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Kyoto Kimono Trunk Show
National Museum of Asian Art
Kyoto Kimono is back at the National Museum of Asian Art for a Holiday Trunk Show!
Come browse this special collection of vintage Japanese kimono robes, haori jackets, obi sashes, upcycled fabric, and more —it's a treat just to try one on. Casual and formal wear for men and women; dazzling decor options too. Kyoto Kimono owner Nancy McDonough will be on hand to guide you through the many styles and to answer your questions about kimono (or Kyoto!).
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: NMAA Gift Shop, Sackler level B1. Cost: Free. Categories: Shopping/Book Signing.
Saturday, December 9, 2023, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
Art Cart: Who? You? Express Yourself!
One time events
Dive into the world of Simone Leigh’s art! Explore her sculptures and make your own one-of-a-kind portraits and sculptures inspired by the things that make you special.
Find the Art Cart in the Lerner Room on the Third Level. Do this at home! Make your own abstract sculpture inspired by Barbara Hepworth. Instructions here.
, ABOUT THE ART CART
Want to make art inspired by your favorite Hirshhorn works on view? The Art Cart offers young artists a hands-on maker experience during their visit to the Hirshhorn. Each week’s Art Cart offers a fresh and fun theme featuring an artwork on view, an art making activity to do at the Museum, and kids’ projects to extend the fun at home!
The Art Cart is free; no registration required. Drop in any Saturday between 10 am and 1 pm.
Nursing caregivers are welcome. Stroller parking is available in the Hirshhorn Lobby. If there are access services or accommodations that can make your experience more inclusive (e.g. ASL interpretation, live captioning, etc.), please…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden. Event Location: Find the Art Cart in the Lerner Room on the Third Level. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Simone Leigh. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, December 9, 2023, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.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, December 9, 2023, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Introduction to iPhone Videography
Resident Associate Program
Learn the basics of filmmaking from pre-production to shooting to post-production, working with your iPhone. Each participant creates a short video to share with the class.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258697?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258697?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Saturday, December 9, 2023, 10:00 AM – 12:30 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 10:30 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, December 9, 2023, 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM.
CANCELLED - Black Futures Spotlights: The Sounds of Afrofuturism
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Our 25-minute spotlight tours provide an engaging introduction to a key topic in the Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures exhibition.
About this program: Sci fi. Technology. Music. Pop culture. Activism. Liberation. Afrofuturism is Black resiliency and evolution. Journey across the stars and galaxies with a docent and explore the sounds of Afrofuturism. Learn about musicians that are strong proponents of Afrofuturism.
Image: Purple star costume designed by Sun Ra and worn by Arkestra members. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets at Sun Ra's case, in the Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures exhibition located on the Concourse Level. Talks take place at: 10:30 AM, 11:30 AM, and 12:30 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, December 9, 2023, 10:30 AM – 12:50 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, December 9, 2023, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Look for our friendly volunteer at the Welcome Desk for a 45 minute tour of the highlights of the museum.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Starts at the Welcome Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, December 9, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
CANCELLED - Special Exhibitions Tour
Tours
Join a walk-in, docent-led tour featuring a selection of special exhibitions. Each tour is unique and may include artworks from exhibitions such as Ay-Ō’s Happy Rainbow Hell, Ancient Yemen: Incense, Art, and Trade, The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room, and The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, December 9, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Women of the Freer
Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art invites you to celebrate the women in our collection—ancient and modern, human and divine. This docent-led tour will introduce you to influential women and their little-known stories.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Freer Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, December 9, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Weekend Workshops
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Calling all artists! Get creative during our drop-in workshops for all ages. Learn about artists and change-makers and create art inspired by their stories.
Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Categories: Kids & Families. Workshops.
Saturday, December 9, 2023, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
NMAA x CFCH Artisan in Residence Talk: UAE Ceramics with Sarah Al Hosani
National Museum of Asian Art
RSVP here
In partnership with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, we welcome artisan in residence Sarah Al Hosani. Sarah is from the UAE and specializes in pottery-making and design. She is the owner and founder of Khazaf for Fine Arts, a ceramic and art workshop and production studio.
Embark on an artistic journey with Sarah Al Hosani, a skilled ceramist from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. During her residency, participants will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of pottery through a thoughtfully curated series of events.
Following Sarah's demonstration on Friday, December 8 at 1 p.m. join us for an enlightening artisan talk. The talk will provide insights into Sarah's artistic journey, influences, and the cultural nuances that shape her work. This discussion will offer a deeper understanding of the craft and the artist's personal connection to it.
About Sarah Al Hosani
Sarah Al Hosani is an Emirati ceramist and entrepreneur from Abu Dhabi. She…
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Flex Space (Gallery 27), Sackler level B1. Cost: Free. Categories: Lectures & Discussions.
Saturday, December 9, 2023, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 45,000 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: Meet at Freer Information desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, December 9, 2023, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Making the Holidays Beautiful at the White House
Resident Associate Program
Coleen Christian Burke, a former White House design partner and author of Christmas with the First Ladies, examines how modern first ladies have combined the shimmer of holiday magic with meaningful reflection, creating a celebration narrative for all Americans.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258686?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258686?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Saturday, December 9, 2023, 1:00 PM – 4:00 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, December 9, 2023, 1:30 PM – 2:15 PM.
Tour of "Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings"
Tours
Join a tour of the special exhibition, Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings, featuring artworks excavated from the capital of the ancient Shang Dynasty (ca. 1250 BCE–ca.1050 BCE), including jades and bronze vessels. Learn about the advanced technology of bronze casting, explore intricate and sophisticated designs of ritual objects, and discover famous “oracle bones.”.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Meet at the Sackler Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: https://asia.si.edu/exhibition/anyang-chinas-ancient-city-of-kings/.
Saturday, December 9, 2023, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Department Stores: A Feminine Oasis
Resident Associate Program
Explore the way a simple trip to the store was, in fact, so much more for women in the mid-20th century. Stroll between Pennsylvania Avenue NW and Metro Center with your guide from A Tour of Her Own, stopping along the way to hear stories of the iconic buildings of yesteryear like those housing Hecht’s and Garfinkel’s and the stores’ role in advancing consumerism and civil rights.
Event Location: Navy Memorial 701 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258776?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, December 9, 2023, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
The Axelrod String Quartet: Stradivarius and Amati (Saturday series)
Resident Associate Program
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society audiences are privy to the unparalleled experience of being able to hear two magnificent quartets of instruments—one made by Antonio Stradivari, the other by his teacher Nicoló Amati—in this popular three-concert series on Saturdays. The concert features music composed by Florence Price, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Franz Schubert.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: National Museum of American History Nicholas and Eugenia Taubman Hall of Music. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258649?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Workshops.
Saturday, December 9, 2023, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM.
Kyoto Kimono Trunk Show
National Museum of Asian Art
Kyoto Kimono is back at the National Museum of Asian Art for a Holiday Trunk Show!
Come browse this special collection of vintage Japanese kimono robes, haori jackets, obi sashes, upcycled fabric, and more —it's a treat just to try one on. Casual and formal wear for men and women; dazzling decor options too. Kyoto Kimono owner Nancy McDonough will be on hand to guide you through the many styles and to answer your questions about kimono (or Kyoto!).
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: NMAA Gift Shop, Sackler level B1. Cost: Free. Categories: Shopping/Book Signing.
Sunday, December 10, 2023, 10:00 AM – 3:00 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, December 10, 2023, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Department Stores: A Feminine Oasis
Resident Associate Program
Explore the way a simple trip to the store was, in fact, so much more for women in the mid-20th century. Stroll between Pennsylvania Avenue NW and Metro Center with your guide from A Tour of Her Own, stopping along the way to hear stories of the iconic buildings of yesteryear like those housing Hecht’s and Garfinkel’s and the stores’ role in advancing consumerism and civil rights.
Event Location: Navy Memorial 701 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258777?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Sunday, December 10, 2023, 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 10:30 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, December 10, 2023, 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM.
Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Sunday, December 10, 2023, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Look for our friendly volunteer at the Welcome Desk for a 45 minute tour of the highlights of the museum.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Starts at the Welcome Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, December 10, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Special Exhibitions Tour
Tours
Join a walk-in, docent-led tour featuring a selection of special exhibitions. Each tour is unique and may include artworks from exhibitions such as Palace Life Unfolds: Conserving a Chinese Screen, Ancient Yemen: Incense, Art, and Trade, The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room, and The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas. Please visit the museum event calendar for details.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Sunday, December 10, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Whistler's World Tour
Tours
Join a walk-in, docent-led tour to explore the many sides of American artist James McNeill Whistler. Experience the artist’s paintings, watercolors, pastels, and prints along with objects by Asian artists that inspired his style and subjects.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Freer Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Sunday, December 10, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Weekend Workshops
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Calling all artists! Get creative during our drop-in workshops for all ages. Learn about artists and change-makers and create art inspired by their stories.
Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Categories: Kids & Families. Workshops.
Sunday, December 10, 2023, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
NMAA x CFCH Artisan in Residence: UAE Ceramics Workshop with Sarah Al Hosani
National Museum of Asian Art
RSVP here
In partnership with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, we welcome artisan in residence Sarah Al Hosani. Sarah is from the UAE and specializes in pottery-making and design. She is the owner and founder of Khazaf for Fine Arts, a ceramic and art workshop and production studio.
Embark on an artistic journey with Sarah Al Hosani, a skilled ceramist from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. During her residency, participants will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of pottery through a thoughtfully curated series of events.
In this workshop, participants can roll up their sleeves and create their own hand-built pottery under Sarah's expert guidance. Participants will have the chance to experiment and bring their artistic visions to life in a supportive and inspiring environment.
About Sarah Al Hosani
Sarah Al Hosani is an Emirati ceramist and entrepreneur from Abu Dhabi. She started practicing pottery in 2015, and in 2021 she launched her own studio,…
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: ImaginAsia Studio, Sackler Level B2. Cost: Free. Categories: Lectures & Discussions.
Sunday, December 10, 2023, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Virtual Beyond the Studio Workshop: Paper Wreath Making
One-Time Events
SOLD OUT
Join Emily Paluska of Revery Paper Flora for the return of her popular paper flower making workshop and learn the fundamentals of creating a one-of-a-kind paper wreath inspired by winter plants.
Tickets include the cost of materials needed for the activity, instructions, and postage. Materials kits will be shipped to participants in advance of the program. Participants must register by 7 p.m. ET on November 26 as space is limited. If you are outside of the US, please contact SAAMPrograms@si.edu before registering.
Image courtesy of the artist.
Event Location: Online via Zoom. Cost: SOLD OUT
$15|Registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://events.blackthorn.io/5f4ZMUx7/4a2bVR2Ly1. Categories: Workshops. Webcasts & Online. Accessibility: Captioning.
Sunday, December 10, 2023, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 45,000 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: Meet at Freer Information desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Sunday, December 10, 2023, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Afrofuturism Big Objects, Big Stories: I Go To Prepare A Place For You by Bisa Butler
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 and experience the infinite possibilities of Afrofuturism. About this Program: From the era of slavery to the present day, African Americans have re-imagined the futures and possibilities of black people across the globe through the dynamic lens of Afro-Futurism. I Go To Prepare A Place For You, by fiber artist Bisa Butler, is based upon a portrait of underground railroad conductor and abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Learn what the artwork reveals about Tubman’s complexity as a person, including her African ancestry, bravery, and legacy as an agent of change.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets at the I Go To Prepare A Place For You by Bisa Butler, Level 4. Talks take place at: 1:15 PM, 2:15 PM, and 3:15 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
Visual Arts: The American Experience .
Sunday, December 10, 2023, 1:15 PM – 3:30 PM.
For more info visit nmaahc.si.edu. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence
National Museum of Asian Art
Get tickets, Watch the trailer
There are many reasons why Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence is a cult classic. It stars David Bowie, it was Takeshi Kitano’s dramatic acting debut, and of course, Ryuichi Sakamoto both stars in it and wrote the score (his first), including the irresistibly catchy main theme, “Forbidden Colours,” sung by David Sylvian. Bowie plays a haughty English army officer imprisoned in a Japanese-run POW camp in Southeast Asia during World War II, and Sakamoto plays the camp commander who is both erotically attracted to him and obsessed with breaking his will. Tom Conti, as Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence, tries to bridge the emotional and linguistic barriers between captors and captives. This multilayered, eccentric, and intense film is an unforgettable experience. Director Nagisa Oshima (Cruel Story of Youth, In the Realm of the Senses) claims to have hired Sakamoto based solely on a photograph. This impulsive choice resulted in one of his most powerful and strange films and launched Sakamoto’s…
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Categories: Films.
Sunday, December 10, 2023, 2:00 PM – 4:15 PM.
Tour of "Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings"
Tours
Join a tour of the special exhibition, Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings, featuring artworks excavated from the capital of the ancient Shang Dynasty (ca. 1250 BCE–ca.1050 BCE), including jades and bronze vessels. Learn about the advanced technology of bronze casting, explore intricate and sophisticated designs of ritual objects, and discover famous “oracle bones.”.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Meet at the Sackler Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: https://asia.si.edu/exhibition/anyang-chinas-ancient-city-of-kings/.
Sunday, December 10, 2023, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
The Axelrod String Quartet: Stradivarius and Amati (Sunday series)
Resident Associate Program
Smithsonian Chamber Music Society audiences are privy to the unparalleled experience of being able to hear two magnificent quartets of instruments—one made by Antonio Stradivari, the other by his teacher Nicoló Amati—in this popular three-concert series on Sundays.The concert features music composed by Florence Price, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Franz Schubert.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: National Museum of American History Nicholas and Eugenia Taubman Hall of Music. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258652?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Workshops.
Sunday, December 10, 2023, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258495?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Monday, December 11, 2023, 10:15 AM – 11:00 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 10:30 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, December 11, 2023, 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM.
Virtual Story Time
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Join educators from the National Postal Museum for live, interactive story time. Designed for children ages 4-7, but all are welcome!
Mondays at 11:00 (EDT) National Postal Museum educators will read stories aloud and lead related activities in a Zoom meeting for children and their caregivers. Explore a range of postal-related topics and more! Sessions will be interactive and last approximately 45 minutes. Caregivers are expected to be present with children for the duration of the program.
Event Location: Online Only. Online Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/story-time-with-the-national-postal-museum-registration-141338917507. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/story-time-with-the-national-postal-museum-registration-141338917507. Categories: Kids & Families. Webcasts & Online.
Monday, December 11, 2023, 11:00 AM – 11:45 AM.
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. Categories: Kids & Families. Workshops.
Monday, December 11, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Look for our friendly volunteer at the Welcome Desk for a 45 minute tour of the highlights of the museum.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Starts at the Welcome Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Monday, December 11, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258496?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Monday, December 11, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Women of the Freer
Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art invites you to celebrate the women in our collection—ancient and modern, human and divine. This docent-led tour will introduce you to influential women and their little-known stories.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Freer Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Monday, December 11, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
The Recipe to Prepare Marine Life
One-Time Events
Using NOAA’s Science on a Sphere datasets, come and see “the recipe for life in the ocean.” Learn how salinity to temperature in the ocean can affect the abundance and distribution of different species of micro-organisms and macro-organisms.
Presented by: Alfonso Macias-Tapia, Biochemical Oceanographer, Education Strategic Specialist at NOAA.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, The Sant Ocean Hall, Science on a Sphere. Cost: Free and open to the public. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: The Sant Ocean Hall. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Monday, December 11, 2023, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 45,000 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: Meet at Freer Information desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Monday, December 11, 2023, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Storytime in Our Explore! Family Space
One-Time Events
Story time in our Explore! Space immerses you in tales of artists, presidents, inventors, athletes and more! Visit our family space before or after story time to play and learn about portraiture.
Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Categories: Kids & Families. Workshops.
Monday, December 11, 2023, 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM.
Caesar?s Conquest of Gaul
Resident Associate Program
The famous formulation that all Gaul was divided into three parts came from the self-serving pen of Caesar himself, whose conquest of Gaul served as the springboard for a quest for power that ended fatally on the Ides of March in 44 B.C.E. five years after he had famously crossed the Rubicon River en route to Rome from Gaul. Historian Jennifer Paxton tells the complex and fascinating story of how Rome gradually acquired commercial and military interests in southern Gaul that provided the pretext for Roman intervention in the complicated politics of the region.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258639?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258639?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Monday, December 11, 2023, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
Something To Laugh About: TV Comedy, From Milton Berle to David Letterman
Resident Associate Program
Media historian Brian Rose surveys the landscape of American TV comedy, examining how comedy evolved from the vaudeville shtick of Milton Berle and the slapstick artistry of Lucille Ball to relevant sitcoms like “M*A*S*H, ” the social satire of “Saturday Night Live, ” a twist on the sitcom with “The Jeffersons, ” and the self-reflexive absurdities of “The Simpsons.”.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258341?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258341?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Monday, December 11, 2023, 6:30 PM – 7:45 PM.
