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CulturalDC Mobile Art Gallery
One-Time Events
Presented in partnership with CulturalDC
Murjoni Merriweather’s installation in the Mobile Art Gallery will be an immersive experience exploring the artist’s personal experiences with growth, patience, and self-care. Connecting with the spiritual and symbolic nature of our planet, Murjoni will cover the gallery floor in soil. Her clay sculptures will be lifted, appearing to grow from mounds of earth. The space will include an interactive space with an opportunity to dig in the dirt and discover hidden items to inspire self-reflection.
This exhibition is a story of growth. It pushes the boundaries of her work outside of the traditional bust, taking her work out of the white walls of a conventional gallery into an environment created for the individuals her sculptures represent, intended to invoke self-reflection and calm.
Gallery Hours: WED - SUN 12PM - 5 PM*
*Closed for lunch 1-1:30 PM.
Venue: Anacostia Community Museum. Event Location: 1901 Fort Place SE. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Gallery Talks & Tours. Lectures & Discussions.
Friday, October 11, 2024, 10:00 AM – 3:00 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 11, 2024, 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 11, 2024, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Flights of Fancy Story Time: I am Amelia Earhart
Ongoing Activities
Join us for a reading of the comic-book style picture book biography, I am Amelia Earhart written by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Chris Eliopoulis. Discover how Amelia Earhart reached her dream of flying with a love of adventure and unwavering determination. After the story, we'll show you how to create a three-paneled comic strip of your own about your dreams of the future!
ASL interpretation will be provided during this program.
Event Location: Zoom. Cost: Free with registration. Categories: Kids & Families. Webcasts & Online. Related Events: Soar Together at Air and Space Family Program. Accessibility: ASL-interpreted program. Captioning.
Friday, October 11, 2024, 10:00 AM – 10:45 AM.
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 11, 2024, 10:15 AM – 3:15 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 & Freedom exhibition, located on C3. One hour tours take place at 10:15 AM and 11:30 AM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Slavery and Freedom.
Friday, October 11, 2024, 10:15 AM – 12:30 PM.
Ocean Topics Cart Chat
One-Time Events
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.
Friday, October 11, 2024, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
Big Objects, Big Stories: Southern Railway Car No. 1200
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: Objects connect us to people, places, and stories. 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. Join a docent for a 15 minute exploration of Southern Railway No. 1200, a railroad passenger car from the "Jim Crow" era.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: The program meets at the Southern Railway Car No. 1200, Level C2. Talks take place at: 11:00 AM and 12:00 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. .
Friday, October 11, 2024, 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM.
Highlights Tour of ¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States
American Latino Museum
Join the National Museum of the American Latino in a one-hour tour of the ¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States exhibition. This tour will guide visitors through the exhibition, highlighting key objects and stories that tell major chapters in U.S. history from the Latino lens. The tour also allows visitors to understand the formation of the U.S. Latino community from pre-Columbian to present day. After the tour, participants are encouraged to explore the digital components of the gallery including our Somos Theater, which features a 14-minute documentary style video that explores the Latino community identity answering key questions of who we are as Americans and who we are as Latinos? The General Motors Learning Lounge will be open and features activities and a reading area for further exploration. Free—First Come, First Serve with no registration required.
If bilingual offerings are needed please email nmalgroupreservations@si.edu one week prior to your visit, with the specific day and time yo…
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Molina Family Latino Gallery Entrance, 1st Floor East. Cost: Free; No Registration Needed. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Presente! A Latino History of the United States.
Friday, October 11, 2024, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
For more info visit latino.si.edu. 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.
Friday, October 11, 2024, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
The Medici: Patronage, Power, and Art in Renaissance Florence
Resident Associate Program
Renaissance Florence’s often-violent political scene was dominated by rich mercantile families, the most famous being the Medici. Renaissance art historian Elaine Ruffolo traces the family’s influence on the political, economic, and cultural history of Florence from the rise of the dynasty led by Cosimo de Medici through the golden era under Lorenzo il Magnifico to the achievement of the family’s goal: the papal tiara. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261154?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261154?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Friday, October 11, 2024, 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: Hishikawa Sori / Landscape: two of the four seasons; autumn and winter, Japan, late 18th–early 19th century, color, ink, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art Collection, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1906.234.
Event Location: Online. Online Link: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvd-mupzgsH9KiG0Rq9KAesV_b_tLG8R6N. Cost: Free; registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvd-mupzgsH9KiG0Rq9KAesV_b_tLG8R6N. Categories: Workshops. Webcasts & Online. Related Events: Meditation and Mindfulness (Online).
Friday, October 11, 2024, 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM.
Portrait Gallery Art Studio
One-Time Events
Calling all artists! Join the National Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collection and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise in various artistic disciplines. 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. Categories: Workshops. Kids & Families.
Friday, October 11, 2024, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Rocks: Time Capsules from Earth’s Past
One-Time Events
Rocks are constantly being made and remade within the earth and on its surface. By recording their own history, rocks record the earth’s history. Come and chat with Nailah Johnson, Geologist from the U.S. Geological Survey, about her work on metamorphic rocks and minerals from the Piedmont in Virginia.
Image courtesy of Nailah Johnson.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 2nd Floor, Geology, Gems, and Minerals Hall. Cost: Free and open to the public. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: The Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 11, 2024, 1:00 PM – 3:00 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.
The public can schedule reserved group tours using the online reservation form.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Friday, October 11, 2024, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. CANCELLED - DC | Guided Gallery Tours
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Experience one of the museum's major exhibitions currently on view—Americans or Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations—with a guided tour led by a knowledgeable museum educator. Join fellow visitors to dive deeper into the content and have your questions answered. These walk-in tours include a brief overview of the museum’s mission, history, and even the building itself. Tours are subject to availability and may be canceled without prior notice.
Venue: American Indian Museum DC. Event Location: Level 1, meet in the Potomac Atrium. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Americans; Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations.
Friday, October 11, 2024, 1:30 PM – 2:15 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: Wheelchair accessible. Assisted listening devices.
Friday, October 11, 2024, 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM.
In-Focus Tour | Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork
Gallery Talks & Tours
Closely examine a few Japanese masterpieces of hammered metalwork during a twenty-minute tour led by our docents. Learn how metalwork artists skillfully combine tradition with creativity and innovation, and get a taste of the largest collection of contemporary Japanese metalworks in the United States.
Please meet at gallery 22 for this tour. Learn more about Striking Objects. Image: Vessel, titled Wave Crests (Namiho), Ōsumi Yukie (b. 1945), Japan, Heisei era, 2008, hammered silver with nunomezõgan (textile imprint inlay) in lead and gold, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Bequest of Shirley Z. Johnson, S2022.8.32a–d.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Gallery 22. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 11, 2024, 2:00 PM – 2:20 PM.
Highlights Tour of ¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States
American Latino Museum
Join the National Museum of the American Latino in a one-hour tour of the ¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States exhibition. This tour will guide visitors through the exhibition, highlighting key objects and stories that tell major chapters in U.S. history from the Latino lens. The tour also allows visitors to understand the formation of the U.S. Latino community from pre-Columbian to present day. After the tour, participants are encouraged to explore the digital components of the gallery including our Somos Theater, which features a 14-minute documentary style video that explores the Latino community identity answering key questions of who we are as Americans and who we are as Latinos? The General Motors Learning Lounge will be open and features activities and a reading area for further exploration. Free—First Come, First Serve with no registration required.
If bilingual offerings are needed please email nmalgroupreservations@si.edu one week prior to your visit, with the specific day and time yo…
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Molina Family Latino Gallery Entrance, 1st Floor East. Cost: Free; No Registration Required. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Presente! A Latino History of the United States.
Friday, October 11, 2024, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
For more info visit latino.si.edu. In-Focus Tour | Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork
Gallery Talks & Tours
Closely examine a few Japanese masterpieces of hammered metalwork during a twenty-minute tour led by our docents. Learn how metalwork artists skillfully combine tradition with creativity and innovation, and get a taste of the largest collection of contemporary Japanese metalworks in the United States.
Please meet at gallery 22 for this tour. Learn more about Striking Objects. Image: Vessel, titled Wave Crests (Namiho), Ōsumi Yukie (b. 1945), Japan, Heisei era, 2008, hammered silver with nunomezõgan (textile imprint inlay) in lead and gold, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Bequest of Shirley Z. Johnson, S2022.8.32a–d.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Gallery 22. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 11, 2024, 2:45 PM – 3:05 PM.
CANCELLED- Little Critters: Nature Play
NZP Kids and Families
Little Critters is getting ready to fly south for the winter! We appreciate your patience as we settle to roost in our new location in the Think Tank Classroom. What is Little Critters: Nature Play?
Bring your little zoogoer for a wild time as we explore animals and nature through creative, drop-in 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.
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 12, 2024, 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit nationalzoo.si.edu. CulturalDC Mobile Art Gallery
One-Time Events
Presented in partnership with CulturalDC
Murjoni Merriweather’s installation in the Mobile Art Gallery will be an immersive experience exploring the artist’s personal experiences with growth, patience, and self-care. Connecting with the spiritual and symbolic nature of our planet, Murjoni will cover the gallery floor in soil. Her clay sculptures will be lifted, appearing to grow from mounds of earth. The space will include an interactive space with an opportunity to dig in the dirt and discover hidden items to inspire self-reflection.
This exhibition is a story of growth. It pushes the boundaries of her work outside of the traditional bust, taking her work out of the white walls of a conventional gallery into an environment created for the individuals her sculptures represent, intended to invoke self-reflection and calm.
Gallery Hours: WED - SUN 12PM - 5 PM*
*Closed for lunch 1-1:30 PM.
Venue: Anacostia Community Museum. Event Location: 1901 Fort Place SE. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Gallery Talks & Tours. Lectures & Discussions.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM.
Freshfarm ACM Farmstand
One-Time Events
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 20- November 23, 2024.*
The farm stand offers FreshMatch, FRESHFARM's incentive program, which provides a dollar-to-dollar match on all federal benefits (WIC and Senior and WIC FMNP) spent at the stand, helping shoppers take home more fresh and nutritious produce and local foods. The farm stand also accepts Produce Plus, a benefit program unique to Washington, DC, which provides locally grown, fresh produce to District residents with limited access to fresh, healthy food.
Park View Farms in Poolsville supplies the FRESHFARM ACM Farm Stand with their own homegrown produce and additional fruits and vegetables that they aggregate from neighboring farms.
*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://anacostia.si.edu/farmstand. Categories: Kids & Families. Culinary Arts.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM.
Writing Workshop Inspired by the Literary Paris of Brilliant Exiles
One-Time Events
Join the National Portrait Gallery for a creative writing workshop inspired by the words and portraits of American women in Paris as part of the captivating exhibition “Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900–1939.”
Participants will read and discuss works of literature and look at portraits of literary innovators, booksellers, and influencers, such as Edna St. Vincent Millay, Sylvia Beach, Gertrude Stein, May Sarton, Kay Boyle, and Anaïs Nin.
Event Location: G Street Lobby. Cost: Free. Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-writing-workshop-the-literary-paris-of-brilliant-exiles-tickets-991273464617?aff=ebdsshcopyurl&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile&utm-share-source=organizer-profile. Categories: Workshops.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. 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 12, 2024, 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 12, 2024, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Stories of the First Ladies
Resident Associate Program
From Martha Washington to Jill Biden, each woman who has served in the role of first lady of the United States has a story. During a walking tour of the area around the White House, A Tour of Her Own staff members share a few of these sagas.
