET.
Image credit: SEEDS (film still), courtesy of indican pcitures
This program is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Venue: American Indian Museum NY. Event Location: Lower Level, Auditorium. Cost: FREE. Categories: Films.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM.
Night of the Living Zoo
Special Zoo Events
Get ready for a spine-chilling evening at the Night of the Living Zoo! The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is bringing its adults-only Halloween party back from the dead Friday, Oct. 24 and Saturday Oct. 25.
Tickets will go on sale closer to the event date.
Guests must be 21 years of age or older with a valid ID to enter the event.
Venue: National Zoo. Event Location: Lower Zoo (near the Great Cats exhibit). Cost: $80, including open bar and entertainment
(Members get a 15% discount!)
$30 parking per vehicle. Get Tickets/Register: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/visit/events/night-living-zoo. Categories: After Five.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM.
For more info visit nationalzoo.si.edu. Smithsonian Sleepover at the Natural History Museum
Resident Associate Program
In-person Program: Go on an interactive exploration of the Natural History Museum and participate in hands-on crafts projects and games. Then roll out your sleeping bag and dream away in the darkened halls of one of the world’s most famous museums! Geared for children ages 8 to 14 years old, accompanied by an adult.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: National Museum of Natural History 10th St & Constitution Ave NW. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265108?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: After Five. Kids & Families.
Friday, October 24, 2025, 7:00 PM – Saturday, October 25, 2025, 9:00 AM.
Autumn Splendor in Seneca Regional Park
Resident Associate Program
A guided hike through beautiful Seneca Regional Park, located upriver from Great Falls, Virginia, makes a fall morning an adventure. Along the way, interpretive naturalist Keith Tomlinson explores the forest’s natural history, with a special focus on landscape ecology—examining how topography, vegetation, and waterways shape this unique ecosystem.
Event Location: Tour meets at Seneca Regional Park 101 Seneca Rd, Great Falls, VA. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264747?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM.
Urban Oasis: Rock Creek Park History Hike
Resident Associate Program
More than 2, 000 acres winding through Northwest Washington, D.C. were set aside as a refuge for wildlife and an escape for District residents. While the landscape feels natural today, much of the park was meticulously laid out by a noted landscape architectural firm, Olmsted Brothers. Hike through the park with tour leader Carolyn Muraskin, founder of DC Design Tours, to see and hear about its natural beauty and some of its historic structures, memorials, ruins, and other remnants of the past.
Event Location: Tour meets outside West entrance of National Zoo, near lion statues. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264752?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
Little Critters: Nature Play at the Bird House (Bat Week)
NZP Kids and Families
Calling all spooky animal lovers! Celebrate Bat Week with creative, drop-in play at the Zoo!
This week we will learn about the important work bats do for our natural world by eating insects, pollinating flowers, and spreading seeds to help grow new plants and trees! Little Critters: Nature Play is designed for ages 0-5 and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome. Parents and guardians must remain with their children.
Location: Bird House Classroom.
Venue: National Zoo. Event Location: Bird House Classroom. Cost: Free drop-in program; no pre-registration required.Parents and guardians must remain with their children. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit nationalzoo.si.edu. Little Critters: Nature Play at Think Tank (Animal Patterns)
NZP Kids and Families
Join us for creative, drop-in play at the Zoo! Stripes, spots, and everything in between!
Let's learn together about animal patterns. Create your own unique stripe patterns on animals, explore cause and effect, and observe different patterns through sensory play!
Little Critters: Nature Play is designed for ages 0-5 and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome. Parents and guardians must remain with their children.
Location: Think Tank Classroom.
Venue: National Zoo. Event Location: Think Tank Classroom. Cost: Free drop-in program; no pre-registration required.Parents and guardians must remain with their children. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit nationalzoo.si.edu. House of Alkara Trunk Show
National Museum of Asian Art
House of Alkara is a global luxury brand where art transforms into fashion and every creation tells a story. Drawing from original artwork, cultural influences, and master craftsmanship, the brand creates themed collections inspired by travel, nature, and heritage.
Rooted in India’s rich craftsmanship traditions, House of Alkara reinterprets ancient techniques through a modern lens, seamlessly merging artistic vision with cutting-edge design. Each design begins as a painting and evolves into vibrant apparel—silk and velvet jackets, beautiful dresses, and hand-painted scarves—as well as jewelry carefully crafted from responsibly sourced gemstones and precious metals. With a strong focus on sustainability and ethical sourcing, every step of the process honors both people and the planet.
Stop by the trunk show Friday, October 24, 1–9:30 p.m. , Saturday, October 25, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Image provided by House of Alkara.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Building: East Building. Event Location: NMAA Shop. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Shopping/Book Signing. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
CANCELLED - FRESHFARM ACM Farm Stand
One-Time Events
The FRESHFARM ACM Farm Stand returns for another farm stand season in 2025. It is the only direct-to-consumer farm stand of its kind East of the River in Ward 8.
The FRESHFARM ACM Farm Stand takes place on the outdoor plaza of the Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum (1901 Fort Place, SE Washington, DC 20020) every Saturday (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) from April 19 - November 22, 2025.*
The FRESHFARM ACM Farm Stand is generously supported by The Hillside Foundation - Allan and Shelley Holt.
*Weather permitting. Be sure to follow the Anacostia Community Museum for updated information.
Venue: Anacostia Community Museum. Event Location: 1901 Fort Place SE. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/freshfarm-acm-farm-stand-tickets-1307850759829?aff=oddtdtcreator. Categories: Kids & Families.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM.
Open Studio: Clay Creatures
One time events
Step into the strange and unexpected this October at Open Studio.
Each week, we’ll dive into the mysterious and unsettling, exploring works by artists such as Alberto Giacometti, Nicolas Party, Max Ernst, and more.