The American Civil War and the World
Resident Associate Program
The American Civil War was closely watched by other countries to see what its outcome might signal for personal liberty and what effect it could have on their own governments. Historian Paul Quigley explores international perspectives on the conflict, ranging from ideological affinities to economic calculations to strategic considerations.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258830?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258830?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Monday, December 11, 2023, 6:30 PM – 7:45 PM.
Little Critters: Nature Play
Special Zoo Events
Come play with us at the Zoo!
Bring your little zoogoer for a wild time as we explore animals and nature through creative, drop-in play!
Dig for horseshoe crabs in the sand table, build a beaver dam in the water, make lunch for a bird in the mud kitchens, or just drop-in for a story or two!
Little Critters Nature Play is designed for ages 0-5 and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome. Parents and guardians must remain with their children.
Location: Bird House Classroom.
Venue: National Zoo. Event Location: Bird House Classroom. Cost: Free drop-in program; no pre-registration required.Parents and guardians must remain with their children. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM.
Art in the A.M.
One-Time Events
Kick off your day on a creative note with Art in the A.M. where children ages 0-5 can learn, connect, and create with SAAM. Attendees will listen to a reading of Peter H. Reynolds’ ish in the Luce Foundation Center and learn more about the theme of the book. Children and their caregivers will then view selected pieces from the museum’s collection, reflecting on each artwork’s color, lines, and images before creating their own ish-inspired craft. Space is limited and registration is required.
Image: Norwood Photography.
Venue: American Art Museum. Event Location: Meet in G Street Lobby. Cost: Free | Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://events.blackthorn.io/5f4ZMUx7/4a2bVR2UWf. Categories: Kids & Families.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 10:00 AM.
Afrofuturism Big Objects, Big Stories: I Go To Prepare A Place For You by Bisa Butler
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 and experience the infinite possibilities of Afrofuturism. About this Program: From the era of slavery to the present day, African Americans have re-imagined the futures and possibilities of black people across the globe through the dynamic lens of Afro-Futurism. I Go To Prepare A Place For You, by fiber artist Bisa Butler, is based upon a portrait of underground railroad conductor and abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Learn what the artwork reveals about Tubman’s complexity as a person, including her African ancestry, bravery, and legacy as an agent of change.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets at the I Go To Prepare A Place For You by Bisa Butler, Level 4. Talks take place at: 10:15 AM, 11:15 AM, and 12:15 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. Visual Arts: The American Experience .
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 10:15 AM – 12:30 PM.
For more info visit nmaahc.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 & 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.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 10:15 AM – 12:30 PM.
Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258497?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 10:15 AM – 11:00 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 10:30 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, December 12, 2023, 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM.
Hello, Museo
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Join educators from the National Postal Museum every other Tuesday for a bilingual program featuring music, stories, crafts, and gallery exploration. Designed for children ages 1-3 and their caregivers, but all are welcome!
Please note that due to space limitations, strollers will not be permitted in the program space. Stroller parking will be provided in the museum lobby.
Únase a los educadores del Museo Postal Nacional cada dos martes para un programa bilingüe que presenta música, historias, artesanías y exploración de galerías. Diseñado para niños de 1 a 3 años y sus cuidadores, ¡pero todos son bienvenidos!
Tenga en cuenta que, debido a las limitaciones de espacio, no se permitirán cochecitos en el espacio del programa. Se proporcionará estacionamiento para cochecitos en el vestíbulo del museo.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Byrne Classroom, 3rd floor. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM.
Play Date at NMNH: Exploring Color with Insects
One-Time Events
Join us on Tuesdays for special family play dates with museum educators! During the month of December, we will be exploring color! Each week, families will explore color through different natural history themes. Come play, make art, and make up-close observations of colorful specimens! Tuesday, December 5: Rocks and Minerals , Tuesday, December 12: Insects , Tuesday, December 19: Colorful Coral, The event is part of our drop-in program, Play Date at NMNH. Play Date at NMNH is a program designed for early learners (ages 0-5) and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome.
Location: This program is held in Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center, on the Ground Floor of the museum. Please enter through the Constitution Avenue entrance. Q?rius is located on the right as you enter the museum. Accessibility: Access services such as American Sign Language interpretation, real-time captioning (CART), or audio-description are…
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center (Ground Floor). Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM.
Exploring Deep Sea Habitats of Puerto Rico
One-Time Events
While corals may be known for shallow, sunlit reefs, they also thrive at great depths in the ocean, supporting a variety of animals in the darkness of the deep sea. Come to the Ocean Explorer Theater to chat with museum scientists, watch footage, and see specimens from the deep-sea habitats of Puerto Rico: a treasure trove of coral biodiversity.
Presented by: Dr. Jeremy Horowitz, Luke McCartin, and Annemarie Wood, Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, Ocean Explorer Theater in 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, December 12, 2023, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Explore More! in STEM: Flying High with the Triple Nickles
One-Time Events
Explore More! in STEM is a pop-up program for ages 8+ that focuses on a particular STEM concept and relates it to the museum or African American History and Culture. In this lesson, people will learn about 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (aka the Triple Nickles), make their own parachutes, and test them.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: 2nd Floor Classrooms. Cost: This is a *free* event! Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Look for our friendly volunteer at the Welcome Desk for a 45 minute tour of the highlights of the museum.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Starts at the Welcome Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258498?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Sneak Peek— Across the Sea: Ceramics and the Korea–Japan Maritime Frontier
National Museum of Asian Art
Register here
Displaced from their original context of production and consumption, Korean ceramic tea bowls, called kōrai jawan in Japan, became valuable objects sought out by Japanese military elites, wealthy merchants, courtiers, and monks. These men participated in sixteenth-century Japanese tea practice, chanoyu, a specialized cultural forum for aesthetic discourse. The appreciation for kōrai jawan marked the beginning of Japanese interest in collecting non-Chinese objects, and this shift had a profound impact on sixteenth-century Japanese aesthetics as well as on both Korean and Japanese artistic production later in the seventeenth century. The early kōrai jawan were Korean ceramics initially made for a domestic market, which were transported to Japan and repurposed in the context of tea practice. This talk examines how the seventeenth century gave rise to the production of order-made Korean ceramics to suit the tastes of Japanese collectors.
This talk is part of the monthly lunchtime series Sneak…
Event Location: Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sHhLQVmpRhqoBWCnD7AmFA#/registration. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sHhLQVmpRhqoBWCnD7AmFA#/registration. Categories: Lectures & Discussions. Webcasts & Online.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 12:00 PM – 12:40 PM.
Whistler's World Tour
Tours
Join a walk-in, docent-led tour to explore the many sides of American artist James McNeill Whistler. Experience the artist’s paintings, watercolors, pastels, and prints along with objects by Asian artists that inspired his style and subjects.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Freer Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Classical Sounds of Christmas
Resident Associate Program
From sleigh bells and sugarplums to the mystical beauties of the Nativity, every December our senses are filled with the music of Christmas. In a 2-session celebration of the festive season, popular speaker and concert pianist Rachel Franklin explores how classical Western composers created a canon of both secular and sacred experiences that are now deeply rooted in our collective seasonal expectations.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258831?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258831?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Meditation and Mindfulness
Workshops
Meditation helps us build a relationship to a place of inner quietude. Whether you’re a beginner or a skilled practitioner, join us for free online meditation sessions each week led by DC-based meditation teachers on Tuesdays and Fridays. Friday sessions include inspiration from art in the museum collections as well as appearances by special guest teachers and artists. All are welcome! No previous experience is required. Meet our meditation teachers: Aparna Sadananda and Philip Bender.
Register and join the sessions here: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpdeuhqjItG9HB6wJ6vIhf5Vk-_Tm-RCtZ
Image:
Spring flowers, Kitagawa Sōsetsu (17th century), Japan, Edo period, mid-17th century, one of a pair of handscrolls; ink and color on paper, The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, Freer Gallery of Art, F2020.5.25.1a–b.
Event Location: Online. Online Link: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpdeuhqjItG9HB6wJ6vIhf5Vk-_Tm-RCtZ. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpdeuhqjItG9HB6wJ6vIhf5Vk-_Tm-RCtZ. Categories: Workshops. Webcasts & Online.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 45,000 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: Meet at Freer Information desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 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, December 12, 2023, 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Delivered Under Fire: Absalom Markland and Freedom’s Mail
One-Time Events
During the Civil War, letters between soldiers and their families were critical to morale on the frontlines and on the home front — they were nearly as important as ammunition. To ensure that the military mail was delivered, the U.S. Post Office Department deployed Special Agents across the country to deal with the millions of letters that were unleashed on the postal system. Arguably, the most important of these was Absalom Hanks Markland, who straddled the civilian and military worlds while creating the foundations for the military mail system of today. After the war, his swift response to Ku Klux Klan violence sparked passage of a landmark civil rights law. He was famous throughout the country during his lifetime, but forgotten until Delivered Under Fire, his first biography.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Discovery Center and on Zoom. Online Link: https://postalmuseum.si.edu/symposia-and-lectures. Cost: Free. Registration required. Categories: Lectures & Discussions. Accessibility: Captioning.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
Breaking Barriers with Universal Design for Learning and Women’s History | Cultivating Learning
Smithsonian Sponsored Events
Join us to explore ways to break learning barriers with women’s history resources and the Universal Design for Learning framework! Focusing on Mexican American labor activist Emma Tenayuca, educators from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum and the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology will share transferrable techniques, visual literacy activities, and digital resources to create inclusive learning experiences for all students. You’ll leave with tangible strategies to break barriers in your own classroom.