Event Location: Tour meets at Freedom Plaza 1455 Pennsylvania Ave NW. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261235?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 10:00 AM – 12:00 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.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Cultural Expressions Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This tour introduces visitors to the broad concept of African American and African diaspora culture and five ways through which that culture is expressed. Guests converse with a docent while exploring objects pertaining to Style: Image and Identity, Foodways: Culture and Cuisine, Artistry: Craftsmanship and Creativity, Movement: Social Dance and Gesture and Language: The Power of the Word that are featured in the Cultural Expressions exhibition.
Photo Credit: NMAAHC.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets in the Cultural Expressions exhibition, located on L4. One-hour tours take place at 10:15 AM and 11:30 AM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Cultural Expressions.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 10:15 AM – 12:30 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 10:15 AM and 11:30 AM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Slavery and Freedom.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 10:15 AM – 12:30 PM.
Highlights Tour of ¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States
American Latino Museum
Join the National Museum of the American Latino in a one-hour tour of the ¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States exhibition. This tour will guide visitors through the exhibition, highlighting key objects and stories that tell major chapters in U.S. history from the Latino lens. The tour also allows visitors to understand the formation of the U.S. Latino community from pre-Columbian to present day. After the tour, participants are encouraged to explore the digital components of the gallery including our Somos Theater, which features a 14-minute documentary style video that explores the Latino community identity answering key questions of who we are as Americans and who we are as Latinos? The General Motors Learning Lounge will be open and features activities and a reading area for further exploration. Free—First Come, First Serve with no registration required.
If bilingual offerings are needed please email nmalgroupreservations@si.edu one week prior to your visit, with the specific day and time yo…
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Molina Family Latino Gallery Entrance, 1st Floor East. Cost: Free; No Registration Needed. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Presente! A Latino History of the United States.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
For more info visit latino.si.edu. Latino Heritage Festival Featuring Latinos in Sports
American Latino Museum
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino invites you to step up to the plate for a home run of a festival that’s sure to score big. This year, we celebrate the impact Latina and Latino athletes have had on the world of sports—from the soccer field to the boxing ring, the baseball diamond to the fairway. Go for the gold and cheer on the champions who made history!
Interactive Sports DemonstrationsZone: Interactive Sports Demonstrations, Location: Outdoors, Madison Drive (National Mall Exit), 11:00 a.m. DC SCORES Soccer Demonstration , 1:00 p.m. Hugo’s Lucha Libre Demonstration , 1:30 p.m. Capoeira DC Demonstration , 2:00 p.m. AjupemeMX American Month Ball Game Association: Mesoamerican Ball Game Demonstration , 3:00 p.m. Hugo’s Lucha Libre Demonstration , 3:30 p.m. Capoeira DC Demonstration , 4:30 p.m. AjupemeMX American Month Ball Game Association: Mesoamerican Ball Game Demonstration, Zone: On the National Stage Conversations
Location: 1 West, Coulter Plaza 12:00 p.m. On Stage…
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor and Mall Terrace, National Museum of American History. Cost: Free. Categories: Celebrations. Demonstrations. Lectures & Discussions.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 11:00 AM – 5:30 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. .
Venue: American Indian Museum DC. Event Location: imagiNATIONS Activity Center, Level 3. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 11:15 AM – 11:45 AM.
Sightlines Saturday: Gallery Talk and Activity
One-Time Events
Join the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC) at SAAM to experience Sightlines: Chinatown and Beyond, an APAC exhibition showcasing the contributions of Asian Americans to Washington, DC. Visitors can enjoy a guided tour of the exhibition at noon, followed by a hands-on activity from 1-3 p.m. exploring landmarks and designing an architectural creation.
Credit: Penny Lee, Chinese Youth Club, ca. 1989.
Venue: American Art Museum. Event Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Sightlines: Chinatown and Beyond.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Imagine Our Future and Storytime
One-Time Events
Imagine Our Future is a workshop presented by Play and Thrive DC. Participants will illustrate their perceptions of our community as it is now and their dreams for a utopian future. This activity is designed to be inclusive, allowing everyone to express their vision regardless of their skill level. Participants can draw, trace, or use stickers to depict their community. Art supplies will be provided. Storytime will come from Look Where We Live; A First Book of Community Building by Scot Ritchie. In this captivating book, five friends spend an exciting day exploring their community. Through their journey, they visit different places, meet various people, and learn about the essential roles these individuals and locations play in making their community vibrant and functional. The story beautifully illustrates the concept of community building, highlighting how each person and place contributes to the overall well-being and happiness of the neighborhood. Play and Thrive DC addresses the play inequity in DC.
Venue: Anacostia Community Museum. Event Location: 1901 Fort Place SE. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/imagine-our-future-and-storytime-tickets-1014578129497?aff=oddtdtcreator. Categories: Kids & Families.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
Portrait Gallery Art Studio
One-Time Events
Calling all artists! Join the National Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collection and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise in various artistic disciplines. 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. Categories: Workshops. Kids & Families.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 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.
The public can schedule reserved group tours using the online reservation form.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. DC | Guided Gallery Tours
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Experience one of the museum's major exhibitions currently on view—Americans or Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations—with a guided tour led by a knowledgeable museum educator. Join fellow visitors to dive deeper into the content and have your questions answered. These walk-in tours include a brief overview of the museum’s mission, history, and even the building itself. Tours are subject to availability and may be canceled without prior notice.
Venue: American Indian Museum DC. Event Location: Level 1, meet in the Potomac Atrium. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Americans; Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 1:30 PM – 2:15 PM.
Gallery Tour | Park Chan-kyong: Gathering
Gallery Talks & Tours
Catch one of the last tours of this exhibition before it closes October 14!
Join us for a curator tour of the exhibition Park Chan-kyong: Gathering led by Carol Huh, the museum’s associate curator of contemporary Asian art. Experience Seoul-based artist Park Chan-kyong's first solo presentation of his work in a major US museum. Explore a range of works highlighting his masterful use of the photographic medium to explore the enduring traces of tradition, history, and disaster in contemporary society.
Please meet at the gallery for the tour. Register in advance to make sure you get the best experience.
This exhibition contains disturbing images and brief nudity. Viewer discretion is advised. Image: Detail, Belated Bosal, Park Chan-kyong, 2019, HD film, black and white, 5.1 channel sound, 55 min / Copyright Park Chan-kyong, Courtesy of the artist and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, ELS2023.8.1.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Gallery 28. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1030113355777?aff=oddtdtcreator. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Events: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Park Chan-kyong: Gathering. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
In-Focus Tour | The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas
Gallery Talks & Tours
Take a closer look at objects, such as stone sculptures, gilt bronzes, and painted manuscripts, that highlight Hindu and Buddhist traditions. In this twenty-minute tour, our docents will help you consider the critical role visual culture played in these traditions from the ninth to the twentieth century. Hear stories about deities, from Ganesha, the god of beginnings, to goddesses who personify wisdom.
Please meet at gallery 22 for this tour. Learn more about The Art of Knowing. Seated Ganesha, India, Karnataka state, Halebid, 12th–13th century, chloritic schist, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Collection, Gift of Arthur M. Sackler, S1987.960.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Gallery 22 (The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 2:00 PM – 2:20 PM.
Highlights Tour of ¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States
American Latino Museum
Join the National Museum of the American Latino in a one-hour tour of the ¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States exhibition. This tour will guide visitors through the exhibition, highlighting key objects and stories that tell major chapters in U.S. history from the Latino lens. The tour also allows visitors to understand the formation of the U.S. Latino community from pre-Columbian to present day. After the tour, participants are encouraged to explore the digital components of the gallery including our Somos Theater, which features a 14-minute documentary style video that explores the Latino community identity answering key questions of who we are as Americans and who we are as Latinos? The General Motors Learning Lounge will be open and features activities and a reading area for further exploration. Free—First Come, First Serve with no registration required.
If bilingual offerings are needed please email nmalgroupreservations@si.edu one week prior to your visit, with the specific day and time yo…
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Molina Family Latino Gallery Entrance, 1st Floor East. Cost: Free; No Registration Required. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Presente! A Latino History of the United States.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
For more info visit latino.si.edu. In-Focus Tour | The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas
Gallery Talks & Tours
Take a closer look at objects, such as stone sculptures, gilt bronzes, and painted manuscripts, that highlight Hindu and Buddhist traditions. In this twenty-minute tour, our docents will help you consider the critical role visual culture played in these traditions from the ninth to the twentieth century. Hear stories about deities, from Ganesha, the god of beginnings, to goddesses who personify wisdom.
Please meet at gallery 22 for this tour. Learn more about The Art of Knowing. Seated Ganesha, India, Karnataka state, Halebid, 12th–13th century, chloritic schist, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Collection, Gift of Arthur M. Sackler, S1987.960.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Gallery 22 (The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 2:45 PM – 3:05 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. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, October 12, 2024, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. CulturalDC Mobile Art Gallery
One-Time Events
Presented in partnership with CulturalDC
Murjoni Merriweather’s installation in the Mobile Art Gallery will be an immersive experience exploring the artist’s personal experiences with growth, patience, and self-care. Connecting with the spiritual and symbolic nature of our planet, Murjoni will cover the gallery floor in soil. Her clay sculptures will be lifted, appearing to grow from mounds of earth. The space will include an interactive space with an opportunity to dig in the dirt and discover hidden items to inspire self-reflection.
This exhibition is a story of growth. It pushes the boundaries of her work outside of the traditional bust, taking her work out of the white walls of a conventional gallery into an environment created for the individuals her sculptures represent, intended to invoke self-reflection and calm.
Gallery Hours: WED - SUN 12PM - 5 PM*
*Closed for lunch 1-1:30 PM.
Venue: Anacostia Community Museum. Event Location: 1901 Fort Place SE. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Gallery Talks & Tours. Lectures & Discussions.
Sunday, October 13, 2024, 10:00 AM – 3:00 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.
Sunday, October 13, 2024, 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 13, 2024, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
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 13, 2024, 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 13, 2024, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Cultural Expressions Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This tour introduces visitors to the broad concept of African American and African diaspora culture and five ways through which that culture is expressed. Guests converse with a docent while exploring objects pertaining to Style: Image and Identity, Foodways: Culture and Cuisine, Artistry: Craftsmanship and Creativity, Movement: Social Dance and Gesture and Language: The Power of the Word that are featured in the Cultural Expressions exhibition.
Photo Credit: NMAAHC.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets in the Cultural Expressions exhibition, located on L4. One-hour tours take place at 10:15 AM and 11:30 AM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Cultural Expressions.
Sunday, October 13, 2024, 10:15 AM – 12:30 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 10:15 AM and 11:30 AM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Slavery and Freedom.
Sunday, October 13, 2024, 10:15 AM – 12:30 PM.
Highlights Tour of ¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States
American Latino Museum
Join the National Museum of the American Latino in a one-hour tour of the ¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States exhibition. This tour will guide visitors through the exhibition, highlighting key objects and stories that tell major chapters in U.S. history from the Latino lens. The tour also allows visitors to understand the formation of the U.S. Latino community from pre-Columbian to present day. After the tour, participants are encouraged to explore the digital components of the gallery including our Somos Theater, which features a 14-minute documentary style video that explores the Latino community identity answering key questions of who we are as Americans and who we are as Latinos? The General Motors Learning Lounge will be open and features activities and a reading area for further exploration. Free—First Come, First Serve with no registration required.
If bilingual offerings are needed please email nmalgroupreservations@si.edu one week prior to your visit, with the specific day and time yo…
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Molina Family Latino Gallery Entrance, 1st Floor East. Cost: Free; No Registration Needed. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Presente! A Latino History of the United States.