Join us this Saturday as we draw inspiration from Ernst’s monster-like sculpture Moonmad (1944). Using materials like air-dry clay, popsicle sticks, and pasta, we’ll then create our own mysterious figures.
Meet in Art School on the Museum’s Lower Level. ABOUT OPEN STUDIO
Let your creativity run wild at Open Studio! Drop in to explore modern and contemporary art through interactive hands-on activities inspired by the Hirshhorn collection and artworks on view. Open Studio helps you transform your ideas into reality.
Every session introduces a new theme and a fresh perspective on art-making. Activities are designed to captivate everyone—from budding young artists to seasoned creators—and allow them to craft, create, and learn.
No reservations or tickets are required. Stroller parking is…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum. Event Location: Art School on the Lower Level. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Events: Open Studio, Hirshhorn Art School, Art School Everywhere, Art Project: Pumpkin Pinch Pots.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.si.edu. Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
CANCELLED: The World & Me: Bat Week Extravaganza with special guests…Arachnids!
One-Time Events
UPDATE: The World & Me for Saturday, October 25th is cancelled. Join us for a special program celebrating Bat Week!
Come help us celebrate bats as we learn about how important bats are to our planet. Help us also shine the light on the importance of spiders! See bat and spider specimens up close, make art celebrating bats and spiders, and learn other ways you can support bats and spiders all year long! Feel free to wear your favorite bat or spider attire. Families can join at any time during the duration of the event and stay as long as suits each family.
Location: This program is held in Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center, on the Ground Floor of the museum. Please enter through the Constitution Avenue entrance. Q?rius is located on the right as you enter the museum.
Accessibility: Access services such as American Sign Language interpretation, real-time captioning (CART), or audio-description are available with advanced notice. However, accommodations may not be possible with less…
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: Ground Floor, Q?rius: The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM.
Architecture on the Nation's Front Lawn
Resident Associate Program
Bill Keene leads a walking tour through the history and design of the National Mall, tracing its transformation from early visions to its most recent landmarks. Discover a stunning array of architectural styles, from the Gothic Revival grandeur of the 1846 Smithsonian Castle to the bold, contemporary design of the 2016 National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Event Location: Tour meets outside the Smithsonian Metro, Mall Exit. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264742?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Lectures & Discussions.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM.
The Legacy of the Ancient World: The Texts that Tell the Stories
Resident Associate Program
Contemporary knowledge about the ancient world is mostly rooted in texts dating back two or three millennia, such as the works of Homer and the Bible. Their copies made by generations of scribes across the centuries and the archaeological discoveries of the 19th century in Egypt and in Mesopotamia provide other windows into the civilizations from which they came. Biblical scholar Gary Rendsburg explores the stories behind these sources, which retain their narrative power into the 21st century.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264651?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264651?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
NMAAHC Kids: Learning About Spiders & Kente at NMNH
One-Time Events
Please note this event takes place at The National Museum of Natural History! No tickets or registration required. The World & Me: Bat Week Extravaganza with special guests…Arachnids!
Join NMAAHC Kids and our friends at the National Museum of Natural History in celebrating some of October's favorite creatures: bats and spiders! See bat and spider specimens up close and learn how to support them all year long! , Make bat and spider inspired art! , Visit the NMAAHC Kids station to learn how spider webs inspired the creation of kente cloth! , Wear your favorite bat or spider attire! Families can join at any time throughout the duration of the event and stay as long as suits each family.
This program is held in Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center, on the Ground Floor of the museum. Please enter through the Constitution Avenue entrance. Q?rius is located on the right as you enter the museum.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: NMNH Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center. Cost: FREE. Categories: Kids & Families.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM.
For more info visit naturalhistory.si.edu. Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Jump into Acrylics - In Person
Resident Associate Program
Jump-start your journey into acrylic painting with this one-day immersive workshop. Get introduced to the basics and first steps including how to use materials; touch on essential color theory; and explore this exciting medium with hands-on guided projects.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center 1100 Jefferson Dr SW. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264211?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Workshops.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 10:30 AM – 4:30 PM.
Art Guardians | Family Workshop: Cut + Paste
Kids and Family
Explore how light exposure can damage art in this interactive workshop for children ages 6–11 and their caregivers. Following a visit to Cut + Paste: Experimental Japanese Prints and Photographs, participants will conduct experiments to observe the effects of light on different paper samples and learn why some artworks need special protection. Families will create a collage inspired by the layered, cut-paper designs in the exhibition, then take it home to continue their investigation into how light affects art. Image credit: Department of Conservation and Scientific Research.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Building: East Building. Event Location: ImaginAsia Studio. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1715890317129?aff=oddtdtcreator. Categories: Workshops. Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Cut + Paste: Experimental Japanese Prints and Photographs. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM.
DC | Story Time
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Families are invited to an interactive story time featuring a children’s book by a Native author, illustrator, or created in collaboration with an Indigenous community. They will have the opportunity to engage with objects from the museum's Teaching Collection such as photographs, textiles, or natural materials that can deepen their understanding of the community represented in the story, along with a craft or other activity.
*Due to limited capacity in our spaces, tickets may be needed to enter the Activity Center and therefore the Story room (limited to 25 persons max). Please see staff at the entrance desk of the imagiNATIONS Activity Center on Level 3. **Recommended for visitors ages 3-9 years old accompanied by an adult caregiver.
***Schedule subject to change without prior notice.
Venue: American Indian Museum DC. Event Location: imagiNATIONS Activity Center, Level 3. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 11:15 AM – 11:45 AM.