This interactive webinar is part of “Cultivating Learning,” a professional development webinar series focusing on techniques to use digital museum resources for learning. Check out “Cultivating Learning” and other Smithsonian Learning Lab webinars: https://learninglab.si.edu/help
Thumbnail image: Rupert García, "Emma Tenayuca," Smithsonian American Art Museum. https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/chicano-graphics/online/changemakers/emma-tenayuca.
Event Location: Online. Online Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdXW-sE0QVM. Cost: Free. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
Saturn: Many-Ringed Splendor A Grand Tour of the Solar System
Resident Associate Program
Adorned with thousands of beautiful rings, Saturn is unique: Other planets also have rings made of chunks of ice and rock, but none are as spectacular or as complicated as Saturn's. Jonathan Fortney, director of the Other Worlds Laboratory, explores what is known about Saturn and what scientists are hoping to discover.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258687?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258687?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 6:45 PM – 8:45 PM.
Brutalism: Masterpieces or Monstrosities?
Resident Associate Program
Brutalism, an architectural style emphasizing clarity in presentation of materials, emerged during the 1950s, played a key role in the rebuilding of devastated European cities in the wake of WWII, and remained influential globally into the 1970s. With hallmarks including raw, unpainted concrete; exposed brick and steel; and glass employed in new and unconventional ways, Brutalist buildings appeared striking and arresting to some but soulless monstrosities to others. Bill Keene traces the spread of the style and examines its many facets, including some surprising twists to stereotypical structures and a recent revival of interest in the style. (World History Art Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258801?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258801?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM.
Slavery, Secession, and Redemption: The Story of Ulysses S. Grant
Resident Associate Program
Captain Ulysses S. Grant resigned from the U.S. Army after facing charges of excessive drinking in 1854. In 1864, he became general-in-chief of the army. How did this turnaround happen? Historian John Reeves explains how Grant developed his latent skills to be a skilled commander while he was in the West at the beginning of the Civil War without the pressure faced by commanders in the East.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258800?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258800?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 7:00 PM – 8:15 PM.
Radio City Music Hall: Front and Center for the Christmas Spectacular
Resident Associate Program
There’s no more iconic holiday performance in New York than Radio City Music Hall’s famed Christmas Spectacular. And there’s no better way to see the precision dancing of the Rockettes than from prime orchestra seats in the fabulous Art Deco theater where the show has been a tradition since 1933. Before the theatrical magic begins at a matinee performance, get a special behind-the-scenes VIP tour of the Music Hall, covering the stunning 1930s interiors and art, the Great Stage, and Mighty Wurlitzer Organ—with an opportunity to meet a Rockette along the way.
Event Location: Departs Mayflower Hotel, DeSales St side 1127 Conn. Ave NW; Fringe: DoubleTree. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258281?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Workshops.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 6:45 AM – 11:00 PM.
Magical Cape May
Resident Associate Program
For over 200 years, Cape May, New Jersey, has welcomed travelers to its beachfront. But Cape May isn’t just a summer destination: During the winter season, this shore town transforms into a storybook holiday town. A two-day tour offers the opportunity to experience historic Cape May during a magical time of year.
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/258646?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 7:00 AM – Thursday, December 14, 2023, 8:00 PM.
Storytime: Think Outside the Crayon Box
One time events
What materials do you use to make art? Contemporary artists often experiment with unusual materials. Join us for a close look at artist Mark Bradford’s Pickett’s Charge and a read-aloud of A Day With No Crayons by Elizabeth Rusch, then create some unusual art of your own!
Meet in the Museum Lobby. Do this at home! Meet the tinker tray. Much more than a vessel of materials, tinker trays encourage loosely structured, open-ended play while developing fine motor skills, creativity, and imagination. Instructions here.
, ABOUT STORYTIME
Join Hirshhorn Kids on Wednesdays for a one-of-a-kind Storytime experience! Each week offers a fun and fresh theme for our youngest artists and their adults. Get a fun and hands-on introduction to a new artwork each week, and participate in a joyful read-aloud filled with music, stories, and movement. Then, stay and play while your little artist creates. No reservations or tickets required. Nursing caregivers are welcome. Stroller parking is available in the Hirshhorn Lobby. If…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden. Event Location: Meet in the Museum Lobby. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.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, December 13, 2023, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Afrofuturism Big Objects, Big Stories: I Go To Prepare A Place For You by Bisa Butler
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 and experience the infinite possibilities of Afrofuturism. About this Program: From the era of slavery to the present day, African Americans have re-imagined the futures and possibilities of black people across the globe through the dynamic lens of Afro-Futurism. I Go To Prepare A Place For You, by fiber artist Bisa Butler, is based upon a portrait of underground railroad conductor and abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Learn what the artwork reveals about Tubman’s complexity as a person, including her African ancestry, bravery, and legacy as an agent of change.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets at the I Go To Prepare A Place For You by Bisa Butler, Level 4. Talks take place at: 10:15 AM, 11:15 AM, and 12:15 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. Visual Arts: The American Experience .
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 10:15 AM – 12:30 PM.
For more info visit nmaahc.si.edu. Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258499?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 10:15 AM – 11:00 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 10:30 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, December 13, 2023, 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM.
Black Futures Spotlights: The Sounds of Afrofuturism
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Our 25-minute spotlight tours provide an engaging introduction to a key topic in the Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures exhibition.
About this program: Sci fi. Technology. Music. Pop culture. Activism. Liberation. Afrofuturism is Black resiliency and evolution. Journey across the stars and galaxies with a docent and explore the sounds of Afrofuturism. Learn about musicians that are strong proponents of Afrofuturism.
Image: Purple star costume designed by Sun Ra and worn by Arkestra members. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets at Sun Ra's case, in the Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures exhibition located on the Concourse Level. Talks take place at: 10:30 AM, 11:30 AM, and 12:30 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 10:30 AM – 12:50 PM.
Outdoor Walking Tour: The Museum, A Century in the Making
Ongoing Tours & Activities
During this 25-min outdoor walking tour, visitors hear the story behind the design of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and explore its unique architectural features.
Photo Credit: NMAAHC.
Event Location: Programs meets at the oculus, located on 14th Street and Constitution Ave. Each 25-min program start at: 10:30 AM, 11:30 AM, and 12:30 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 10:30 AM – 12:55 PM.
Virtual Young Portrait Explorers
One-Time Events
Join educators with the National Portrait Gallery as we learn about art, history and more! This 30-minute virtual workshop incorporates close looking at portraiture, movement activities and artmaking. Recommended for children ages three and up and their adult companions.
Event Location: Online via Zoom. Cost: Free. Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/national-portrait-gallery-810710525. Categories: Kids & Families.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM.
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.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Explore More! in STEM: Flying High with the Triple Nickles
One-Time Events
Explore More! in STEM is a pop-up program for ages 8+ that focuses on a particular STEM concept and relates it to the museum or African American History and Culture. In this lesson, people will learn about 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (aka the Triple Nickles), make their own parachutes, and test them.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: 2nd Floor Classrooms. Cost: This is a *free* event! Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Look for our friendly volunteer at the Welcome Desk for a 45 minute tour of the highlights of the museum.
Event Location: Starts at the Welcome Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: FREE. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258500?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
The Huns: Nomads, Attila, and the Fall of Rome
Resident Associate Program
In the history of Western civilization, few peoples are as important and yet as mysterious as the Huns. They were only powerful for some 100 years, yet they played a critical role in the collapse of the western Roman empire. Historian David Gwynn covers the full breadth of the Hun world from the Chinese steppe to Attila’s invasion of France and Italy.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258688?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258688?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 45,000 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: Meet at Freer Information desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 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, December 13, 2023, 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258501?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM.