Sunday, October 13, 2024, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
For more info visit latino.si.edu. Portrait Gallery Art Studio
One-Time Events
Calling all artists! Join the National Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collection and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise in various artistic disciplines. 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. Categories: Workshops. Kids & Families.
Sunday, October 13, 2024, 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.
The public can schedule reserved group tours using the online reservation form.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Sunday, October 13, 2024, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. 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 2:30 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.
Sunday, October 13, 2024, 1:15 PM – 3:30 PM.
In-Focus Tour | An Epic of Kings: The Great Mongol Shahnama
Gallery Talks & Tours
Enjoy a twenty-minute guided tour that closely examines monumental and boldly illustrated pages from one of the most celebrated medieval Persian manuscripts, the Great Mongol Shahnama. Immerse yourself in stories from Iran’s national epic, written in the eleventh century, and learn how artists three hundred years later interpreted this famed literary work. Accessibility: The public elevator in the West Building (Freer Gallery of Art) is out of service, so your route to the event location may take a few more minutes than usual. Use the accessible entrance at the corner of Independence Avenue and 12th Street SW, and follow the directions when you arrive. Get more accessibility details. Image: Ardashir and his wife (detail), folio from the Great Mongol Shahnama, Iran, probably Tabriz, Ilkhanid dynasty, ca. 1330, ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection, Purchase—Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian…
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Gallery 23, Gallery 24. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: An Epic of Kings: The Great Mongol Shahnama.
Sunday, October 13, 2024, 2:00 PM – 2:20 PM.
Stories of the First Ladies
Resident Associate Program
From Martha Washington to Jill Biden, each woman who has served in the role of first lady of the United States has a story. During a walking tour of the area around the White House, A Tour of Her Own staff members share a few of these sagas.
Event Location: Tour meets at Freedom Plaza 1455 Pennsylvania Ave NW. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261236?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Sunday, October 13, 2024, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Highlights Tour of ¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States
American Latino Museum
Join the National Museum of the American Latino in a one-hour tour of the ¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States exhibition. This tour will guide visitors through the exhibition, highlighting key objects and stories that tell major chapters in U.S. history from the Latino lens. The tour also allows visitors to understand the formation of the U.S. Latino community from pre-Columbian to present day. After the tour, participants are encouraged to explore the digital components of the gallery including our Somos Theater, which features a 14-minute documentary style video that explores the Latino community identity answering key questions of who we are as Americans and who we are as Latinos? The General Motors Learning Lounge will be open and features activities and a reading area for further exploration. Free—First Come, First Serve with no registration required.
If bilingual offerings are needed please email nmalgroupreservations@si.edu one week prior to your visit, with the specific day and time yo…
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Molina Family Latino Gallery Entrance, 1st Floor East. Cost: Free; No Registration Required. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Presente! A Latino History of the United States.
Sunday, October 13, 2024, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
For more info visit latino.si.edu. In-Focus Tour | An Epic of Kings: The Great Mongol Shahnama
Gallery Talks & Tours
Enjoy a twenty-minute guided tour that closely examines monumental and boldly illustrated pages from one of the most celebrated medieval Persian manuscripts, the Great Mongol Shahnama. Immerse yourself in stories from Iran’s national epic, written in the eleventh century, and learn how artists three hundred years later interpreted this famed literary work. Accessibility: The public elevator in the West Building (Freer Gallery of Art) is out of service, so your route to the event location may take a few more minutes than usual. Use the accessible entrance at the corner of Independence Avenue and 12th Street SW, and follow the directions when you arrive. Get more accessibility details. Image: Ardashir and his wife (detail), folio from the Great Mongol Shahnama, Iran, probably Tabriz, Ilkhanid dynasty, ca. 1330, ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection, Purchase—Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian…
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Gallery 23, Gallery 24. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: An Epic of Kings: The Great Mongol Shahnama.
Sunday, October 13, 2024, 2:45 PM – 3:05 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. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Sunday, October 13, 2024, 3:00 PM – 4:00 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 14, 2024, 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 on select Mondays as we explore topics like colors, emotions, STEM and history. Portrait Gallery Kids incorporates looking at art, hands-on activities, music and movement. This program 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=ebdsoporgprofile. Categories: Kids & Families. Workshops.
Monday, October 14, 2024, 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 14, 2024, 11:30 AM – 12:15 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 14, 2024, 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.
The public can schedule reserved group tours using the online reservation form.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Monday, October 14, 2024, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Making A Way Out of No Way Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Learn about the ways in which African Americans created possibilities in a world that denied them opportunities. On this docent led tour visitors will reflect on the perseverance, resourcefulness, and resilience required by African Americans to survive and thrive in America.
Photo Credit: NMAAHC.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets in the Making A Way Out of No Way exhibition, L3. Each 1-hour tour takes place at 1:30 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: Making A Way Out of No Way.
Monday, October 14, 2024, 1:30 PM – 3:45 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.
Monday, October 14, 2024, 2:00 PM – 2:45 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.
The public can schedule reserved group tours using the online reservation form.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Monday, October 14, 2024, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. CANCELLED- Little Critters: Nature Play
NZP Kids and Families
Little Critters is getting ready to fly south for the winter! We appreciate your patience as we settle to roost in our new location in the Think Tank Classroom. What is Little Critters: Nature Play?
Bring your little zoogoer for a wild time as we explore animals and nature through creative, drop-in 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.
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 15, 2024, 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit nationalzoo.si.edu. Write Into Art: Creative Writing Inspired by Visual Art
Resident Associate Program
Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for five online workshops that explore essential elements of writing and styles through close looking, word-sketching, and imaginative response to prompts. This writing session is inspired by two works by 20th-century French artist Henri Matisse, including Open Window, Collioure.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261226?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261226?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: Lectures & Discussions.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM.
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 15, 2024, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Play Date at NMNH: Marvelous Meteorites
One-Time Events
Join us on Tuesdays for special family play dates with museum educators!
Tuesday, October 15th, is all about exploring the colors, shapes, and textures of objects out in space! Families can learn about and make close observations of meteorites from our collection, explore different colors of planets, and create your own play telescope. 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 the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils - Deep Time exhibit on the 1st floor of 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 than two-weeks advanced notice. To…
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st floor, David H. Koch Hall of Fossils - Deep Time. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM.
Exploring Color in Watercolor
Resident Associate Program
Enhance your knowledge and understanding of color theory in watercolor. Learn practical skills such as identifying and mixing colors correctly to create your own cohesive palette.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261257?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/261257?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 15, 2024, 10:30 AM – 1:30 PM.
Ocean Topics Cart Chat
One-Time Events
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.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
Highlights Tour with the Postal Museum’s Director or Deputy Director
One-Time Events
On this extra special tour with the Postal Museum’s Director or Deputy Director, explore the wonders of our museum like never before! Meet at the Information Desk for an exclusive 45-minute tour.
Event Location: Starts at the Information Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: FREE. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Verdi and the Transformation of Bel Canto Opera
Resident Associate Program
In the 1840s, Italian composers Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini commanded full attention on the opera stages of Europe. The young Giuseppe Verdi inherited their traditions—and then began to transform them. In a 5-session series, classical music and opera expert Saul Lilienstein uses audio and video recordings to illustrate how the myriad musical and theatrical elements of Italian opera evolved under Verdi’s restless imagination.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261204?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261204?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 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: Hishikawa Sori / Landscape: two of the four seasons; autumn and winter, Japan, late 18th–early 19th century, color, ink, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art Collection, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1906.234.
Event Location: Online. Online Link: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvd-mupzgsH9KiG0Rq9KAesV_b_tLG8R6N. Cost: Free; registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvd-mupzgsH9KiG0Rq9KAesV_b_tLG8R6N. Categories: Workshops. Webcasts & Online. Related Events: Meditation and Mindfulness (Online).
Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 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.
The public can schedule reserved group tours using the online reservation form.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 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 15, 2024, 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Trivia Night: Spooky Season
One-Time Events
Are you afraid of the dark? Join us at the National Portrait Gallery for a spooky happy hour trivia night. With our friends from New Columbia Pub Quiz, we will test your knowledge of urban legends, superstitions, and things that go bump in the night—all with questions inspired by the museum’s collection.
Our free collections-themed trivia game can be played individually or in teams of up to six people. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the evening. The Courtyard Café will be open during the event, and snacks and beverages will be available for purchase.
Event Location: Kogod Courtyard. Cost: Free. Registration Encouraged. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-trivia-night-spooky-season-tickets-991482570057?aff=ebdsshcopyurl&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile&utm-share-source=organizer-profile. Categories: After Five.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 5:00 PM – 6:45 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Landscape Elements in Watercolor
Resident Associate Program
Gain confidence in your ability to paint important natural elements in watercolor. Demonstrations and exercises introduce techniques for creating flowing landscapes.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261259?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/261259?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 15, 2024, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
Director’s Essay Prize Lecture
One-Time Events
Laura Katzman, the winner of the National Portrait Gallery’s biennial Director's Essay Prize for “Lorenzo Homar’s ‘Cine Alba’: An Intimate Portrait of North American Artists in Nineteen-Fifties Puerto Rico,” will deliver a lecture on her work.
Event Location: McEvoy Auditorium. Cost: Free. Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/directors-essay-prize-lecture-tickets-991483512877?aff=ebdsshcopyurl&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile&utm-share-source=organizer-profile. Categories: Lectures & Discussions.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. The Six Women Who Married Henry VIII
Resident Associate Program
The six wives of Henry VIII are collectively famous (and infamous) in song and story. But who were they as individuals? And how did they make their ways into the sextet? Tudor scholar Carol Ann Lloyd-Stanger examines each queen to unpack the legends and rumors that have clouded our understanding of them and provides new perspectives on what they contributed to court life and to history.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261205?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261205?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
CulturalDC Mobile Art Gallery
One-Time Events
Presented in partnership with CulturalDC
Murjoni Merriweather’s installation in the Mobile Art Gallery will be an immersive experience exploring the artist’s personal experiences with growth, patience, and self-care. Connecting with the spiritual and symbolic nature of our planet, Murjoni will cover the gallery floor in soil. Her clay sculptures will be lifted, appearing to grow from mounds of earth. The space will include an interactive space with an opportunity to dig in the dirt and discover hidden items to inspire self-reflection.
This exhibition is a story of growth. It pushes the boundaries of her work outside of the traditional bust, taking her work out of the white walls of a conventional gallery into an environment created for the individuals her sculptures represent, intended to invoke self-reflection and calm.
Gallery Hours: WED - SUN 12PM - 5 PM*
*Closed for lunch 1-1:30 PM.
Venue: Anacostia Community Museum. Event Location: 1901 Fort Place SE. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Gallery Talks & Tours. Lectures & Discussions.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 10:00 AM – 3:00 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.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 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 16, 2024, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
National Fossil Day at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
One-Time Events
Save the date for some fossil fun on Wednesday, October 16!
Celebrate National Fossil Day with real fossils and free, family-friendly activities in the museum’s Hall of Fossils – Deep Time. Scientists and educators from the Smithsonian will be on hand to welcome families and anyone interested in exploring Earth’s deep past. No registration required. Visitors can: Touch and hold real fossils , Observe experts at work in the FossiLab , Get up-close to the Nation’s T. rex , And more!
Image Information (credit): Protostega gigas, a Cretaceous sea turtle (Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution).
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, David H. Koch Hall of Fossils - Deep Time. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 10:00 AM – 2:00 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 16, 2024, 10:15 AM – 3:15 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.