Tours | Arts of China
Gallery Talks & Tours
Examine the diverse artistic and cultural traditions of one of the world’s oldest civilizations in this in-person, docent-led tour. Learn about Chinese artworks such as ritual bronze vessels, calligraphy, brush paintings in ink and color, and exquisite ceramics.
Please meet at the West Building Information Desk for the tour. Dish with foliate flaring rim; Ming dynasty, Xuande reign, 1426–35; Jingdezhen ware; porcelain with cobalt pigment under colorless glaze; H x Diam: 4.8 × 21.3 cm; National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1951.13a-b.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: West Building. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Art Studio
One-Time Events
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery's collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery's Eventbrite page.
Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-art-studio-tickets-1112707681629?aff=ebdsshcopyurl&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile&utm-share-source=organizer-profile. Categories: Workshops.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Permanent Collection Tour
Gallery Talks & Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 46,000 artworks from across Asia. Enjoy some of the finest on a docent-led tour and learn about commonalities and differences in cultures, aesthetics, and ideas.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Art Guardians | Family Workshop: Cut + Paste
Kids and Family
Explore how light exposure can damage art in this interactive workshop for children ages 6–11 and their caregivers. Following a visit to Cut + Paste: Experimental Japanese Prints and Photographs, participants will conduct experiments to observe the effects of light on different paper samples and learn why some artworks need special protection. Families will create a collage inspired by the layered, cut-paper designs in the exhibition, then take it home to continue their investigation into how light affects art. Image credit: Department of Conservation and Scientific Research.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Building: East Building. Event Location: ImaginAsia Studio. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1715890317129?aff=oddtdtcreator. Categories: Workshops. Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Cut + Paste: Experimental Japanese Prints and Photographs. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM.
Smartphone Photography
Resident Associate Program
Learn how to take good photos with your smartphone. By understanding a few principles of what makes a good image, you can use your phone’s camera to create stunning photographs.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264212?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264212?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Tours | Arts Across Asia
Gallery Talks & Tours
Enjoy a guided tour of our East Building and its range of exhibitions. These tours can feature art from any of the exhibitions currently on view, with works from cultures as diverse as ancient Iran to contemporary Japan.
Please meet at the entrance to Gallery 22, near the gift shop, for the tour. Image: Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Collection, The Alice S. Kandell Collection, Photo by John Bigelow Taylor.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Building: East Building. Event Location: Gallery 22. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
CANCELLED - Historic Change: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Althea Gibson
One-Time Events
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Oprah Winfrey Theater. Cost: Free, Ticket Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/61ba0630-b193-05df-ee37-853ec2f42dad?tg=0d9b6243-b630-05d9-7940-91890c85f52c. Categories: Lectures & Discussions.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM.
Tours | Arts of Japan
Gallery Talks & Tours
As the seasons change, enjoy a free, hour-long guided tour of the museum’s renowned collection of Japanese art. Experience a variety of artworks, including paintings, prints, screens, ceramics, metalwork, and more. Trees, Master of I-nen Seal (1600–1630), Japan, mid-17th century, ink, color, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1962.30.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: West Building. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Japanese Art from the Collection , Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea , The Print Generation , The Peacock Room , Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
Teen Studio: Moonmadness
One time events
Teens: Ready to level up your art? Join us for Teen Studio, a free art-making program exclusively for teens ages 13–18. Push your artistic boundaries using materials and techniques inspired by artists whose work is on view at the Hirshhorn.
This October, we’re exploring sculpture—with a spooky twist. Get ready to encounter the most haunting artworks lurking in the Hirshhorn’s collection. This Saturday, check out Moonmad (1944) by Max Ernst, a Surrealist piece that blurs a recognizable face into something totally dream-like. Then we’ll use found objects to create unique sculptures.
Drop in to Teen Studio every Saturday between 2:30 and 4 PM. Register for the entire school year by emailing HMSGeducation@si.edu (one-time registration covers all sessions). Join one or join them all! Meet in Art School on the Museum’s Lower Level.
Looking for more? Explore Art School Everywhere, wherever you are, to learn about artists at the Hirshhorn and get creative any time. Do this at home! Use found objects to create a…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum. Event Location: Art School on the Lower Level. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Events: Teen Studio, Hirshhorn Art School, Art School Everywhere, Paint It Black like Louise Nevelson.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.si.edu. Permanent Collection Tour
Gallery Talks & Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 46,000 artworks from across Asia. Enjoy some of the finest on a docent-led tour and learn about commonalities and differences in cultures, aesthetics, and ideas.
The public can schedule reserved group tours using the online reservation form.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 3:15 PM – 4:15 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Night of the Living Zoo
Special Zoo Events
Get ready for a spine-chilling evening at the Night of the Living Zoo! The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is bringing its adults-only Halloween party back from the dead Friday, Oct. 24 and Saturday Oct. 25.
Tickets will go on sale closer to the event date.
Guests must be 21 years of age or older with a valid ID to enter the event.
Venue: National Zoo. Event Location: Lower Zoo (near the Great Cats exhibit). Cost: $80, including open bar and entertainment
(Members get a 15% discount!)
$30 parking per vehicle. Get Tickets/Register: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/visit/events/night-living-zoo. Categories: After Five.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM.
For more info visit nationalzoo.si.edu. Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Sunday, October 26, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, October 26, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, October 26, 2025, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Tours | Whistler's World
Gallery Talks & Tours
Join a walk-in, docent-led tour to explore the many sides of Whistler. Experience Whistler’s paintings along with objects by Asian artists that inspired his style and subjects. Image: Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room, James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), United Kingdom, 1876–77, room installation; oil paint and gold leaf on canvas, leather, mosaic tile, glass, and wood, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art Collection, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1904.61.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, October 26, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Art Studio
One-Time Events
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery's collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery's Eventbrite page.
Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-art-studio-tickets-1112707681629?aff=ebdsshcopyurl&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile&utm-share-source=organizer-profile. Categories: Workshops.
Sunday, October 26, 2025, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Permanent Collection Tour
Gallery Talks & Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 46,000 artworks from across Asia. Enjoy some of the finest on a docent-led tour and learn about commonalities and differences in cultures, aesthetics, and ideas.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Sunday, October 26, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Tours | Arts Across Asia
Gallery Talks & Tours
Enjoy a guided tour of our East Building and its range of exhibitions. These tours can feature art from any of the exhibitions currently on view, with works from cultures as diverse as ancient Iran to contemporary Japan.
Please meet at the entrance to Gallery 22, near the gift shop, for the tour. Image: Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Collection, The Alice S. Kandell Collection, Photo by John Bigelow Taylor.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Building: East Building. Event Location: Gallery 22. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, October 26, 2025, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Tours | Arts of Japan
Gallery Talks & Tours
As the seasons change, enjoy a free, hour-long guided tour of the museum’s renowned collection of Japanese art. Experience a variety of artworks, including paintings, prints, screens, ceramics, metalwork, and more. Trees, Master of I-nen Seal (1600–1630), Japan, mid-17th century, ink, color, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1962.30.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: West Building. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Japanese Art from the Collection , Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea , The Print Generation , The Peacock Room , Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, October 26, 2025, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Gallery Talks & Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 46,000 artworks from across Asia. Enjoy some of the finest on a docent-led tour and learn about commonalities and differences in cultures, aesthetics, and ideas.
The public can schedule reserved group tours using the online reservation form.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Sunday, October 26, 2025, 3:15 PM – 4:15 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Monday, October 27, 2025, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Portrait Gallery Kids
One-Time Events
Children and families are invited to learn, play and create at the Portrait Gallery! Join educators every Monday as we explore a variety of topics and artistic materials. Participants will get a closer look at art with hands-on activities, music and story times. Portrait Gallery Kids is a fun way to engage with art and each other.
Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-portrait-gallery-kids-tickets-654254040447?aff=ebdsshcopyurl&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile&utm-share-source=organizer-profile. Categories: Kids & Families.
Monday, October 27, 2025, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Look for our friendly volunteer at the Information Desk for a 45 minute tour of the highlights of the museum.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Starts at the Information Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Monday, October 27, 2025, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Tours | Arts of China
Gallery Talks & Tours
Examine the diverse artistic and cultural traditions of one of the world’s oldest civilizations in this in-person, docent-led tour. Learn about Chinese artworks such as ritual bronze vessels, calligraphy, brush paintings in ink and color, and exquisite ceramics.
Please meet at the West Building Information Desk for the tour. Dish with foliate flaring rim; Ming dynasty, Xuande reign, 1426–35; Jingdezhen ware; porcelain with cobalt pigment under colorless glaze; H x Diam: 4.8 × 21.3 cm; National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1951.13a-b.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: West Building. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Monday, October 27, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
A Game of Thrones: The Assyrian Crown Prince
Resident Associate Program
Between about 900 and 630 B.C.E. Assyria (in today's northern Iraq) became an empire that dominated the Middle East from Iran to Egypt. Assyrian kings had magnificent royal palaces constructed whose internal walls were lined with huge stone reliefs that illustrate accomplishments of these rulers. The monarch is sometimes depicted accompanied by the crown prince, who was central to the empire’s future. Paul Collins, head of the Middle East department at the British Museum, explores some of the dramatic moments when the transfer of royal power threatened one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient world. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264591?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264591?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Monday, October 27, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM.
The End of Communism and the Rise of Putin: Insights from a Reporter in 1990s Moscow
Resident Associate Program
Russia’s transition from the collapse of Communism to the emergence of Vladimir Putin as its dominant leader is a complex story of political upheaval, economic chaos, and shifting social landscapes. Drawing on his five years spent as a journalist reporting for The Moscow Times and Reuters, Adam Tanner provides a window into the 1990s and offers a deeper understanding of the historical, political, and cultural forces that shaped modern Russia.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264767?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264767?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Monday, October 27, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM.
Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Converse with a docent. Learn how African Americans flourished in their own communities during the Era of Segregation 1876-1968 despite the turmoil around them. Under a time of intense pressure to take away their rights as citizens, African Americans not only survived the challenges set before them but crafted an important role for themselves in the nation.
Image Credit: NMAAHC.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: This one-hour tour program meets in the Defending Freedom, The Era of Segregation 1876-1968 exhibit, located on C2. Tours take place at 12:45 PM and 2:45 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Monday, October 27, 2025, 12:45 PM – 3:45 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Gallery Talks & Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 46,000 artworks from across Asia. Enjoy some of the finest on a docent-led tour and learn about commonalities and differences in cultures, aesthetics, and ideas.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Monday, October 27, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Mixed Media Art Warmups
Resident Associate Program
Art warmups enable students to jump right into their projects knowing there are no wrong answers. Students work with positive and negative space, do quick sketches, go beyond the color wheel, and use mixed-media techniques to build layers and texture.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264213?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264213?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Monday, October 27, 2025, 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM.
Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Look for our friendly volunteer at the Information Desk for a 45 minute tour of the highlights of the museum.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Starts at the Information Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Monday, October 27, 2025, 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM.