Demon Pond
National Museum of Asian Art
Get tickets
Myth, magic, and mystery suffuse Masahiro Shinoda’s oneiric 1979 adaptation of Demon Pond, a fabular play by the renowned Kyōka Izumi. Wandering through the countryside, a schoolteacher (Tsutomu Yamazaki) arrives at a village suffering from severe drought. There, he discovers his long-lost friend, Akira (Gō Katō), who is now married to Yuri (Kabuki actor Tamasaburō Bandō), a potential sorceress whose fate is intertwined with a bell that must be rung to appease a nearby lake’s dragon god—otherwise, an apocalyptic flood will be unleashed upon the region. Desperate for water, the foolish villagers are planning to sacrifice Yuri to the dragon; meanwhile, a host of pond spirits, led by the love-smitten Princess Shirayuki (also played by Bandō), debate whether they should save these humans from their deserved doom. Description courtesy of Janus Films. (Dir.: Masahiro Shinoda, Japan, 1979, 123 min. DCP, Japanese with English subtitles), Film admission policy: Films are shown in the 300-seat Meyer…
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Categories: Films.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 2:00 PM – 4:15 PM.
Conservation Classroom: Suited for Survival
Special Zoo Events
Suited for Survival, What is an adaptation and how do they help animals thrive? From turtle with shells to skunks that smell, learn how each unique adaptation serves an important purpose. Grade/Learning Level: K-5, Standards: K-LS1-1, K-ESS2-2, K-ESS3-1, 1-LS1-2, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS3-1, 3-LS3-2, 3-LS4-3, 4-LS1-1, Program Details & Accessibility: Conservation Classroom is a collection of programs that include live virtual programs each month from September through May. These programs are designed for multiple groups of students to join and learn together. We welcome all audiences from individuals and home-schooling families to large groups and schools. Programs are hosted via Zoom in the webinar format. Individual participants’ audio and video will be disabled, but students can actively participate using polls, emoji reactions, Q&A, and chat to hosts. Program includes live captioning, American sign language (ASL) interpretation, and simulcast Spanish translation. The program will be recorded and posted on our…
Event Location: Online. Cost: Free! Registration is required. Categories: Kids & Families. Webcasts & Online. Related Events: This program is part of Conservation Classroom, a collection of monthly lessons aligned to Next Generation Science Standards for grades K-5. Each month we explore a new life science or earth science topic and meet some of the National Zoo's animals to learn about animals and the environment. Visit the Zoo's school program page for more information and additional resources for Conservation Classroom. Accessibility: ASL-interpreted program. Captioning.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Coral Reef Tank Talk
One-Time Events
Swim by the Sant Ocean Hall to meet some of the coral reef species that call the Smithsonian NMNH home! Hosted by an Ocean Educator, this interactive cart experience will walk you through the world of saltwater fish, coral colonies, and invertebrates galore!
Image Credit: Sant Ocean Hall, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, from the main hall, 2nd floor. Photo by Jennifer Renteria, Smithsonian.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, The Sant Ocean Hall. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: The Sant Ocean Hall. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM.
Einstein's Space and Times
Resident Associate Program
Einstein's theory of relativity was both scientifically and politically controversial in his day, with political enemies creating a public furor to undermine it. The result was a combination of death threats at home and celebrity abroad that led Einstein into exile as the world's most recognizable figure. Steven Gimbel of Gettysburg College offers a unique look into a part of Einstein’s past that is rarely discussed.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258832?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258832?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 6:30 PM – 7:45 PM.
Casablanca: We'll Always Have Paris
Resident Associate Program
Was ever a movie so loved? Rick and Ilsa. Sam at the piano. The Nazis, the nightclub, the goodbye at the airport. Casablanca is about life at its most fragile and meaningful, movie stars at their most beautiful and moving, and a supporting cast of real-life escapees from Nazi-held Europe. Documentary filmmaker and writer Sara Lukinson explores the making of the film, backstage dramas, and the times that turned what was just another film on the lot into an immortal love story of intrigue and transit papers.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258833?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258833?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM.
Picasso's War: How Modern Art Came to America
Resident Associate Program
In January 1939, Pablo Picasso was renowned in Europe but disdained by many in the United States. One year later, the public clamored to view the groundbreaking exhibition Picasso: Forty Years of His Art, which launched Picasso in America and defined the Museum of Modern Art as we know it. Author and senior editor at Foreign Affairs Hugh Eakin reveals how a single exhibition irrevocably changed American taste, and in doing so saved dozens of the 20th century’s most enduring artworks from the Nazis. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258834?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258834?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM.
Little Critters: Nature Play
Special Zoo Events
Come play with us at the Zoo!
Bring your little zoogoer for a wild time as we explore animals and nature through creative, drop-in play!
Dig for horseshoe crabs in the sand table, build a beaver dam in the water, make lunch for a bird in the mud kitchens, or just drop-in for a story or two!
Little Critters Nature Play is designed for ages 0-5 and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome. Parents and guardians must remain with their children.
Location: Bird House Classroom.
Venue: National Zoo. Event Location: Bird House Classroom. Cost: Free drop-in program; no pre-registration required.Parents and guardians must remain with their children. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 9:30 AM – 1:30 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.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258502?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 10:15 AM – 11:00 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 10:30 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, December 14, 2023, 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM.
Drawn to Figures
One-Time Events
Discover your inner artist in this live virtual drawing workshop. Facilitated by artist Jill Galloway, each program will highlight a Portrait Gallery exhibition or portrait from the collection. Open to all skill levels, ages 18 and up.
Event Location: Online via Zoom. Cost: Free. Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/national-portrait-gallery-810710525. Categories: Workshops. Demonstrations.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 11:00 AM – 1:00 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.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Look for our friendly volunteer at the Welcome Desk for a 45 minute tour of the highlights of the museum.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Starts at the Welcome Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: FREE. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
A Colorful Path: What the Ancient Pigment Ochre Tells Us About the Modern Human Mind
One-Time Events
Ochre and mineral pigments have been used for well over 100,000 years by our species, Homo sapiens. These iron-rich, brightly colored rocks are still widely used around the world today in many ways – from skin protection and medicine to paint – but how do we know how and why it was used in past?
Tammy Hodgskiss is an archaeologist and curator at Origins Centre, University of the Witwatersrand, who researches how humans used ochre in the past in southern Africa. In this presentation she will discuss new research and interpretations on early human interactions with ochre. Moderator: Briana Pobiner, paleoanthropologist and educator at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
This program will be presented as a Zoom video webinar. A link will be emailed to all registrants. Get tickets/Register here.
Event Location: Online; Internet connection required. Cost: Free; registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/89237125/a-colorful-pathwhat-the-ancient-pigment-ochre-tells-us-about-the-modern-human-mind-washington-national-museum-of-natural-history. Categories: Webcasts & Online. Accessibility: Captioning.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
For more info visit www.etix.com. Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258503?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
The Smithsonian Museums: Tracing the Arc of American Architecture
Resident Associate Program
The Smithsonian Institution has shaped the character of the National Mall since 1855. Washington’s most beloved museums offer a panorama of American architecture, with each unique building a study all its own. Carolyn Muraskin of DC Design Tours investigates the style, design, controversy, construction, and fascinating backstory behind these celebrated museums. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258802?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258802?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 45,000 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: Meet at Freer Information desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Afrofuturism Big Objects, Big Stories: I Go To Prepare A Place For You by Bisa Butler
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 and experience the infinite possibilities of Afrofuturism. About this Program: From the era of slavery to the present day, African Americans have re-imagined the futures and possibilities of black people across the globe through the dynamic lens of Afro-Futurism. I Go To Prepare A Place For You, by fiber artist Bisa Butler, is based upon a portrait of underground railroad conductor and abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Learn what the artwork reveals about Tubman’s complexity as a person, including her African ancestry, bravery, and legacy as an agent of change.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets at the I Go To Prepare A Place For You by Bisa Butler, Level 4. Talks take place at: 1:15 PM, 2:15 PM, and 3:15 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
Visual Arts: The American Experience .
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 1:15 PM – 3:30 PM.
For more info visit nmaahc.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.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 1:15 PM – 3:30 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 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, December 14, 2023, 1:15 PM – 3:30 PM.
Through the African American Lens: The Color Purple
One-Time Events
NMAAHC invites audiences to experience the extraordinary sisterhood of three women who share one unbreakable bond in The Color Purple. This cinematic adaptation of the beloved theatrical and literary classic is directed by Blitz Bazawule and produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones. The Color Purple features an all-star cast with Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R. Halle Bailey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Fantasia Barrino, in her major motion picture debut. Rated PG-13 for mature thematic content, sexual content, violence and language. Parental discretion is advised. .
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Concourse, Oprah Winfrey Theater. Cost: Free; Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/84591200/through-the-african-american-lensthe-color-purplegp-washington-national-museum-of-african-american-history-culture-public-programs. Categories: Films. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM.