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 16, 2024, 10:15 AM – 11:15 AM.
Ocean Topics Cart Chat
One-Time Events
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.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
Big Objects, Big Stories: Southern Railway Car No. 1200
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: Objects connect us to people, places, and stories. 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. Join a docent for a 15 minute exploration of Southern Railway No. 1200, a railroad passenger car from the "Jim Crow" era.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: The program meets at the Southern Railway Car No. 1200, Level C2. Talks take place at: 11:00 AM and 12:00 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 16, 2024, 11:00 AM – 12:15 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.
Event Location: Starts at the Information Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: FREE. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
An Introduction to Watercolor: Loose and Beautiful - In Person
Resident Associate Program
Discover the versatility and fluidity of painting in watercolor, an exciting and unpredictable medium. Learn techniques such as graded washes, wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, dry brush, splattering, lifting, and glazing.
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/261847?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: Workshops.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM.
Poetry Workshop: Phillis Wheatley - On Self-Evidence
One-Time Events
Exploring the writing style of the first African American published poet, Phillis Wheatley, we will employ argumentation, imagery, and characterization to articulate our value... to ourselves and others. The workshop will be led by international slam poetry champion, Anthony McPherson. McPherson's work incorporates various art forms, as well as a myriad of character impressions, to address race, art, and his own biracial identity. He's appeared on Button Poetry, in HuffPost, and Upworthy, and has reached over ten million views since his first viral poem, "All Lives Matter: 1800's Edition.".
Event Location: Online. Cost: Free. Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrc-CorTIiGdFocQ6ZmYHt5azrKiNMPrgc. Categories: Workshops. Webcasts & Online.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 12:00 PM – 1:00 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.
The public can schedule reserved group tours using the online reservation form.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 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.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
In-Focus Tour | An Epic of Kings: The Great Mongol Shahnama
Gallery Talks & Tours
Enjoy a twenty-minute guided tour that closely examines monumental and boldly illustrated pages from one of the most celebrated medieval Persian manuscripts, the Great Mongol Shahnama. Immerse yourself in stories from Iran’s national epic, written in the eleventh century, and learn how artists three hundred years later interpreted this famed literary work. Accessibility: The public elevator in the West Building (Freer Gallery of Art) is out of service, so your route to the event location may take a few more minutes than usual. Use the accessible entrance at the corner of Independence Avenue and 12th Street SW, and follow the directions when you arrive. Get more accessibility details. Image: Ardashir and his wife (detail), folio from the Great Mongol Shahnama, Iran, probably Tabriz, Ilkhanid dynasty, ca. 1330, ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection, Purchase—Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian…
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Gallery 23, Gallery 24. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: An Epic of Kings: The Great Mongol Shahnama.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 2:00 PM – 2:20 PM.
See Me at the Smithsonian - National Postal Museum
See Me at the Smithsonian
See Me at the Smithsonian (See Me) is a free, virtual interactive program for adults with dementia and their care partners. During each event, pre-registered participants (12-15 people) explore some of the Smithsonian’s most beloved objects through small group discussions and multi-sensory activities.
Contact Access@si.edu to RSVP.
Event Location: Zoom. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Captioning.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
In-Focus Tour | An Epic of Kings: The Great Mongol Shahnama
Gallery Talks & Tours
Enjoy a twenty-minute guided tour that closely examines monumental and boldly illustrated pages from one of the most celebrated medieval Persian manuscripts, the Great Mongol Shahnama. Immerse yourself in stories from Iran’s national epic, written in the eleventh century, and learn how artists three hundred years later interpreted this famed literary work. Accessibility: The public elevator in the West Building (Freer Gallery of Art) is out of service, so your route to the event location may take a few more minutes than usual. Use the accessible entrance at the corner of Independence Avenue and 12th Street SW, and follow the directions when you arrive. Get more accessibility details. Image: Ardashir and his wife (detail), folio from the Great Mongol Shahnama, Iran, probably Tabriz, Ilkhanid dynasty, ca. 1330, ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection, Purchase—Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian…
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Gallery 23, Gallery 24. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: An Epic of Kings: The Great Mongol Shahnama.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 2:45 PM – 3:05 PM.
Poetry Workshop: Phillis Wheatley - On Self-Evidence
One-Time Events
Exploring the writing style of the first African American published poet, Phillis Wheatley, we will employ argumentation, imagery, and characterization to articulate our value... to ourselves and others. The workshop will be led by international slam poetry champion, Anthony McPherson. McPherson's work incorporates various art forms, as well as a myriad of character impressions, to address race, art, and his own biracial identity. He's appeared on Button Poetry, in HuffPost, and Upworthy, and has reached over ten million views since his first viral poem, "All Lives Matter: 1800's Edition.".
Event Location: Online. Cost: Free. Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYtfumgrjIuE9SsodWK6FqbZ-b6W17nY6tw. Categories: Workshops. Webcasts & Online. After Five.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM.
Introduction to Music Theory with Conductor Ernest Johnson
Resident Associate Program
If you’ve always wanted to learn the language and elements of musical notation and composition this 8-session interactive online course led by music educator and conductor Ernest Johnson offers the perfect opportunity. He guides exercises and assignments geared to developing the foundation every musician needs: the aural and visual understanding of pitch, rhythm, harmony, and form.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261478?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261478?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
The Photo Essay - In Person
Resident Associate Program
Learn how to create a photo essay, a set of photographs that tell a story or evoke a series of emotions. Homework assignments are designed to encourage students to explore their interests.
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/261279?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 16, 2024, 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM.
A Journey Through Fantastic Realms
Resident Associate Program
Over the past half century, dwarves, hobbits, magic, dragons, runes, and other staples of fantastic realms have become entrenched in popular culture, from The Lord of the Rings to the Harry Potter series. There are substantive historical inspirations behind these phenomena. Historian Justin M. Jacobs discusses the evolving conceptions of fantastic elements in Eurasian history and lays bare the truth behind what he sees as four distorted myths of fantasy in our culture in this fall series. This session focuses on elves, dwarves, and hobbits.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261166?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261166?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: After Five. Workshops.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM.
How Bookworms Beat the Nazis: The Unlikely Spies of the OSS
Resident Associate Program
At the start of World War II, the newly formed Office of Strategic Services, a precursor to today’s CIA, turned to academia to fill its ranks with experts. Suddenly, literature professors, librarians, and historians were training to perform undercover operations and investigative work. Historian Elyse Graham profiles the unlikely spies who helped lay the foundations of modern intelligence and transformed American higher education when they returned after the war.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261479?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261479?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 6:45 PM – 8:00 PM.
New York's Yiddish Theater: An Audience Becomes Americans
Resident Associate Program
The vibrant world of Yiddish theater that flourished in the late-19th to the mid-20th century on Manhattan’s Lower East Side reflected the lives, desires, and dreams of newly arrived Jewish immigrants, primarily of Eastern and Central European origins. Nancy Friedland examines why the movement was exceptional in its scope; its influence on the American theater and entertainment industry; and the essential role it played for an immigrant population making its way in the United States.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261445?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261445?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM.
Portrait Painting in Oil and Acrylic
Resident Associate Program
Learn how to paint expressive portraits as you improve your observational skills, ability to see angles and shapes, and understanding of color and value. The class emphasizes how to define a subject’s unique features by determining shapes of light and shadow.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261280?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261280?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM.
Designing for Rest and Reflection
One-Time Events
In celebration of the Reclaiming My Time exhibition, the Museum will host a roundtable discussion featuring designers from the exhibition, including Rachelle Baker, Stephen Burks, Sheila Bridges, and others. Washington Post culture critic Robin Givhan will moderate a conversation examining their creative philosophies, practices, and goals, as well as topics such as curating one’s domestic environment, interior design, and the creation of spaces for rest and restoration.
Image: Gail Anderson, Reclaiming My Time, 2018, Ink on paper, Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Gail Anderson, © Gail Anderson.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Concourse, Oprah Winfrey Theater + streaming. Online Link: https://www.youtube.com/@NMAAHC/streams. Cost: Free; Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/30112498. Categories: After Five. Lectures & Discussions. Webcasts & Online. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
CANCELLED- Little Critters: Nature Play
NZP Kids and Families
Little Critters is getting ready to fly south for the winter! We appreciate your patience as we settle to roost in our new location in the Think Tank Classroom. What is Little Critters: Nature Play?
Bring your little zoogoer for a wild time as we explore animals and nature through creative, drop-in 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.
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 17, 2024, 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit nationalzoo.si.edu. CulturalDC Mobile Art Gallery
One-Time Events
Presented in partnership with CulturalDC
Murjoni Merriweather’s installation in the Mobile Art Gallery will be an immersive experience exploring the artist’s personal experiences with growth, patience, and self-care. Connecting with the spiritual and symbolic nature of our planet, Murjoni will cover the gallery floor in soil. Her clay sculptures will be lifted, appearing to grow from mounds of earth. The space will include an interactive space with an opportunity to dig in the dirt and discover hidden items to inspire self-reflection.
This exhibition is a story of growth. It pushes the boundaries of her work outside of the traditional bust, taking her work out of the white walls of a conventional gallery into an environment created for the individuals her sculptures represent, intended to invoke self-reflection and calm.
Gallery Hours: WED - SUN 12PM - 5 PM*
*Closed for lunch 1-1:30 PM.
Venue: Anacostia Community Museum. Event Location: 1901 Fort Place SE. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Gallery Talks & Tours. Lectures & Discussions.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 10:00 AM – 3:00 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.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 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 17, 2024, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Abstract Watercolor: The Next Level
Resident Associate Program
Through various exercises, students gain mastery over their technique, tools, and use of color while experimenting with mixed-media additions of their choice. Students develop their own visual language while formulating a focused idea for a cohesive series, which is worked on during the course of the class.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261281?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261281?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
Landscape Elements in Watercolor
Resident Associate Program
Gain confidence in your ability to paint important natural elements in watercolor. Demonstrations and exercises introduce techniques for creating flowing landscapes.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261963?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/261963?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 17, 2024, 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 17, 2024, 10:15 AM – 3:15 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 & Freedom exhibition, located on C3. One hour tours take place at 10:15 AM and 11:30 AM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Slavery and Freedom.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 10:15 AM – 12:30 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.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM.
NMAAHC Kids Connect: Costumes Galore!
One-Time Events
Designed for children ages 3-8
Come connect with history and culture through art and play at the National Museum of African American History and Culture! This month we explore the colorful costumes of Black performers, musicians, artists and style icons and create our own unique headwear.
Register now to join us on the museum’s 4th floor (L4) Thursdays between 11am to 1pm to learn, play and create with museum educators!
Questions? Email the NMAAHC Kids team at NMAAHCEarlyChildhood@si.edu.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: 4th Floor. Cost: FREE. Registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/35783631/nmaahc-kids-connectcostumes-galore-washington-national-museum-of-african-american-history-culture-early-childhood-education. Categories: Kids & Families.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Sketch Break
One-Time Events
Join us for a sketching session in our galleries! Create, connect and sketch with fellow artists while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collection. Participants can expect guided instruction from an artist educator before heading into the galleries to sketch on their own. Open to all skill levels, ages 18 and up. All materials will be provided. Participants are welcome to bring their own sketchbooks.
Event Location: In the Galleries. Cost: Free. Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-sketch-break-tickets-880961779397?aff=ebdsoporgprofile. Categories: Workshops.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 11:30 AM – 1:30 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.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Uncovering Our Past: Using Genomes to Understand Human Evolutionary History
One-Time Events
DNA holds the story of our ancestors. The historical signatures of our past such as population mixtures, contractions, and expansions, as well as diseases and natural selection, have left traces in our genomes. Advances in sequencing present-day and ancient DNA have opened up unprecedented opportunities to use genetic data to better understand human biology and disease.