Tours | Arts of Japan
Gallery Talks & Tours
As the seasons change, enjoy a free, hour-long guided tour of the museum’s renowned collection of Japanese art. Experience a variety of artworks, including paintings, prints, screens, ceramics, metalwork, and more. Trees, Master of I-nen Seal (1600–1630), Japan, mid-17th century, ink, color, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1962.30.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: West Building. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Japanese Art from the Collection , Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea , The Print Generation , The Peacock Room , Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Monday, October 27, 2025, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
The Ten Greatest Westerns
Resident Associate Program
Historian Clay Jenkinson examines the history and future of the movie Western as a central expression of the American frontier. From a list of great films, he has chosen 10 standouts ranging from Red River and High Noon to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and the remake of True Grit by the Coen brothers.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264619?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264619?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Monday, October 27, 2025, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
Beginning Oil Painting
Resident Associate Program
In this four-week class, students are introduced to materials and techniques for oil painting while laying a strong foundation for further artistic growth.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264214?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264214?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Monday, October 27, 2025, 6:45 PM – 8:45 PM.
Little Critters: Nature Play at the Bird House (Bat Week)
NZP Kids and Families
Calling all spooky animal lovers! Celebrate Bat Week with creative, drop-in play at the Zoo!
This week we will learn about the important work bats do for our natural world by eating insects, pollinating flowers, and spreading seeds to help grow new plants and trees! Little Critters: Nature Play is designed for ages 0-5 and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome. Parents and guardians must remain with their children.
Location: Bird House Classroom.
Venue: National Zoo. Event Location: Bird House Classroom. Cost: Free drop-in program; no pre-registration required.Parents and guardians must remain with their children. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit nationalzoo.si.edu. Estudio de Cuentos: ¡Bu!
One time events
Estudio de Cuentos is held one Tuesday per month. Facilitation is entirely in Spanish. We recommend that at least one person in your group (child or caregiver) speaks Spanish. The program’s English version, Storytime Studio: Boo! will be held on Wednesday, October 29. SOBRE ESTUDIO DE CUENTOS
Estudio de Cuentos ocurre un martes al mes, a las 10 y 11 de la mañana, y está diseñado para niños desde recién nacidos hasta los 6 años y sus cuidadores. Los participantes son bienvenidos a nuestro estudio de arte para disfrutar de un hora especial de juego, lecturas en voz alta, y exploración artística. El programa es completamente en español, y se recomienda que por lo menos un miembro de su grupo (niño o cuidador) hable español.
Estudio de Cuentos tiene cupo limitado. La entrada es por orden de llegada. ESTA SEMANA
¡Celebra la Noche de Brujas y Día de los Muertos durante Estudio de Cuentos! Junto con amigos del Museo Nacional del Latino Estadounidense leeremos Gustavo, el fantasma tímido por Flavia Z. Drago y…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum. Event Location: Art School on the Lower Level. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Events: Storytime Studio, About Hirshhorn Kids, Visiting with Kids, Art Project: Naturally You! Art Project: Draw with Your Face.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.si.edu. Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Art in the A.M.
One-Time Events
Inspire early childhood creativity with SAAM during Art in the A.M. Children ages up to 5 years and their caregivers are invited to the museum before hours to learn, connect, and create in the galleries. During this program, participants will take a journey through the seasons by exploring the exhibition Grandma Moses: A Good Day’s Work. Afterward, participants will craft their own Grandma Moses-inspired greeting cards.
Due to the government shutdown, program registrations are paused temporarily. Please check si.edu for updates or email saamprograms@si.edu.
Image credit: Grandma Moses, Halloween, 1955, oil on high-density fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment © Grandma Moses Properties Co. NY.
Venue: American Art Museum. Event Location: Meet in G Street Lobby. Cost: Free | Registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://events.blackthorn.io/5f4ZMUx7/5a2bVR1zZmf. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Grandma Moses: A Good Day’s Work.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 10:30 AM.
CANCELLED: Play Date at NMNH: Bats!
One-Time Events
UPDATE: Play Date for Tuesday, October 28th is cancelled.
Tuesday, October 28th, is all about bats! Families can celebrate Bat Week by making observations of different bat species for our specimen collection, explore different elements of play related to bats, and learn why almost all bat species hang upside down! Come and join us for a fun time learning through play and exploration!
The event is part of our drop-in program, Play Date at NMNH. Play Date at NMNH is a program designed for early learners and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome.
Location: This program is held in Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center, on the Ground Floor of the museum. Please enter through the Constitution Avenue entrance. Q?rius is located on the right as you enter the museum.
Accessibility: Access services such as American Sign Language interpretation, real-time captioning (CART), or audio-description are available with advanced…
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center (Ground Floor). Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM.
Estudio de Cuentos: ¡Bu!
One time events
Estudio de Cuentos is held one Tuesday per month. Facilitation is entirely in Spanish. We recommend that at least one person in your group (child or caregiver) speaks Spanish. The program’s English version, Storytime Studio: Boo! will be held on Wednesday, October 29. SOBRE ESTUDIO DE CUENTOS
Estudio de Cuentos ocurre un martes al mes, a las 10 y 11 de la mañana, y está diseñado para niños desde recién nacidos hasta los 6 años y sus cuidadores. Los participantes son bienvenidos a nuestro estudio de arte para disfrutar de un hora especial de juego, lecturas en voz alta, y exploración artística. El programa es completamente en español, y se recomienda que por lo menos un miembro de su grupo (niño o cuidador) hable español.
Estudio de Cuentos tiene cupo limitado. La entrada es por orden de llegada. ESTA SEMANA
¡Celebra la Noche de Brujas y Día de los Muertos durante Estudio de Cuentos! Junto con amigos del Museo Nacional del Latino Estadounidense leeremos Gustavo, el fantasma tímido por Flavia Z. Drago y…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum. Event Location: Art School on the Lower Level. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Events: Storytime Studio, About Hirshhorn Kids, Visiting with Kids, Art Project: Naturally You! Art Project: Draw with Your Face.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.si.edu. DC | Cradleboards and Crawlers
One-Time Events
Designed for early learners (ages 0-2), their caregivers, and families, this drop-in program offers young visitors the opportunity to enjoy a book by a Native author or illustrator read by a Museum Educator, engage in free play and sensory enrichment, and participate in other hands-on learning.