One of the most striking findings from genomic studies in the past decade is the discovery of gene flow from archaic hominins––Neanderthals and Denisovans––into the ancestors of modern humans.
Priya Moorjani, Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology in the Center for Computational Biology at University of California, Berkeley, will explore how we can utilize the genomes of thousands of contemporary individuals to characterize the legacy of archaic ancestry in modern humans. These analyses highlight the power of genomic data to illuminate our evolutionary history and answer enduring questions about human origins and…
Event Location: Online; Internet connection required. Cost: Free; Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/48161134/uncovering-our-pastusing-genomes-to-understand-human-evolutionary-history-washington-national-museum-of-natural-history. Categories: Webcasts & Online. Accessibility: Captioning.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
For more info visit www.etix.com. Peacock Room Shutters Open
National Museum of Asian Art
Third Thursday of every month.
Free, no registration required.
See the Peacock Room in a whole new light! Please join us for a beloved NMAA tradition: our third Thursday opening of the Peacock Room shutters. Experience this unique masterwork of art and design in a whole new way as natural light reveals details of James McNeill Whistler's painted interior and accents the gleaming surfaces of Charles Lang Freer's collection of Asian ceramics.
The shutters are open from noon to 5:30 p.m. every third Thursday of each month.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Freer gallery 12 (Peacock Room). Cost: Free. Categories: Demonstrations. Gallery Talks & Tours.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 12:00 PM – 5:30 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 17, 2024, 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.
The public can schedule reserved group tours using the online reservation form.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 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/261282?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261282?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 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 2:30 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.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 1:15 PM – 3:30 PM.
Making A Way Out of No Way Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Learn about the ways in which African Americans created possibilities in a world that denied them opportunities. On this docent led tour visitors will reflect on the perseverance, resourcefulness, and resilience required by African Americans to survive and thrive in America.
Photo Credit: NMAAHC.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets in the Making A Way Out of No Way exhibition, L3. Each 1-hour tour takes place at 1:30 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: Making A Way Out of No Way.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 1:30 PM – 3:45 PM.
Altered Books
Resident Associate Program
Create your own story as you learn to upcycle book pages as surfaces for drawing, painting, and collage using gelatin plate prints, textures, photo transfers, drawing, painting, and text redaction.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261283?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261283?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM.
In-Focus Tour | Tibetan Shrine Room
Gallery Talks & Tours
Immerse yourself in the contemplative ambiance of the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room with a twenty-minute docent-led talk. The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room contains more than two hundred objects, including bronzes, paintings, silk hangings, and carpets, that were created in Tibet, China, and Mongolia between the thirteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Please meet at gallery 26 for this tour. Learn more about the Tibetan Shrine Room. Image: The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room at the National Museum of Asian Art. Image ©️ John Bigelow Taylor.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Gallery 26 (Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room). Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Tibetan Shrine Room. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 2:00 PM – 2:20 PM.
Science on a Sphere
One-Time Events
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.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM.
In-Focus Tour | Tibetan Shrine Room
Gallery Talks & Tours
Immerse yourself in the contemplative ambiance of the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room with a twenty-minute docent-led talk. The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room contains more than two hundred objects, including bronzes, paintings, silk hangings, and carpets, that were created in Tibet, China, and Mongolia between the thirteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Please meet at gallery 26 for this tour. Learn more about the Tibetan Shrine Room. Image: The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room at the National Museum of Asian Art. Image ©️ John Bigelow Taylor.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Gallery 26 (Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room). Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Tibetan Shrine Room. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 2:45 PM – 3:05 PM.
Virtual Tour | Encounter Buddhist Art
Gallery Talks & Tours
Encounter the beauty and diversity of Buddhist religious art across Asia in this online tour. Follow the journey of Buddhist art throughout the continent, from Buddhism’s origins in India and Nepal to its eventual arrival in Japan and Indonesia. A museum docent will lead this tour of the National Museum of Asian Art's extensive collection of Buddhist art.
Learn about our other virtual tours. Image credit: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1949.9a–d.
Event Location: Zoom. Cost: Free. Register in advance (required). Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_eSpM86nqSZy1PpNt9KorTQ. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Webcasts & Online. Accessibility: Captioning.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Handi-hour
One-Time Events
Jump into fall with autumnal crafts at the Renwick Gallery! Design your own paper pumpkin decorations and enjoy cider and beer provided by ANXO. Light snacks, crafting materials, two drinks, and after-hours access to the second-floor galleries are included in the price of the ticket.
Attendees must be 21+ to attend and show a valid ID at the door. Please note space is limited for this program and registration is required. Tickets are $25 and available beginning October 3.Image credit: Photo by Norwood Photography.
Event Location: Renwick Gallery, Rubenstein Grand Salon. Cost: Tickets: $25 | Registration required
Attendees must be 21+ to attend and show a valid ID at the door. Please note space is limited for this program and registration is required. Tickets are $25. Get Tickets/Register: https://events.blackthorn.io/5f4ZMUx7/4a2bVRrS31. Categories: After Five.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM.
Revolutionary Love Tour with Valarie Kaur & Friends
Performances
This event is free. Register in advance to make sure you get the best experience. Join the standby line for remaining seats on the day of the event. The standby line opens at 5:45 p.m.
Join visionary civil rights leader Valarie Kaur in an immersive experience of storytelling, music, song, ancestral wisdom, and community building. We invite you into a space for soulful introspection, deep listening, and courageous action. Each stop uplifts local leaders, artists, and advocates who catalyze hope. You will leave with the tools needed to lead with love and courage in your daily life.
At the heart of every event, Valarie and fellow artists tell stories of how their ancestors survived seemingly apocalyptic times. Together, we explore how each of us can walk the path of love, healing, and justice. Featuring raag-based kirtan by celebrated Sikh woman artist Jasvir Kaur, and renowned trumpeter and artist Sonny Singh performing from his new album, Sage Warrior, accompanied by Qais Essar.
Following the performance,…
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/revolutionary-love-tour-with-valarie-kaur-friends-tickets-1001570162317?aff=oddtdtcreator. Categories: Performances. Shopping/Book Signing. After Five. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Resident Associate Program
The autobiographical Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, a combination of memoir and treatise on abolition, charts Douglass’ escape from the horrors of slavery to his life as a key member of the anti-slavery movement. Joseph Luzzi, professor of literature at Bard College, explores the book’s literary elements and themes, including Douglass’ brilliant ideas on religion, morality, education, and freedom.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261155?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261155?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM.
10th Annual Food History Gala featuring the presentation of the Julia Child Award to Alice Waters
One-Time Events
Join us for the tenth annual presentation of the Julia Child Award and help support the Smithsonian Food History Project! The highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the Julia Child Award by The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts to this year's recipient, Alice Waters.
Waters is widely known for her groundbreaking farm-to-table restaurant, Chez Panisse, established in Berkeley, CA, in 1971, and for creating the Edible Schoolyard program, a national movement dedicated to food education.
As we gather for the 10th annual Gala, we not only celebrate a decade of culinary excellence but also recognize the pivotal role the Food History Project plays in fostering a deeper appreciation for the cultural significance of what we eat. Your presence at the Gala supports the ongoing efforts to preserve, document, and share these culinary narratives, ensuring that our rich food history continues to be a source of inspiration for our millions of annual visitors.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Flag Hall, 2 Center. Cost: Tickets $600. Get Tickets/Register: https://americanhistory.si.edu/events/series/food-history-weekend/gala. Categories: After Five. Culinary Arts. Celebrations. Related Exhibition: FOOD: Transforming the American Table.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 6:30 PM – 10:30 PM.
For more info visit americanhistory.si.edu. An Evening With Paleoartist Jay Matternes and Author Richard Milner
One-Time Events
Intricate murals from a team of international paleoartists help give context to the incredible specimens displayed in the National Museum of Natural History’s “David H. Koch Hall of Fossils - Deep Time.” These artists owe a debt to American painter and naturalist Jay Matternes whose works have long been featured at our museum and in museums and publications that have reached a global audience. Jay’s talents help bring prehistoric creatures and their environments to life in vivid detail and with great accuracy. Now, Matternes’s contributions to art and science are being celebrated in a new book. Authored by Richard Milner, Jay Matternes: Paleoartist and Wildlife Painter, examines his entire career and features many works never before published. Celebrate National Fossil Day after hours this year with short talks from both Milner and Matternes, followed by a conversation with Sant Director Kirk Johnson. Copies of Jay Matternes: Paleoartist and Wildlife Painter will be available for purchase and signing after…
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: National Museum of Natural History (Ground Floor). Cost: Free; registration is required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/92731060/an-evening-with-paleoartist-jay-matternes-and-author-richard-milner-washington-national-museum-of-natural-history. Categories: After Five. Lectures & Discussions. Films. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 6:30 PM – 8:15 PM.
For more info visit www.etix.com. Collage and Mixed Media
Resident Associate Program
Students are introduced to the materials, tools, and technologies used in collage and assemblage, finding inspiration in artists who worked in collage, including Joseph Cornell, Romare Bearden, and Gertrude Greene.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261285?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261285?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Color Theory and Practice
Resident Associate Program
Explore the basics of color theory, including temperature, value, and harmony-creating color schemes. In hands-on projects, learn to use a color wheel with tinting and toning, color charts, and color harmony studies.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261284?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261284?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
The Golden Ratio: An Astonishing Number
Resident Associate Program
What do sunflowers, Salvador Dali’s painting The Sacrament of the Last Supper, and black holes have in common? They share characteristics described by a curious irrational number, which approximates to 1.618. Known since antiquity as the Golden Ratio, or Phi, it has come to represent the proportions of ideally pleasing geometrical structures. Astrophysicist Mario Livio separates the myth from the math to bring this remarkable number to life.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261206?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261206?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM.
CulturalDC Mobile Art Gallery
One-Time Events
Presented in partnership with CulturalDC
Murjoni Merriweather’s installation in the Mobile Art Gallery will be an immersive experience exploring the artist’s personal experiences with growth, patience, and self-care. Connecting with the spiritual and symbolic nature of our planet, Murjoni will cover the gallery floor in soil. Her clay sculptures will be lifted, appearing to grow from mounds of earth. The space will include an interactive space with an opportunity to dig in the dirt and discover hidden items to inspire self-reflection.
This exhibition is a story of growth. It pushes the boundaries of her work outside of the traditional bust, taking her work out of the white walls of a conventional gallery into an environment created for the individuals her sculptures represent, intended to invoke self-reflection and calm.
Gallery Hours: WED - SUN 12PM - 5 PM*
*Closed for lunch 1-1:30 PM.
Venue: Anacostia Community Museum. Event Location: 1901 Fort Place SE. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Gallery Talks & Tours. Lectures & Discussions.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 10:00 AM – 3:00 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 18, 2024, 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 18, 2024, 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.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 10:15 AM – 3:15 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 10:15 AM and 11:30 AM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Slavery and Freedom.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 10:15 AM – 12:30 PM.
Aquatic Insights: Exploring the Vital Signs of the Ocean
One-Time Events
Join us for an enlightening session where Knauss Fellows take center stage, presenting cutting-edge ocean data using NOAA's innovative Science on a Sphere. This impressive 6-foot globe illuminates the room with over 600 dynamic datasets, transforming complex information into an engaging visual experience. Don’t miss this chance to witness the intersection of technology, data, and policy through the eyes of the next generation of ocean leaders.
Presented by:
Alfonso Macias Tapia, NOAA Science on a Sphere
Juan Pablo Hurtado, NOAA Science on a Sphere
Karlee Liddy, NOAA Knauss Fellow
Gabriella Giordano, NOAA Knauss Fellow
D'amy Steward, NOAA Knauss Fellow
Gabby Hillyer, NOAA Knauss Fellow
Emily Nocito, NOAA Knauss Fellow
Katrina Lewandowski, NOAA Knauss Fellow
Raquel Gilliland, NOAA Knauss Fellow
Kyla Kelly, NOAA Knauss Fellow.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, The Sant Ocean Hall, Science on a Sphere exhibit. Cost: Free and open to the public. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Events: This event repeats at 2:00 p.m. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Protecting the Southern Ocean
One-Time Events
Ever wonder how (and what!) we protect Antarctica, especially when no one really lives there full-time? You’ll learn about what we protect in Antarctica and how different countries come together to do so!
Presented by: Dr. Emily Nocito, Marine Scientist, Knauss Fellow, NOAA Research
Photo credit: Chris Cheng and Paul Czik.
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.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Hibiscus Tea: A Drink for Independence
One-Time Events
Toni Tipton-Martin will prepare a recipe of Sorrel (Hibiscus) Tea from her book Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking (Clarkson-Potter, 2019). She will describe the history of the drink in Jamaica and its cultural meaning as the unofficial beverage of Juneteenth, the celebration of emancipation from slavery in Texas, which took place on June 19, 1865—more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had gone into effect in the rest of the nation.
Presenter: Toni Tipton-Martin, award-winning author and food journalist, and recipient of the 2021 Julia Child Award
Hosts: Jessica Carbone, PhD, Food historian and contributing editor to SAVEUR and Joanne Hyppolite, PhD, Supervisory Curator of the African Diaspora, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Book signing: Following the presentation, Toni Tipton-Martin will sign copies of her books.
The museum is located on the National Mall at Constitution Avenue, N.W. between 12th and 14th Streets,…
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wallace H. Coulter Performance Plaza, 1 Center. Cost: Free, registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hibiscus-tea-a-drink-for-independence-tickets-995536665967?aff=trumba. Categories: Culinary Arts. Demonstrations. Lectures & Discussions. Shopping/Book Signing. Related Exhibition: FOOD: Transforming the American Table. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. ASL-interpreted program.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 11:30 AM – 12:15 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.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Gallery Talk: Alberto Giacometti in Revolutions
One time events
Dr. Elke Seibert, a scholar of modern European art and a renowned authority on Alberto Giacometti, brings her extensive knowledge to an in-depth exploration of the Swiss sculptor and painter’s work. The Hirshhorn holds more than 30 of his artworks, 11 of them now on view in Revolutions: Art from the Hirshhorn Collection, 1860–1960. In conversation with Hirshhorn curator Betsy Johnson, Seibert will contextualize Giacometti’s work within the broader revolutionary movements of the 20th century.
This program is presented in partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland in the United States of America. ABOUT THE SPEAKER, Elke Seibert is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Cultural Department of Canton Nidwalden, Switzerland, specializing in the interdisciplinary study of the reception of architecture and contemporary and fine art from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Previously, Dr. Seibert served as an independent curator in Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland and as a collection specialist and lecturer at the…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden. Event Location: Second Level. Cost: FREE. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Revolutions: Art from the Hirshhorn Collection, 1860–1960. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.si.edu. 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: Hishikawa Sori / Landscape: two of the four seasons; autumn and winter, Japan, late 18th–early 19th century, color, ink, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art Collection, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1906.234.
Event Location: Online. Online Link: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvd-mupzgsH9KiG0Rq9KAesV_b_tLG8R6N. Cost: Free; registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvd-mupzgsH9KiG0Rq9KAesV_b_tLG8R6N. Categories: Workshops. Webcasts & Online. Related Events: Meditation and Mindfulness (Online).
Friday, October 18, 2024, 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM.
Spicing up an Iconic Kitchen: Sharing Ribs with Julia Child in 1995
One-Time Events
Chef Rick Bayless will prepare a dish from his book Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen, a dish he prepared with Julia Child in her home kitchen for the television series, In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs (1995). He will discuss costillas adobadas, a chile-glazed country rib recipe he made with Julia, and share his memories of that experience, and more.
Presenter: Rick Bayless, chef, television host, cookbook author, humanitarian, and recipient of the 2016 Julia Child Award
Hosts: L. Steven Velasquez, curator of Latino History and Culture, Division of Home and Community Life, National Museum of American History
The museum is located on the National Mall at Constitution Avenue, N.W. between 12th and 14th Streets, Washington, D.C.
The museum is accessible via the Smithsonian- National Mall and Federal Triangle Metro stations on the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines.
Museum entrances are located on Constitution Avenue on the first floor and Madison Drive (National Mall) on the second floor. There may be a…
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wallace H. Coulter Performance Plaza, 1 Center. Cost: Free, registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spicing-up-an-iconic-kitchen-sharing-ribs-with-julia-child-in-1995-tickets-1007749665377?aff=trumba. Categories: Culinary Arts. Demonstrations. Lectures & Discussions. Shopping/Book Signing. Related Exhibition: FOOD: Transforming the American Table. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. ASL-interpreted program.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 12:30 PM – 1:15 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Portrait Gallery Art Studio
One-Time Events
Calling all artists! Join the National Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collection and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise in various artistic disciplines. 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. Categories: Workshops. Kids & Families.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 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.
The public can schedule reserved group tours using the online reservation form.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Cultivating Community, Honoring Traditions, and Nourishing the Future
One-Time Events
Alice Waters and Sean Sherman are owners of influential and iconic restaurants (Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, and Owamni, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, respectively) that reflect their deeply held values regarding food production, activism, and health. They have also founded distinctive educational organizations (Edible Schoolyard and NATIFS, respectively) that bring people together to share knowledge of traditional foodways and community empowerment through food. Danielle Nierenberg, co-founder of Food Tank, will moderate a wide-ranging discussion among these two giants in the field of food history and culture.
Participants: Alice Waters, chef, author, food activist, restaurateur, and 2024 recipient of the Julia Child Award
Sean Sherman, chef, founder and executive director NATIFS (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems), founder and CEO The Sioux Chef and Owamni by The Sioux Chef, and recipient of the 2023 Julia Child Award
Moderator: Danielle Nierenberg, president and co-founder, Food…
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wallace H. Coulter Performance Plaza, 1 Center. Cost: Free, registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cultivating-community-honoring-traditions-and-nourishing-the-future-tickets-1007763205877?aff=trumba. Categories: Culinary Arts. Lectures & Discussions. Related Exhibition: FOOD: Transforming the American Table. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. ASL-interpreted program.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 1:30 PM – 2:15 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. DC | Guided Gallery Tours
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Experience one of the museum's major exhibitions currently on view—Americans or Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations—with a guided tour led by a knowledgeable museum educator. Join fellow visitors to dive deeper into the content and have your questions answered. These walk-in tours include a brief overview of the museum’s mission, history, and even the building itself. Tours are subject to availability and may be canceled without prior notice.
Venue: American Indian Museum DC. Event Location: Level 1, meet in the Potomac Atrium. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Americans; Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 1:30 PM – 2:15 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: Wheelchair accessible. Assisted listening devices.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM.
Aquatic Insights: Exploring the Vital Signs of the Ocean
One-Time Events
Join us for an enlightening session where Knauss Fellows take center stage, presenting cutting-edge ocean data using NOAA's innovative Science on a Sphere. This impressive 6-foot globe illuminates the room with over 600 dynamic datasets, transforming complex information into an engaging visual experience. Don’t miss this chance to witness the intersection of technology, data, and policy through the eyes of the next generation of ocean leaders.
Presented by:
Alfonso Macias Tapia, NOAA Science on a Sphere
Juan Pablo Hurtado, NOAA Science on a Sphere
Karlee Liddy, NOAA Knauss Fellow
Gabriella Giordano, NOAA Knauss Fellow
D'amy Steward, NOAA Knauss Fellow
Gabby Hillyer, NOAA Knauss Fellow
Emily Nocito, NOAA Knauss Fellow
Katrina Lewandowski, NOAA Knauss Fellow
Raquel Gilliland, NOAA Knauss Fellow
Kyla Kelly, NOAA Knauss Fellow.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, The Sant Ocean Hall, Science on a Sphere exhibit. Cost: Free and open to the public. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
In-Focus Tour | Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork
Gallery Talks & Tours
Closely examine a few Japanese masterpieces of hammered metalwork during a twenty-minute tour led by our docents. Learn how metalwork artists skillfully combine tradition with creativity and innovation, and get a taste of the largest collection of contemporary Japanese metalworks in the United States.
Please meet at gallery 22 for this tour. Learn more about Striking Objects. Image: Vessel, titled Wave Crests (Namiho), Ōsumi Yukie (b. 1945), Japan, Heisei era, 2008, hammered silver with nunomezõgan (textile imprint inlay) in lead and gold, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Bequest of Shirley Z. Johnson, S2022.8.32a–d.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Gallery 22. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 2:00 PM – 2:20 PM.
The Future for Women in Food
One-Time Events
Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken were among the first women to conceptualize, own, and operate their own restaurant, beginning with City Café in Los Angeles, in 1981. Their innovative ideas helped grow their business and expand their influence into food television and community advocacy for women chefs, LGBTQ rights, and global gastrodiplomacy. Join a discussion with these two remarkable women whose perspectives on changes in the food world can help us understand the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
Participants: Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, co-chefs and owners, Border Grill, and co-recipients of the Julia Child Award in 2018
Host: Anthea M. Hartig, Ph.D. Elizabeth MacMillan Director, Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
Moderator: Danielle Nierenberg, president and co-founder, Food Tank, and 2020 recipient of the Julia Child Award
The museum is located on the National Mall at Constitution Avenue, N.W. between 12th and 14th Streets, Washington, D.C.
The museum is…
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wallace H. Coulter Performance Plaza, 1 Center. Cost: Free, registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-future-for-women-in-food-tickets-1009258919597?aff=trumba. Categories: Culinary Arts. Lectures & Discussions. Related Exhibition: FOOD: Transforming the American Table. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. ASL-interpreted program.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 2:30 PM – 3:15 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. In-Focus Tour | Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork
Gallery Talks & Tours
Closely examine a few Japanese masterpieces of hammered metalwork during a twenty-minute tour led by our docents. Learn how metalwork artists skillfully combine tradition with creativity and innovation, and get a taste of the largest collection of contemporary Japanese metalworks in the United States.
Please meet at gallery 22 for this tour. Learn more about Striking Objects. Image: Vessel, titled Wave Crests (Namiho), Ōsumi Yukie (b. 1945), Japan, Heisei era, 2008, hammered silver with nunomezõgan (textile imprint inlay) in lead and gold, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Bequest of Shirley Z. Johnson, S2022.8.32a–d.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Gallery 22. Cost: Free. No registration or tickets (walk-up only). Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 2:45 PM – 3:05 PM.