*Due to limited capacity in our spaces, tickets may be needed to enter the Activity Center and therefore the Story room (limited to 25 persons max). Please see staff at the entrance desk of the imagiNATIONS Activity Center on Level 3.
**Recommended for visitors ages 0-2 years old accompanied by an adult caregiver.
Venue: American Indian Museum DC. Event Location: Level 3, imagiNATIONS Activity Center. Cost: FREE. Categories: Kids & Families.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 11:15 AM – 11:45 AM.
Tours | Whistler's World
Gallery Talks & Tours
Join a walk-in, docent-led tour to explore the many sides of Whistler. Experience Whistler’s paintings along with objects by Asian artists that inspired his style and subjects. Image: Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room, James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), United Kingdom, 1876–77, room installation; oil paint and gold leaf on canvas, leather, mosaic tile, glass, and wood, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art Collection, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1904.61.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Houseplants: The Science Behind the Scenes
Resident Associate Program
By understanding how plants work, you can be more successful at caring for them, since knowledge of basic plant biology can be a valuable tool for indoor gardeners fascinated by plants and their unique characteristics. Virginia Velez Thaxton, a horticulturist with the Interiors Section of Smithsonian Gardens, explores the essential factors plants need from their environment and offers an overview of the physiological processes at play.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264768?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264768?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Meditation and Mindfulness
Workshops
Register to join the sessions.
Join a free online guided meditation. In these 30-minute sessions, DC-based meditation teachers lead a variety of mindfulness practices. Friday sessions take inspiration from art in our museum’s collections.
All are welcome! No previous experience is required. Image: Taki Katei; Autumn landscape; Japan, 1890; ink and color on paper; Gift of Toshio and Yuka Fujikura in memory of Tome Fujikura, F2014.8.28a-d.
Event Location: Online. Online Link: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/NeVySe_xTkGKsbcKbl_syQ. Cost: Free; registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/gz7O3IOSRJKzNc-CWszhlg. Categories: Workshops. Webcasts & Online. Related Events: Meditation and Mindfulness (Online).
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Gallery Talks & Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 46,000 artworks from across Asia. Enjoy some of the finest on a docent-led tour and learn about commonalities and differences in cultures, aesthetics, and ideas.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. DC | Welcome to a Native Place
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Enjoy tribal songs from Alaska to Florida with Dennis Zotigh (Kiowa/Isanti Dakota/Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo) in the Potomac Atrium. At the end of the 30-minute presentation, visitors are encouraged to ask questions pertaining to the museum and Indigenous culture, past and present. Presentations may be canceled without prior notice.
Venue: American Indian Museum DC. Event Location: Potomac Atrium. Cost: Free. Categories: Performances.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Tours | Arts of Japan
Gallery Talks & Tours
As the seasons change, enjoy a free, hour-long guided tour of the museum’s renowned collection of Japanese art. Experience a variety of artworks, including paintings, prints, screens, ceramics, metalwork, and more. Trees, Master of I-nen Seal (1600–1630), Japan, mid-17th century, ink, color, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1962.30.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: West Building. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Japanese Art from the Collection , Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea , The Print Generation , The Peacock Room , Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
Storytime Studio: Boo!
One time events
ABOUT STORYTIME STUDIO
Storytime Studio is a captivating blend of play, educator-led read-alouds, and art exploration designed for kids from birth to age 6 and their caregivers. Every Wednesday morning at 10 and 11 AM, visitors are welcomed into our studio to enjoy a special Storytime adventure.
Storytime Studio has limited capacity. Entry is first-come, first-served. THIS WEEK
Celebrate Halloween and Day of the Dead at Storytime! We’ll go on a ghost hunt in the galleries to investigate Annette Lemieux’s painting Nomad (1988), read Gustavo, the Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago, and create our own ghostly artworks. Costumes are encouraged, but please don’t bring large appendages, masks, or weapons.
Featured book: Gustavo, the Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago, KNOW BEFORE YOU GO Storytime Studio is a one-hour experience
There are two Storytime sessions each Wednesday, with entry times at 10 and 11 AM. Participation for each adult and child is limited to one hour.
No pre-registration required
Entry to…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum. Event Location: Art School on the Lower Level. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Events: Storytime Studio, About Hirshhorn Kids, Visiting with Kids, Art Project: Naturally You! Art Project: Draw with Your Face.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.si.edu. Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Essence Over Detail: Expression and Sketching in Watercolor
Resident Associate Program
Discover how to capture your subject with expressive, sketch-like painting that emphasizes the most essential elements over excessive detail.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264215?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264215?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
F?bulas Fairytales
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 3 to 8. Classic fairytales come to life with a bilingual twist in this Discovery Theater Original production.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264964?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Kids & Families.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 10:15 AM – 11:00 AM.
Outdoor Walking Tour: The Museum, A Century in the Making
Ongoing Tours & Activities
During this 25-min outdoor walking tour, visitors hear the story behind the design of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and explore its unique architectural features.
Photo Credit: NMAAHC.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Programs meets at the oculus, located on 14th Street and Constitution Ave. Each 25-min program start at: 10:30 AM, 11:30 AM, and 12:30 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 10:30 AM – 12:55 PM.
Storytime Studio: Boo!
One time events
ABOUT STORYTIME STUDIO
Storytime Studio is a captivating blend of play, educator-led read-alouds, and art exploration designed for kids from birth to age 6 and their caregivers. Every Wednesday morning at 10 and 11 AM, visitors are welcomed into our studio to enjoy a special Storytime adventure.
Storytime Studio has limited capacity. Entry is first-come, first-served. THIS WEEK
Celebrate Halloween and Day of the Dead at Storytime! We’ll go on a ghost hunt in the galleries to investigate Annette Lemieux’s painting Nomad (1988), read Gustavo, the Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago, and create our own ghostly artworks. Costumes are encouraged, but please don’t bring large appendages, masks, or weapons.
Featured book: Gustavo, the Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago, KNOW BEFORE YOU GO Storytime Studio is a one-hour experience
There are two Storytime sessions each Wednesday, with entry times at 10 and 11 AM. Participation for each adult and child is limited to one hour.
No pre-registration required
Entry to…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum. Event Location: Meet in the Art School on the Lower Level. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Events: Storytime Studio, About Hirshhorn Kids, Visiting with Kids, Art Project: Naturally You! Art Project: Draw with Your Face.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.si.edu. CANCELLED: Coral Reef Tank Talk
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Swim by the Sant Ocean Hall to meet some of the coral reef species that call the Smithsonian NMNH home! Hosted by an Ocean Educator, this interactive cart experience will walk you through the world of saltwater fish, coral colonies, and invertebrates galore!
Image Credit: Phillip R. Lee, Smithsonian Institution.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, The Sant Ocean Hall. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: The Sant Ocean Hall. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
Dead Letter Office: Gallery Experience
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Could you be a postal clerk? In this activity, a volunteer challenges you to sort mail, deciding which letters will be delivered and which would be sent to the Dead Letter Office. Complete the challenge and leave with a prize!
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Moving the Mail Atrium. Cost: Free. Categories: Demonstrations. Gallery Talks & Tours. Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM.
DC | Cradleboards and Crawlers
One-Time Events
Designed for early learners (ages 0-2), their caregivers, and families, this drop-in program offers young visitors the opportunity to enjoy a book by a Native author or illustrator read by a Museum Educator, engage in free play and sensory enrichment, and participate in other hands-on learning.
*Due to limited capacity in our spaces, tickets may be needed to enter the Activity Center and therefore the Story room (limited to 25 persons max). Please see staff at the entrance desk of the imagiNATIONS Activity Center on Level 3.
**Recommended for visitors ages 0-2 years old accompanied by an adult caregiver.
Venue: American Indian Museum DC. Event Location: Level 3, imagiNATIONS Activity Center. Cost: FREE. Categories: Kids & Families.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 11:15 AM – 11:45 AM.
Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Look for our friendly volunteer at the Information Desk for a 45 minute tour of the highlights of the museum.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Starts at the Information Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: FREE. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
F?bulas Fairytales
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 3 to 8. Classic fairytales come to life with a bilingual twist in this Discovery Theater Original production.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265020?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Kids & Families.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Curator Tour | Representing Women in South Asian Art
Gallery Talks & Tours
Join curator Debra Diamond for a tour exploring Buddhist, Hindu, and Indo-Islamic portrayals of women in South Asian art. Highlights include a 3rd-century relief of the Buddha’s mother, a 10th-century bronze of a powerful Hindu queen, and 17th- and 18th-century Mughal paintings depicting women both real and ideal.
Please meet in gallery 1 for the tour. We recommend you register in advance. Image: Jahangir and Prince Khurram Entertained by Nur Jahan; North India, Mughal dynasty, ca. 1640–50; opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper; National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1907.258.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Gallery 1, Gallery 2. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1668680591569?aff=oddtdtcreator. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Body Image: Arts of the Indian Subcontinent. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Volunteer Recruitment Information Session
American Latino Museum
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino (NMAL) is recruiting volunteers for its upcoming exhibition, ¡Puro Ritmo! The Musical Journey of Salsa. Volunteers will support educational programs by engaging in hands-on activities and tours in the museum’s Molina Family Latino Gallery at the National Museum of American History. This information session will help you learn about NMAL’s volunteer program, requirements, and application process.
For questions, please contact nmalvolunteer@si.edu
For ASL interpretation, please email us at nmalvolunteer@si.edu at least one week in advance.
*Volunteers must be 18 years of age or older and must be able to volunteer in person at the Molina Family Latino Gallery in Washington, D.C. .
Event Location: Online. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/Ia3dWC8uQWezZXIV2TDHiw. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Double Victory: The African American Military Experience Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Double Victory: The African American Military Experience conveys a sense of appreciation and respect for the military service of African Americans from the American Revolution to the War on Terror. Visitors have an opportunity to engage in a conversation with a museum docent and learn about the contributions of African Americans to the military history of the United States.
Tours take place at 1:15 pm and 2:30 pm.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: This one hour tour program meets at Level 3 in the Double Victory: The African American Military Experience exhibit. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Double Victory: The African American Military Experience.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Gallery Talks & Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 46,000 artworks from across Asia. Enjoy some of the finest on a docent-led tour and learn about commonalities and differences in cultures, aesthetics, and ideas.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Tours | Arts of Japan
Gallery Talks & Tours
As the seasons change, enjoy a free, hour-long guided tour of the museum’s renowned collection of Japanese art. Experience a variety of artworks, including paintings, prints, screens, ceramics, metalwork, and more. Trees, Master of I-nen Seal (1600–1630), Japan, mid-17th century, ink, color, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1962.30.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: West Building. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Japanese Art from the Collection , Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea , The Print Generation , The Peacock Room , Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
A History of Fantasy
Resident Associate Program
Fantasy is now an established and lucrative genre with a dizzying array of popular iterations across literature, games, and film. But the story of how hobbits, dungeons, knights, and dragons took over our collective imaginations is a long, complex one. In a fall series, historian Justin M. Jacobs explores the origins of the modern fantasy genre, from the evolution of obscure Gothic novels to the iconic works of J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and the co-creators of Dungeons & Dragons. This session focuses on pulp fiction writer, Robert E. Howard.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264587?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264587?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: After Five. Workshops.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM.