Conservation Cart Talk | Structure of a Chinese Hanging Scroll
Gallery Talks & Tours
Have you ever wondered what a Chinese hanging scroll is made from? Join one of our Chinese painting conservators to find out! Explore the components of a hanging scroll and the practical thinking involved in selecting mounting materials. Plus, you can see and touch the tools and materials used to mount and conserve Chinese paintings. Accessibility: The public elevator in the West Building (Freer Gallery of Art) is out of service, so your route to the event location may take a few more minutes than usual. Use the accessible entrance at the corner of Independence Avenue and 12th Street SW, and follow the directions when you arrive. Get more accessibility details. Image credit: National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Department of Conservation and Scientific Research.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Gallery 13. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. Assisted listening devices.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
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, sponsored by Mars Wrigley Confectionery, is back Oct. 18, 19 and 20, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Grab your best costume and enjoy the season’s festivities while stopping at 30 trick-or-treat stations. Plus, feast your eyes on the Zoo’s amazing animals as they interact with jack-o'-lanterns and other spellbinding Halloween-themed enrichment. Outside the animal exhibits, enjoy spooky scenes of frolicking skeletons and other fantastic creatures haunting the Zoo’s main walkway.
Tickets include special after-hours access for animal viewing at the Elephant Community Center, Small Mammal House and Reptile Discovery Center, plus a souvenir tote bag for gathering up goodies from trick-or-treat stations around the Zoo.
Want more Halloween magic? Members get early entry to Boo at the Zoo at 5 p.m. Become a member today!
Venue: National Zoo. Event Location: Throughout the Zoo. Cost: $25 for members, $35 for non-members
$30 parking per vehicle. Get Tickets/Register: https://secure.nationalzoo.si.edu/account/login?returnurl=/overview/boo-at-the-zoo-2024&_gl=1*1tk4l3n*_gcl_au*MTM0MzA2MTU2NC4xNzI0NzY5MjYy*_ga*MjAwNTAwNjQwMy4xNzE0NTAyMTAy*_ga_FZ22Y9JDR2*MTcyNDc2OTI2MS45LjAuMTcyNDc2OTMzMy4wLjAuMA.. Categories: After Five. Celebrations. Kids & Families.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 6:00 PM – Sunday, October 20, 2024, 8:30 PM.
For more info visit nationalzoo.si.edu. Wines of the Southern Hemisphere Part 3: Perfect Pairings For The Holidays
Resident Associate Program
With so many flavors and endless possibilities, the wines of the Southern Hemisphere are particularly well equipped to pair with classic and modern holiday dishes. This delicious seminar with sommelier Erik Segelbaum explores how to select and pair wines like a professional sommelier to make every seasonal meal memorable.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261489?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261489?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
Al Roker and Courtney Roker Laga: Recipes to Live By
Resident Associate Program
The millions who watch Al Roker daily on “The Today Show” know that he’s a home chef who regularly posts his latest meals on social media and that his daughter, Courtney Roker Laga, is a chef by training. Together, they’ve gathered family recipes in Al Roker’s Recipes to Live By. In conversation with NBC News4 anchor Eun Yang, join dad and daughter as they discuss the food they enjoy as a family and what it was like to collaborate on a cookbook.
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/261519?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Categories: After Five. Culinary Arts.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM.
Only the River Flows
Films
Watch the Trailer
Based on Yu Hua’s popular novella Mistakes by the River, Wei Shujun’s “inventive riff on Asian-noir” (Jessica Kiang, Variety) has drawn comparisons to such illustrious company as Roman Polanski’s Chinatown, Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder, and David Fincher’s Zodiac. Soaked in moody noir atmospherics thanks to Chengma’s ingenious low-light cinematography, it tells the story of Ma Zhe (Yilong Zhu), a detective sent to a small town in 1990s China to investigate a gruesome murder. An obvious suspect is quickly jailed for the crime, but when a mysterious answering machine recording emerges, Ma becomes convinced that there’s more to the story and pursues his hunch to with an obsession bordering on madness.
(Dir.: Wei Shujun, China, 2023, 101 min. DCP, Mandarin with English subtitles), Accessibility: The public elevator in the West Building (Freer Gallery of Art) is out of service, so your route to the event location may take a few more minutes than usual. Use the accessible entrance at the…
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://chinanoir.eventive.org/films. Categories: Films. Accessibility: Captioning. Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, October 18, 2024, 7:00 PM – 8:45 PM.
Staunton, Shakespeare, and Steam: Fall in the Shenandoah Valley
Resident Associate Program
Nestled in the heart of scenic Shenandoah Valley, Staunton, Virginia, is alive with history, culture—and a little steam. Join Washington, D.C. area guide Lynn O’Connell for a weekend getaway that offers a sampling of Staunton’s sights plus a train excursion.
Event Location: Detailed information for overnight tours is mailed approximately FOUR WEEKS. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/260789?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 7:30 AM – Sunday, October 20, 2024, 7:30 PM.
Little Critters: Nature Play (Animal Poop)
NZP Kids and Families
Everybody poops, so let's learn about it! Join us for creative, drop-in play at the Zoo!
This week we will explore one of the most important tools zoo scientists use to keep our animals healthy: poop! We'll paint and make art with mud, pretend play as scientists, and make mud cupcakes together.
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 19, 2024, 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM.
For more info visit nationalzoo.si.edu. CulturalDC Mobile Art Gallery
One-Time Events
Presented in partnership with CulturalDC
Murjoni Merriweather’s installation in the Mobile Art Gallery will be an immersive experience exploring the artist’s personal experiences with growth, patience, and self-care. Connecting with the spiritual and symbolic nature of our planet, Murjoni will cover the gallery floor in soil. Her clay sculptures will be lifted, appearing to grow from mounds of earth. The space will include an interactive space with an opportunity to dig in the dirt and discover hidden items to inspire self-reflection.
This exhibition is a story of growth. It pushes the boundaries of her work outside of the traditional bust, taking her work out of the white walls of a conventional gallery into an environment created for the individuals her sculptures represent, intended to invoke self-reflection and calm.
Gallery Hours: WED - SUN 12PM - 5 PM*
*Closed for lunch 1-1:30 PM.
Venue: Anacostia Community Museum. Event Location: 1901 Fort Place SE. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Gallery Talks & Tours. Lectures & Discussions.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM.
Freshfarm ACM Farmstand
One-Time Events
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 20- November 23, 2024.*
The farm stand offers FreshMatch, FRESHFARM's incentive program, which provides a dollar-to-dollar match on all federal benefits (WIC and Senior and WIC FMNP) spent at the stand, helping shoppers take home more fresh and nutritious produce and local foods. The farm stand also accepts Produce Plus, a benefit program unique to Washington, DC, which provides locally grown, fresh produce to District residents with limited access to fresh, healthy food.
Park View Farms in Poolsville supplies the FRESHFARM ACM Farm Stand with their own homegrown produce and additional fruits and vegetables that they aggregate from neighboring farms.
*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://anacostia.si.edu/farmstand. Categories: Kids & Families. Culinary Arts.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM.
Growing Community: Preparing for the Winter Garden
One-Time Events
Join us as we explore tasks for a great winter garden whether growing cool season veggies or putting the garden into dormancy for the winter months.
Growing Community is the longstanding community gardening program at the Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum. Through garden programming, residents of all ages can engage with the beauty of the natural world, a healthy food system, and their cultural past. We welcome the community to participate in our monthly workshops, taking place throughout the growing and harvesting seasons. All workshops incorporate themes such as gardens as places of community and connections to our cultural past; gardens as sites of stewardship and nurture; and gardens as sites of empowerment and access to good nutrition and healthy living.
Venue: Anacostia Community Museum. Event Location: 1901 Fort Place SE. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/growing-community-preparing-for-the-winter-garden-tickets-843130805937. Categories: Demonstrations. Lectures & Discussions. Workshops.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 10:00 AM – 12:00 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.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 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 19, 2024, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Keeping Up the Sketchbook Habit
Resident Associate Program
Jump-start your creative ideas by enriching your sketchbooking with new techniques. Learn how to map your day, get creative with colored pencil on mid-tone kraft paper, and draw one object over several weeks.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261286?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261286?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
The Napoleonic Wars: A Global Conflict
Resident Associate Program
The names of Austerlitz, Trafalgar, Leipzig, and Waterloo all hold prominent places in the standard histories of the Napoleonic Wars. But also significant are Buenos Aires, New Orleans, Ruse, Aslanduz, Assaye, Macao, Oravais, and Alexandria. Historian Alexander Mikaberidze tells the story of the wars and explains how European affairs did not unfold in isolation from the rest of the globe.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261207?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261207?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Watercolor Workshop: Quick-Sketch for a Day
Resident Associate Program
Spend the day learning to capture your travels with flowing lines and painterly colors. Discover how to simplify a scene and to compose and draw more organically and confidently. This technique is perfect for studies, travel journals, and finished fine art.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261287?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261287?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 10:00 AM – 3:30 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.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 10:15 AM – 3:15 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 10:15 AM and 11:30 AM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Slavery and Freedom.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 10:15 AM – 12:30 PM.
Intermediate Oil Painting - In Person
Resident Associate Program
Expand on your technical background and grow your practice as an oil painter. This class provides students with the opportunity to work on personal projects, set up a still-life arrangement, and explore figure painting from a live model. Unfurl your style with support and feedback from the instructor.
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/261288?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: Workshops.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 10:15 AM – 1:15 PM.
Big Objects, Big Stories: The Life of Toussaint L'Ouverture by Jacobs Lawrence
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Join us for a docent-led talk and get a fresh look into a featured object that is on view in one of our permanent exhibitions. At each of these 15-minute talks visitors will hear incredibly big stories about a big object.
About this Program: Jacob Lawrence’s The Life of Toussaint L’Ouverture celebrates the Haitian revolutionary strategist and statesman who liberated his country from colonial rule to establish the first independent Black republic. Explore the silk prints by the artist that depict L’Ouverture’s struggle against slavery and oppression.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets at the L'Ouverture screen prints, in the Visual Arts Gallery, L4. Each 15-minute program starts 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. Related Exhibition: Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 10:30 AM – 12:45 PM.
NY | Pacific Island Film Festival
One-Time Events
Native Hawaiian people are experiencing a cultural renaissance—a rediscovery of language, stories, and tradition that is a featured theme of this year’s Pacific Island Film Festival of New York City (PIFF). Prior to the film screenings, film producer Angela Laprete will lead a workshop in cooperation with the International Cultural Arts Network (ICAN). Screenings presented in conjunction with Pacific Island Film Festival of New York City (PIFF). 11 AM–12:30 PM: Film Workforce Development in Hawai‘i, Angela Laprete, a film producer described by Forbes magazine as one of the “six visionaries shaping the Hawaiian filmmaking scene,” leads a workshop conversation about the film industry in Hawai‘i. Presented by ICAN. 1 PM–3 PM: Films, The Queen’s Flowers A magical take on a true story that follows Emma, a Native Hawaiian girl in 1915 Honolulu, as she makes a very special gift for Queen Lili‘uokalani, the last reigning monarch of Hawai‘i. Director: Ciara Leina‘ala Lacy (Kanaka Maoli), USA, 2024, 11 min. , …
Venue: American Indian Museum NY. Event Location: Lower Level: Auditorium. Cost: FREE. Categories: Films. Workshops. Lectures & Discussions.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 11:00 AM – 3:00 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. .
Venue: American Indian Museum DC. Event Location: imagiNATIONS Activity Center, Level 3. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 11:15 AM – 11:45 AM.
Food History Objects Out of Storage: Julia Child Awardees
One-Time Events
Each year, the National Museum of American History’s food history curators work with that year’s recipient of the Julia Child Award to identify objects and archival materials that reflect the essence of their culinary experiences and their contributions to the history of food in the United States. The awardees donate the objects and materials, which are then processed into the national collections. On this tenth anniversary of the Julia Child award, the curators are bringing a selection of those objects out of storage to share with the public. The materials will be on view in the Coulter Plaza on the first floor west, and curators will be on hand to answer questions.