Little Critters: Nature Play at the Bird House (Bat Week)
NZP Kids and Families
Calling all spooky animal lovers! Celebrate Bat Week with creative, drop-in play at the Zoo!
This week we will learn about the important work bats do for our natural world by eating insects, pollinating flowers, and spreading seeds to help grow new plants and trees! Little Critters: Nature Play is designed for ages 0-5 and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome. Parents and guardians must remain with their children.
Location: Bird House Classroom.
Venue: National Zoo. Event Location: Bird House Classroom. Cost: Free drop-in program; no pre-registration required.Parents and guardians must remain with their children. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit nationalzoo.si.edu. Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Big Objects, Big Stories: Point of Pines Plantation Slave Cabin
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Join us for a docent-led tour to get a fresh look into the Museum's featured object. At each of these 15-minute talks visitors will hear incredibly big stories about a big object.
About this Program: Visitors cannot overlook the Point of Pines Plantation Slave Cabin, a circa early 1800s slave cabin from the Point of Pines Plantation on Edisto Island, S.C. The cabin is one of two remaining slave dwellings on Edisto Island. Its story provides a revealing glimpse into the most formative and troubling chapters in American history.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets at the Point of Pines Planation Slave Cabin, Level C3. Talks take place at: 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
F?bulas Fairytales
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 3 to 8. Classic fairytales come to life with a bilingual twist in this Discovery Theater Original production.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264966?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Kids & Families.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 10:15 AM – 11:00 AM.
CANCELLED: Ocean Topics Cart Chat
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Looking for a deeper dive into ocean topics? Come and find one of our Ocean Educators to explore some of the latest discoveries in marine science, stationed at an interactive cart in the Sant Ocean Hall.
Image Credit: Phillip R. Lee, Smithsonian Institution.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, The Sant Ocean Hall. Cost: Free and open to the public. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: The Sant Ocean Hall. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
Big Objects, Big Stories: Southern Railway Car No. 1200
Ongoing Tours & Activities
At each of these 15-minute talks visitors will hear incredibly big stories about a big object. Visit the Southern Railway No. 1200, a segregated passenger from the Jim Crow era. Get the inside scope, about the role of Pullman porters and coach attendants—key figures in the African American community.
Photo Credit: NMAAHC.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets at the railway car, Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation 1876-1968 exhibition, located on C2. Each 15-minute program starts at: 11:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 12:30 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation 1876-1968.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 11:00 AM – 12:45 PM.
Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Look for our friendly volunteer at the Information Desk for a 45 minute tour of the highlights of the museum.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Starts at the Information Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
F?bulas Fairytales
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 3 to 8. Classic fairytales come to life with a bilingual twist in this Discovery Theater Original production.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265021?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Kids & Families.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Tours | Whistler's World
Gallery Talks & Tours
Join a walk-in, docent-led tour to explore the many sides of Whistler. Experience Whistler’s paintings along with objects by Asian artists that inspired his style and subjects. Image: Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room, James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), United Kingdom, 1876–77, room installation; oil paint and gold leaf on canvas, leather, mosaic tile, glass, and wood, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art Collection, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1904.61.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Sketching the Smithsonian: Weekly Lunchtime Drawing Series
Resident Associate Program
Pull out your sketchbook and pencil to take an artful break as you explore the Smithsonian while drawing objects from vast, fascinating collections. The theme is inspired by the shifting of the seasons and heavily features nature and objects that speak to the changing colors of fall.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264425?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264425?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Converse with a docent. Learn how African Americans flourished in their own communities during the Era of Segregation 1876-1968 despite the turmoil around them. Under a time of intense pressure to take away their rights as citizens, African Americans not only survived the challenges set before them but crafted an important role for themselves in the nation.
Image Credit: NMAAHC.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: This one-hour tour program meets in the Defending Freedom, The Era of Segregation 1876-1968 exhibit, located on C2. Tours take place at 12:45 PM and 2:45 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 12:45 PM – 3:45 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Gallery Talks & Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 46,000 artworks from across Asia. Enjoy some of the finest on a docent-led tour and learn about commonalities and differences in cultures, aesthetics, and ideas.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Tours | Arts Across Asia
Gallery Talks & Tours
Enjoy a guided tour of our East Building and its range of exhibitions. These tours can feature art from any of the exhibitions currently on view, with works from cultures as diverse as ancient Iran to contemporary Japan.
Please meet at the entrance to Gallery 22, near the gift shop, for the tour. Image: Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Collection, The Alice S. Kandell Collection, Photo by John Bigelow Taylor.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Building: East Building. Event Location: Gallery 22. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Tours | Arts of Japan
Gallery Talks & Tours
As the seasons change, enjoy a free, hour-long guided tour of the museum’s renowned collection of Japanese art. Experience a variety of artworks, including paintings, prints, screens, ceramics, metalwork, and more. Trees, Master of I-nen Seal (1600–1630), Japan, mid-17th century, ink, color, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1962.30.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Building: West Building. Event Location: West Building. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Japanese Art from the Collection , Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea , The Print Generation , The Peacock Room , Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
The Mystical Core of Traditional Religions
Resident Associate Program
Mysticism—the awareness and the conscious unmediated experience of an ultimate reality, divinity, or God—captures the essence of religious experience. Comparative religion scholar Graham Schweig surveys the role mysticism plays in world religions and considers if there is a core mystical experience among these traditions or if each is shaped by unique cultural, linguistic, and religious contexts.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264652?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/264652?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 6:30 PM – 8:15 PM.