The museum is located on the National Mall at Constitution Avenue, N.W. between 12th and 14th Streets, Washington, D.C.
The museum is accessible via the Smithsonian- National Mall and Federal Triangle Metro stations on the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines.
Museum entrances are located on Constitution Avenue on the first floor and Madison Drive…
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wallace H. Coulter Performance Plaza, 1 Center. Cost: Free, registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/food-history-objects-out-of-storage-julia-child-awardees-tickets-1009394364717?aff=trumba. Categories: Culinary Arts. Demonstrations. Related Exhibition: FOOD: Transforming the American Table. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. ASL-interpreted program.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 11:30 AM – 12:15 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.
Event Location: Starts at the Information Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: FREE. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Fall Arts & Crafts Drop-In Workshop
One-Time Events
Join us for a drop in workshop to create fall inspired crafts including wreathes, leaf art and more.
Venue: Anacostia Community Museum. Event Location: 1901 Fort Place SE. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fall-arts-crafts-drop-in-workshop-tickets-1014601278737?aff=oddtdtcreator. Categories: Workshops. Kids & Families.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
Introduction to Beading
Resident Associate Program
In this class, learn to create handcrafted jewelry. This experience is perfect for students new to jewelry making and those with experience who want to refresh their skills.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261289?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261289?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Julia Child’s Kitchen: A New Book and Fresh Look at a Beloved Artifact
One-Time Events
Join museum curator Paula Johnson and photographer Jaclyn Nash as they talk about their new book on a timeless artifact—Julia Child’s kitchen, which has been on view in the National Museum of American History almost continuously since it was collected in 2001. The new book, published by Abrams and released on October 8, is a beautifully illustrated and carefully researched volume on the history and legacy of the kitchen, from its 1961 design to its place of honor in the museum’s exhibition, “FOOD: Transforming the American Table.” Johnson and Nash will share how the book came together over several years and answer any questions you may have. Copies of the book will be available for sale and signing.
Participants: Paula Johnson, curator of Food History, NMAH; and Jaclyn Nash, NMAH photographer
The museum is located on the National Mall at Constitution Avenue, N.W. between 12th and 14th Streets, Washington, D.C.
The museum is accessible via the Smithsonian- National Mall and Federal Triangle Metro stations…
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wallace H. Coulter Performance Plaza, 1 Center. Cost: Free, registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/julia-childs-kitchen-a-new-book-and-fresh-look-at-a-beloved-artifact-tickets-1009357323927?aff=trumba. Categories: Culinary Arts. Lectures & Discussions. Shopping/Book Signing. Related Exhibition: FOOD: Transforming the American Table. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. ASL-interpreted program.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Portrait Gallery Art Studio
One-Time Events
Calling all artists! Join the National Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collection and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise in various artistic disciplines. 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. Categories: Workshops. Kids & Families.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Virtual Planetarium Show
Ongoing Activities
Stargaze (and planet-gaze!) with our astronomy educators in this virtual planetarium show. Learn the basics of finding your way in the sky, and explore the many things you can see without a telescope. Our experts will be on hand to answer your questions!
This program will be held on Zoom webinar with live ASL interpretation.
Event Location: Online, Zoom webinar. Cost: Free, registration is requested. Categories: Kids & Families. Webcasts & Online. Accessibility: Captioning.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 1:00 PM – 2:00 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.
The public can schedule reserved group tours using the online reservation form.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Digital Drawing Fundamentals
Resident Associate Program
Learn to use the iPad, Apple Pencil, and Procreate for illustration and animation. Students get an introductory lecture on the basics of digital art production, demonstrations, and experience drawing in Procreate on an iPad.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261291?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261291?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Mixed Media Remix - In Person
Resident Associate Program
Rev up your collage and mixed-media experience and incorporate dimension into your artwork with an expanded repertoire of materials and techniques.
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/261290?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Virtual Art Workshop: Block Printing - Gail Anderson
One-Time Events
Join us for a fun and informative workshop about block printing. In this workshop, you’ll learn the techniques of block printing, while drawing inspiration from the innovative and thought-provoking work of Gail Anderson. Participants will learn essential block printing techniques, explore adding typographic elements, and create their own unique prints that blend the beauty of print making with the power of words. Join Printmaker, Pantera Saint-Montaigne, and Education Specialist, Cassidy Moses, on this artistic journey and enjoy works in our collection featuring the award-winning artistry of Gail Anderson. Block Printing Kit contains: (1) 3”x4” rubber carving block , (1) Lino carving tool set , (2) Water-based inks , (2) Foam Rollers , (1) Alphabet stamp kit , Assorted paper, cardstock and tracing paper , Instruction Booklet, Participants should have on hand: Assorted pencils, pens and markers , Ink pad , Plastic or glass dinner plate for inking , Sheets of white printer paper , Scissors or X-acto…
Event Location: Online. Cost: $20. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/87141809. Categories: Workshops. Webcasts & Online.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Big Objects, Big Stories: The Life of Toussaint L'Ouverture by Jacobs Lawrence
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Join us for a docent-led talk and get a fresh look into a featured object that is on view in one of our permanent exhibitions. At each of these 15-minute talks visitors will hear incredibly big stories about a big object.
About this Program: Jacob Lawrence’s The Life of Toussaint L’Ouverture celebrates the Haitian revolutionary strategist and statesman who liberated his country from colonial rule to establish the first independent Black republic. Explore the silk prints by the artist that depict L’Ouverture’s struggle against slavery and oppression.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets at the L'Ouverture screen print, in the Visual Arts Gallery, L4. Each 15-minute program starts at: 1:30 PM, 2:30 PM, and 3:30 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 1:30 PM – 3:45 PM.
DC | Guided Gallery Tours
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Experience one of the museum's major exhibitions currently on view—Americans or Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations—with a guided tour led by a knowledgeable museum educator. Join fellow visitors to dive deeper into the content and have your questions answered. These walk-in tours include a brief overview of the museum’s mission, history, and even the building itself. Tours are subject to availability and may be canceled without prior notice.
Venue: American Indian Museum DC. Event Location: Level 1, meet in the Potomac Atrium. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Americans; Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 1:30 PM – 2:15 PM.
French Fortresses and Fantasies: The Châteaux of the Loire Valley
Resident Associate Program
From forbidding fortresses to charming châteaux and castles, the splendid structures of the Loire Valley reflect lives of opulence and intrigue. Ornamented with paintings and sculptures and surrounded by reflecting pools and perfectly manicured gardens, they make the mansions of today’s rich and famous seem austere by comparison. Art historian Janetta Rebold Benton showcases these sumptuous and elegant historic residences and sets them in the context of French history. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261480?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/261480?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2024FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=273765. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM.
Cooking and Community: Updates from Chinatowns
One-Time Events
Named “the poet laureate of the wok” by culinary historian Betty Fussell, Grace Young has served as a “wok whisperer” and “stir-fry guru” for students and frustrated cooks in need of guidance. She is the James Beard award-winning author of three cookbooks and videos that have introduced scores of Americans to traditional Chinese cuisine, demystifying ingredients, recipes, and culinary techniques. During the pandemic, Grub Street dubbed Grace the “accidental voice for Chinatown” and her advocacy for the preservation and protection of small businesses and Chinatowns across the country remains unwavering. Join Grace Young as she prepares a dish from one of her cookbooks and discusses the challenges facing America’s Chinatowns with Yao-Fen You of the Smithsonian’s Asian Pacific American Center.
Presenter: Grace Young, award-winning cookbook author and Chinatown activist
Hosts: Jessica Carbone, PhD, Food historian and contributing editor to SAVEUR and Yao-Fen You, PhD, acting director of the Smithsonian Asian…
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wallace H. Coulter Performance Plaza, 1 Center. Cost: Free, registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cooking-and-community-updates-from-chinatowns-tickets-1009403532137?aff=trumba. Categories: Culinary Arts. Lectures & Discussions. Shopping/Book Signing. Demonstrations. Related Exhibition: FOOD: Transforming the American Table. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. ASL-interpreted program.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Film: The Giacomettis
One time events
FREE
Advance Insider tickets available Tuesday, October 1, 12 PM EST (space is limited)
General tickets available Monday, October 7, 7 PM EST
We strongly recommend claiming a ticket to ensure your seat. This in-person program is expected to be at capacity.
Questions? Email Hirshhornexperience@si.edu
Hirshhorn Insiders, email HMSGdevelopment@si.edu
Step into the breathtaking Swiss mountain valley of Bregaglia, the cradle of an extraordinary artistic dynasty, with a screening of Susanna Fanzun’s The Giacomettis (2023). This 104-minute documentary takes viewers on a journey through the rugged alpine landscapes that shaped the lives and work of one of the most exceptional families in modern art history. Discover the rich heritage and creative legacy that flow from this remote valley, where Alberto Giacometti, his Impressionist father, and his gifted brothers created timeless masterpieces that continue to resonate around the world.
Following the screening, director Susanna Fanzun will answer audience…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden. Event Location: Ring Auditorium. Cost: Free. Categories: Films. Related Exhibition: Revolutions: Art from the Hirshhorn Collection, 1860–1960. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.si.edu. In-Focus Tour | The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas
Gallery Talks & Tours
Take a closer look at objects, such as stone sculptures, gilt bronzes, and painted manuscripts, that highlight Hindu and Buddhist traditions. In this twenty-minute tour, our docents will help you consider the critical role visual culture played in these traditions from the ninth to the twentieth century. Hear stories about deities, from Ganesha, the god of beginnings, to goddesses who personify wisdom.
Please meet at gallery 22 for this tour. Learn more about The Art of Knowing. Seated Ganesha, India, Karnataka state, Halebid, 12th–13th century, chloritic schist, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Collection, Gift of Arthur M. Sackler, S1987.960.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Gallery 22 (The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 2:00 PM – 2:20 PM.
Drawing on the Right Side of Your Brain - In Person
Resident Associate Program
Take this drawing fundamentals class as your first step in learning to draw. You learn to translate that stunning image in your mind or what you see in front of you onto paper, building a strong foundation for your drawing or painting practice.
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/261964?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 19, 2024, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
In-Focus Tour | The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas
Gallery Talks & Tours
Take a closer look at objects, such as stone sculptures, gilt bronzes, and painted manuscripts, that highlight Hindu and Buddhist traditions. In this twenty-minute tour, our docents will help you consider the critical role visual culture played in these traditions from the ninth to the twentieth century. Hear stories about deities, from Ganesha, the god of beginnings, to goddesses who personify wisdom.
Please meet at gallery 22 for this tour. Learn more about The Art of Knowing. Seated Ganesha, India, Karnataka state, Halebid, 12th–13th century, chloritic schist, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Collection, Gift of Arthur M. Sackler, S1987.960.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Gallery 22 (The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 2:45 PM – 3:05 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. Event Location: Information Desk (West Building). Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Brilliant Exiles: Salons
One-Time Events
Join the National Portrait Gallery for a three-part salon that draws inspiration from the brilliant women featured in the exhibition Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900–1939. During the 20th century, women like Natalie Barney, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, and Peggy Guggenheim would host salons for women across different fields to discuss art, literature, music and more.
Participants will experience an intimate look into how salons impacted arts and culture more than 100 years ago. Each salon will have a different theme, including a jazz set, an excerpt dance performance and a fashion sketching tutorial.
Event Location: G Street Lobby. Cost: Free. Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-brilliant-exiles-salons-tickets-991252812847?aff=ebdsshcopyurl&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile&utm-share-source=organizer-profile. Categories: Workshops. Lectures & Discussions.
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com.