Observe the Conservation of James Hampton’s Throne of the Third Heaven
One-Time Events
Join us to watch ongoing treatment of James Hampton's The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’ Millennium General Assembly in a temporary conservation space on the museum’s first floor. In this recurring program, conservators and registrars at SAAM talk with the public about the intricate methods and materials used by Hampton as they do their work.
Image credit: Anna Nielsen.
Venue: American Art Museum. Event Location: G Street Lobby. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Demonstrations.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM.
Tour of "Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings"
Tours
Join a tour of the special exhibition, Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings, featuring artworks excavated from the capital of the ancient Shang Dynasty (ca. 1250 BCE–ca.1050 BCE), including jades and bronze vessels. Learn about the advanced technology of bronze casting, explore intricate and sophisticated designs of ritual objects, and discover famous “oracle bones.”.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Meet at the Sackler Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: https://asia.si.edu/exhibition/anyang-chinas-ancient-city-of-kings/.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Take Time Thursday: Random Acts of Kindness
One-Time Events
Tis the season to be jolly! Whether you celebrate the holidays or not, this is a good time of year to give back. Join Take Time Thursday host, Jenelle Cooper, as she discusses the power of giving and challenges you to identify ways to show random acts of kindness. Jenelle Cooper is the community services and program coordinator at the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. She has been at the museum for 27 years. #TakeTimeThursday with Anacostia Community Museum gives participants a chance to take time for wellness, health, and creativity with wellness practitioners, artists, thought leaders, performers, and issues advocates. Take a 45-minute break with us and boost your mind, body, and spirit.
Event Location: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_egPPlsB4SL-UkcyYy5QS5A. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/take-time-thursday-random-acts-of-kindness-tickets-754594802367?aff=oddtdtcreator. Categories: Webcasts & Online. Lectures & Discussions.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 2:30 PM – 3:15 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!
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, The Sant Ocean Hall. Cost: Free and open to the public. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Kids & Families. Lectures & Discussions. Demonstrations. Related Exhibition: The Sant Ocean Hall. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM.
Virtual Portrait Signs
One-Time Events
Explore the National Portrait Gallery’s collection with a Deaf docent. These 60-minute tours in American Sign Language are offered monthly, both in person and on Zoom.
Event Location: Online via Zoom. Cost: Free. Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/national-portrait-gallery-810710525. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: ASL-interpreted program.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Musical Thinking Gallery Talk
One-Time Events
Go in-depth with Saisha Grayson, curator of time-based media at SAAM, as she discusses the years-long curatorial process behind Musical Thinking: New Video Art and Sonic Strategies. Learn about her reasons for featuring selected artists and video art, with a special focus on auditory artworks and how they merge together in this evocative and emotionally resonant exhibition.
Image Credit: Cauleen Smith, Sojourner, 2018, digital video, color, sound; 22:41 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the SJ Weiler Fund, 2020.54.1, © 2020, Cauleen Smith.
Venue: American Art Museum. Event Location: Meet in G Street Lobby. Cost: Free | Registration encouraged. Get Tickets/Register: https://events.blackthorn.io/5f4ZMUx7/4a2bVR29bt. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Musical Thinking: New Video Art and Sonic Strategies.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 5:30 PM.
History Film Forum presents: Our Hospitality (1923)
Ongoing Tours & Activities
The History Film Forum presents Our Hospitality (1923) as it turns 100 years old.
Come see Buster Keaton’s first masterpiece, the hilarious story of a Romeo who meets his Juliet only to discover a family feud and future in-laws who want him dead. A satirical take on the historic Hatfield-McCoy feud, the film combines high drama, thrilling adventure, and Keaton's stone-faced slapstick; Leonard Maltin calls it a "sublime silent comedy, one of Buster's best, with a genuinely hair-raising finale."
This special screening of the silent film Our Hospitality features the premiere of a new score by composer Andrew Earle Simpson, performed live by the Andrew Simpson Ensemble. Before the film begins, get a closer look at museum objects out of storage, including a bicycle featured in the film—the very first movie prop ever collected by the Smithsonian. With an introduction from the National Museum of American History’s entertainment curator Ryan Lintelman and a chance to see this film in the newly renovated Warner Br…
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: 1 Center, Warner Bros. Theater. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/history-film-forum-presents-our-hospitality-1923-tickets-735838321227?aff=2. Categories: Films. Performances. Related Exhibition: Entertainment Nation. Accessibility: ASL-interpreted program. Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 6:15 PM – 9:15 PM.
SOLD OUT - After Hours Sip & Create: Holiday Nature Crafting (21+)
One-Time Events
This event has reached capacity; tickets are sold out.
Nature is all around us, and we are connected to it in countless ways. Our experiences with nature can inspire us to connect, care, and act. The Our Places: Connecting People and Nature exhibit features personal stories of connection and inspiration from scientists and community leaders, and is closing in 2024. Join the National Museum of Natural History for an After Hours Sip & Create before the exhibit closes and celebrate your connection to nature with holiday nature crafting. Your $30 ticket includes: 2 drinks and light snacks , Chat with scientists and experts featured in Our Places: Connecting People and Nature , Holiday crafting: paper cranes and bee boxes and more , Access to Q?rius Education Center after hours, A limited number of tickets will be available for a tour of the Our Places: Connecting People and Nature exhibit ($35 ticket).
This is a 21+ event. Registration and identification are required. ID’s will be checked at the door. Masks…
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: Ground Floor, Q?rius: The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center. Cost: General Admission: $30.00
General Admission PLUS Bonus Tour of Our Places: Connecting People and Nature: $35.00 (limited capacity). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/67223071/after-hours-sip-createholiday-nature-crafting-washington-national-museum-of-natural-history. Categories: After Five. Gallery Talks & Tours. Demonstrations. Workshops. Related Exhibition: Our Places: Connecting People and Nature. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
For more info visit www.etix.com. Romeo and Juliet
Resident Associate Program
Few works of Shakespeare are as instantly recognizable as Romeo and Juliet. Joseph Luzzi, professor of literature at Bard College, takes a fresh look at one of the greatest love stories of all time, paying particular attention to Shakespeare’s original use of language and his ability to capture the inner lives of his characters.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258342?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258342?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
Holiday Desserts Around the World
Resident Associate Program
Immerse yourself in the fascinating world of holiday treats and traditions with food historian and author Francine Segan. Join her for a delightful evening in which she explores the intriguing stories behind America's cherished Christmas sweets and spotlights scrumptious desserts from holidays celebrated worldwide. Following the program, enjoy a reception with an array of treats and take home recipes for baking your own holiday-inspired desserts.
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/258779?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Culinary Arts.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 6:45 PM – 8:30 PM.
Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans
Resident Associate Program
Malcolm Evans, the Beatles’ long-time roadie, personal assistant, and devoted friend, was an invaluable member of the band’s inner circle during the group’s remarkable years of success and continued in their employ as each later embarked on solo careers. Evans’s memoirs of his life with the Beatles never saw print, and his diaries, manuscripts, and memorabilia were thought missing for decades after his tragic death. Beatles’ scholar and author Kenneth Womack reveals Mal’s unknown story at the heart of the Beatles’ legend and unseen photos and ephemera that supply the missing puzzle piece in the Fab Four’s incredible story.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258835?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258835?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Thursday, December 14, 2023, 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM.
Conversation Circles
One-Time Events
Calling all English language learners! Join National Portrait Gallery educators and friends from all over the world. Together, we’ll use portraiture to learn about U.S. art, history and culture. This program takes place every other week. Meet new friends, learn about different cultures and practice your English.
Event Location: G Street Lobby. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Categories: Lectures & Discussions.
Friday, December 15, 2023, 10:00 AM – 12:00 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.
Friday, December 15, 2023, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258504?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Friday, December 15, 2023, 10:15 AM – 11:00 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 10:30 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, December 15, 2023, 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM.
Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Friday, December 15, 2023, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Ocean Explorer Theater Spotlight
One-Time Events
Looking for a deeper dive into ocean topics like animal adaptations, behavior, biodiversity, or ecology? Come and join one of our Ocean Educators in Explorer Theater to watch short videos, explore specimens, and learn more about our blue planet!
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, Explorer Theater in 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, December 15, 2023, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
Hightlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Look for our friendly volunteer at the Welcome Desk for a 45 minute tour of the highlights of the museum.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Starts at the Welcome Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: FREE. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, December 15, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258505?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Friday, December 15, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Whistler's World Tour
Tours
Join a walk-in, docent-led tour to explore the many sides of American artist James McNeill Whistler. Experience the artist’s paintings, watercolors, pastels, and prints along with objects by Asian artists that inspired his style and subjects.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Freer Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Friday, December 15, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Weekend Workshops
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Calling all artists! Get creative during our drop-in workshops for all ages. Learn about artists and change-makers and create art inspired by their stories.
Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Categories: Kids & Families. Workshops.
Friday, December 15, 2023, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Sacred Images: The Christmas Story in Renaissance Art
Resident Associate Program
The Christmas story has inspired some of the most affectionate, gentle, and intimate images in the history of Western art. How the biblical narrative was portrayed in Renaissance art dramatically evolved over time, mirroring changes in society and shifts in religious attitude. Moving from a narrow, sacred vision of mother and child to a full-blown cast of humans and animals, Renaissance art historian Elaine Ruffolo offers a lavishly illustrated exploration of the Christmas story as told through painting. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258836?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258836?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Friday, December 15, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Meditation and Mindfulness
Workshops
Meditation helps us build a relationship to a place of inner quietude. Whether you’re a beginner or a skilled practitioner, join us for free online meditation sessions each week led by DC-based meditation teachers on Tuesdays and Fridays. Friday sessions include inspiration from art in the museum collections as well as appearances by special guest teachers and artists. All are welcome! No previous experience is required. Meet our meditation teachers: Aparna Sadananda and Philip Bender.
Register and join the sessions here: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpdeuhqjItG9HB6wJ6vIhf5Vk-_Tm-RCtZ
Image:
Spring flowers, Kitagawa Sōsetsu (17th century), Japan, Edo period, mid-17th century, one of a pair of handscrolls; ink and color on paper, The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, Freer Gallery of Art, F2020.5.25.1a–b.
Event Location: Online. Online Link: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpdeuhqjItG9HB6wJ6vIhf5Vk-_Tm-RCtZ. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpdeuhqjItG9HB6wJ6vIhf5Vk-_Tm-RCtZ. Categories: Workshops. Webcasts & Online.
Friday, December 15, 2023, 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 45,000 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: Meet at Freer Information desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Friday, December 15, 2023, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258506?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Friday, December 15, 2023, 1:00 PM – 1:45 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.
Friday, December 15, 2023, 1:30 PM – 2:15 PM.
Observe the Conservation of James Hampton’s Throne of the Third Heaven
One-Time Events
Join us to watch ongoing treatment of James Hampton's The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’ Millennium General Assembly in a temporary conservation space on the museum’s first floor. In this recurring program, conservators and registrars at SAAM talk with the public about the intricate methods and materials used by Hampton as they do their work.
Image credit: Anna Nielsen.
Venue: American Art Museum. Event Location: G Street Lobby. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Demonstrations.
Friday, December 15, 2023, 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM.
Tour of "Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings"
Tours
Join a tour of the special exhibition, Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings, featuring artworks excavated from the capital of the ancient Shang Dynasty (ca. 1250 BCE–ca.1050 BCE), including jades and bronze vessels. Learn about the advanced technology of bronze casting, explore intricate and sophisticated designs of ritual objects, and discover famous “oracle bones.”.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Meet at the Sackler Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: https://asia.si.edu/exhibition/anyang-chinas-ancient-city-of-kings/.
Friday, December 15, 2023, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
California Dreaming
Resident Associate Program
When winter looms with cold weather, it's only natural that thoughts turn to warmer climes and warmer wines. Discover some of the most exciting expressions of California wine through a delicious tasting designed to warm your soul with whites and reds that will wipe away the winter blues.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258302?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258302?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Friday, December 15, 2023, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
Art Cart: Super Storyteller
One time events
How do you tell stories? Artists often use their materials to help tell stories. Join us to explore Mark Bradford’s Pickett’s Charge and to tell your own stories with art.
Find the Art Cart on the Third Level and pick up your storytelling materials.
Art Cart is taking a winter pause. Our final 2023 outing is our program on Saturday, Dec 16 from 10 am–1 pm. Bookmark our Kids webpage or sign-up for our free biweekly Kids e-news to be first to know what we’ll roll out in the new year. Do this at home! Reveal the layers within a story that matters to you with Mark Bradford. Instructions here.
, ABOUT THE ART CART
Want to make art inspired by your favorite Hirshhorn works on view? The Art Cart offers young artists a hands-on maker experience during their visit to the Hirshhorn. Each week’s Art Cart offers a fresh and fun theme featuring an artwork on view, an artmaking activity to do at the Museum, and kids projects to extend the fun at home!
The Art Cart is free; no registration required. Drop in any…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden. Event Location: Third Level. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, December 16, 2023, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.si.edu. Weekend Workshop: Mindful in the Museum
One-Time Events
Join Art Educator Sean Murphy for an interactive workshop in mindfulness and art. Inspired by the exhibition, Kinship, participants will be guided through breathing exercises, and a mindfulness activity, before visiting the galleries and creating their own mindfulness books. This workshop is for participants ages 16+.
Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. Registration Required. Categories: Workshops.
Saturday, December 16, 2023, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. 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, December 16, 2023, 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 10:30 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, December 16, 2023, 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM.
Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Saturday, December 16, 2023, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Look for our friendly volunteer at the Welcome Desk for a 45 minute tour of the highlights of the museum.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Starts at the Welcome Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, December 16, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Observe the Conservation of James Hampton’s Throne of the Third Heaven
One-Time Events
Join us to watch ongoing treatment of James Hampton's The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’ Millennium General Assembly in a temporary conservation space on the museum’s first floor. In this recurring program, conservators and registrars at SAAM talk with the public about the intricate methods and materials used by Hampton as they do their work.
Image credit: Anna Nielsen.
Venue: American Art Museum. Event Location: G Street Lobby. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Demonstrations.
Saturday, December 16, 2023, 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Special Exhibitions Tour
Tours
Join a walk-in, docent-led tour featuring a selection of special exhibitions. Each tour is unique and may include artworks from exhibitions such as Palace Life Unfolds: Conserving a Chinese Screen, Ancient Yemen: Incense, Art, and Trade, The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room, and The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas. Please visit the museum event calendar for details.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, December 16, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Women of the Freer
Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art invites you to celebrate the women in our collection—ancient and modern, human and divine. This docent-led tour will introduce you to influential women and their little-known stories.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Freer Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, December 16, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Weekend Workshops
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Calling all artists! Get creative during our drop-in workshops for all ages. Learn about artists and change-makers and create art inspired by their stories.
Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Categories: Kids & Families. Workshops.
Saturday, December 16, 2023, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 45,000 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: Meet at Freer Information desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Saturday, December 16, 2023, 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, December 16, 2023, 1:30 PM – 2:15 PM.
Craftivist Circle: Craftivist Year End Celebration
One-Time Events
Crafty hands and like minds come together to create change. Learn about historic conditions that have led our current society while crocheting and knitting. Topics change monthly and include mental health, food access, environmental justice, restorative justice and others.
2-3 p.m.: Beginner's Crochet Lessons and Current Project Support
3-4 p.m.: Themed Community Discussion While Crafting.
Venue: Anacostia Community Museum. Event Location: Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum 1901 Fort Pl, SE Washington, DC 20020. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/craftivist-circle-craftivist-year-end-celebration-tickets-646424271397. Categories: Lectures & Discussions. Demonstrations.
Saturday, December 16, 2023, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Tour of "Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings"
Tours
Join a tour of the special exhibition, Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings, featuring artworks excavated from the capital of the ancient Shang Dynasty (ca. 1250 BCE–ca.1050 BCE), including jades and bronze vessels. Learn about the advanced technology of bronze casting, explore intricate and sophisticated designs of ritual objects, and discover famous “oracle bones.”.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Meet at the Sackler Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: https://asia.si.edu/exhibition/anyang-chinas-ancient-city-of-kings/.
Saturday, December 16, 2023, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Little Critters: Nature Play
Special Zoo Events
Come play with us at the Zoo!
Bring your little zoogoer for a wild time as we explore animals and nature through creative, drop-in play!
Dig for horseshoe crabs in the sand table, build a beaver dam in the water, make lunch for a bird in the mud kitchens, or just drop-in for a story or two!
Little Critters Nature Play is designed for ages 0-5 and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome. Parents and guardians must remain with their children.
Location: Bird House Classroom.
Venue: National Zoo. Event Location: Bird House Classroom. Cost: Free drop-in program; no pre-registration required.Parents and guardians must remain with their children. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, December 17, 2023, 9:30 AM – 1:30 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, December 17, 2023, 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 10:30 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, December 17, 2023, 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM.
Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Sunday, December 17, 2023, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Special Exhibitions Tour
Tours
Join a walk-in, docent-led tour featuring a selection of special exhibitions. Each tour is unique and may include artworks from exhibitions such as Palace Life Unfolds: Conserving a Chinese Screen, Ancient Yemen: Incense, Art, and Trade, The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room, and The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas. Please visit the museum event calendar for details.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Sunday, December 17, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Whistler's World Tour
Tours
Join a walk-in, docent-led tour to explore the many sides of American artist James McNeill Whistler. Experience the artist’s paintings, watercolors, pastels, and prints along with objects by Asian artists that inspired his style and subjects.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Freer Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Sunday, December 17, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Weekend Workshops
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Calling all artists! Get creative during our drop-in workshops for all ages. Learn about artists and change-makers and create art inspired by their stories.
Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Categories: Kids & Families. Workshops.
Sunday, December 17, 2023, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 45,000 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: Meet at Freer Information desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Sunday, December 17, 2023, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit asia.si.edu. Afrofuturism Big Objects, Big Stories: I Go To Prepare A Place For You by Bisa Butler
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 and experience the infinite possibilities of Afrofuturism. About this Program: From the era of slavery to the present day, African Americans have re-imagined the futures and possibilities of black people across the globe through the dynamic lens of Afro-Futurism. I Go To Prepare A Place For You, by fiber artist Bisa Butler, is based upon a portrait of underground railroad conductor and abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Learn what the artwork reveals about Tubman’s complexity as a person, including her African ancestry, bravery, and legacy as an agent of change.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets at the I Go To Prepare A Place For You by Bisa Butler, Level 4. Talks take place at: 1:15 PM, 2:15 PM, and 3:15 PM. Cost: Free; walk-in
Tours are subject to docent availability; last minute cancellations may occur. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
Visual Arts: The American Experience .
Sunday, December 17, 2023, 1:15 PM – 3:30 PM.
For more info visit nmaahc.si.edu. Tour of "Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings"
Tours
Join a tour of the special exhibition, Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings, featuring artworks excavated from the capital of the ancient Shang Dynasty (ca. 1250 BCE–ca.1050 BCE), including jades and bronze vessels. Learn about the advanced technology of bronze casting, explore intricate and sophisticated designs of ritual objects, and discover famous “oracle bones.”.
Venue: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Event Location: Meet at the Sackler Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: https://asia.si.edu/exhibition/anyang-chinas-ancient-city-of-kings/.
Sunday, December 17, 2023, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258507?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Monday, December 18, 2023, 10:15 AM – 11:00 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 10:30 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, December 18, 2023, 10:30 AM – 3:30 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. Categories: Kids & Families. Workshops.
Monday, December 18, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Look for our friendly volunteer at the Welcome Desk for a 45 minute tour of the highlights of the museum.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Starts at the Welcome Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Monday, December 18, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258508?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Monday, December 18, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Women of the Freer
Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art invites you to celebrate the women in our collection—ancient and modern, human and divine. This docent-led tour will introduce you to influential women and their little-known stories.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Freer Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Monday, December 18, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 45,000 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: Meet at Freer Information desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Monday, December 18, 2023, 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.
Monday, December 18, 2023, 1:15 PM – 3:30 PM.
Storytime in Our Explore! Family Space
One-Time Events
Story time in our Explore! Space immerses you in tales of artists, presidents, inventors, athletes and more! Visit our family space before or after story time to play and learn about portraiture.
Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Categories: Kids & Families. Workshops.
Monday, December 18, 2023, 1:30 PM – 2:00 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.
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.
Monday, December 18, 2023, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Machu Picchu: A Virtual Adventure
Resident Associate Program
Once it was "discovered" by explorer and academic Hiram Bingham in the first decade of the of 20th century, Machu Picchu became attached to seemingly endless speculation about its origins, purpose, and meaning. Cultural historian George Scheper traces the travels of Bingham to see the archaeological ruins as he first beheld them, and then, guided by modern scholarship, he revisits the site as it is today.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258640?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258640?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Monday, December 18, 2023, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
Drawing the Outlines of the Middle East: A History Rooted in Bad Faith
Resident Associate Program
During World War I, Britain made a series of conflicting promises to Arab leaders, French diplomats, and Zionist representatives regarding the future of the Middle East, pledging to help establish an Arab empire, then offering to divide the same land with the French. Historian Ralph Nurnberger examines the figures involved in the often-contradictory secret negotiations, as well as how the results contributed to more than a century of conflicts in the region and the establishment of the modern states of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258837?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258837?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Monday, December 18, 2023, 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM.
Little Critters: Nature Play
Special Zoo Events
Come play with us at the Zoo!
Bring your little zoogoer for a wild time as we explore animals and nature through creative, drop-in play!
Dig for horseshoe crabs in the sand table, build a beaver dam in the water, make lunch for a bird in the mud kitchens, or just drop-in for a story or two!
Little Critters Nature Play is designed for ages 0-5 and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome. Parents and guardians must remain with their children.
Location: Bird House Classroom.
Venue: National Zoo. Event Location: Bird House Classroom. Cost: Free drop-in program; no pre-registration required.Parents and guardians must remain with their children. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023, 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM.
Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258509?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023, 10:15 AM – 11:00 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 10:30 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, December 19, 2023, 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM.
Play Date at NMNH: Exploring Colors of the Coral Reef
One-Time Events
Join us on Tuesdays for special family play dates with museum educators!During the month of December, we will be exploring color! Each week, families will explore color through different natural history themes. Come play, make art, and make up-close observations of colorful specimens! Tuesday, December 5: Rocks and Minerals , Tuesday, December 12: Insects , Tuesday, December 19: Colorful Coral, The event is part of our drop-in program, Play Date at NMNH. Play Date at NMNH is a program designed for early learners (ages 0-5) and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome.
Location: This program is held in the Explorer Theater in the Sant Ocean Hall 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 request this…
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, Explorer Theater in Sant Ocean Hall. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM.
Explore More! in STEM: Having Fun with Frequencies
One-Time Events
Explore More! in STEM is a classroom program for ages 8+ to explore STEM concepts in relation to African American history, culture, or the museum. In this lesson, people will learn about sound, frequency, famous African American electric guitarists, and how electric guitars work.
Image Credit: Robert Stewart | NMAAHC.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: 2nd Floor Classrooms. Cost: This is a *free* event! Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Highlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Look for our friendly volunteer at the Welcome Desk for a 45 minute tour of the highlights of the museum.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Starts at the Welcome Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258510?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Whistler's World Tour
Tours
Join a walk-in, docent-led tour to explore the many sides of American artist James McNeill Whistler. Experience the artist’s paintings, watercolors, pastels, and prints along with objects by Asian artists that inspired his style and subjects.
Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Freer Information Desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
Spotlights: Freedom Now! The Modern Civil Rights Movement (1945-1968)
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Our 25-minute spotlight tours provide an engaging introduction to a key topic in the Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation 1876-1968 exhibition.
About this program: After World War II, a generation of African Americans saw less and less reason to endure attacks on their civil rights. Learn how African Americans survived the challenges set before and explore how the nation emerged more in sync with its pronouncements about freedom, equality, and democracy.
Photo Credit: NMAAHC.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Program meets at the entrance to Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation 1876-1968 exhibition, located on C2. Each 25 min talk takes 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. Related Exhibition: Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation 1876-1968.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023, 12:45 PM – 3:10 PM.
Smithsonian Board of Regents Annual Public Forum
Smithsonian Sponsored Events
The Smithsonian Board of Regents will hold its annual public forum as a live, virtual webcast. The discussion will focus on key matters at the Smithsonian, including the new museums (the National Museum of the American Latino and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum), the America250 celebration, collections space planning, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Event Location: Online. Online Link: https://www.si.edu/regents/webcasts. Cost: Free. Categories: Webcasts & Online.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit www.si.edu. Permanent Collection Tour
Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 45,000 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: Meet at Freer Information desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023, 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, December 19, 2023, 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Virtual Writing Hour
One-Time Events
Join us for a virtual creative writing hour at the National Portrait Gallery! We’ve set up an online space where writers can create, connect and draw inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collection. Bring a happy hour beverage of choice and write with us. We will provide writing prompts, and participants are welcome to bring their own writing project-in-progress. Attendees will write for about 30 minutes and end each session with a brief discussion or reading.
Event Location: Online via Zoom. Cost: Free. Registration Required. Categories: Workshops.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. The Trojan War: Did It Happen?
Resident Associate Program
Archaeologists and historians have struggled to answer questions about the Iliad, Homer's magnificent account of the Trojan War. Is there any historical truth in a face that launched a thousand ships or was there simply a 10-year struggle for political hegemony in the Aegean? Classicist Eric Cline examines the latest archaeological and textual discoveries that lead to the conclusion that a Trojan War, or several such wars, did indeed take place during the Late Bronze Age.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258838?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258838?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Webcasts & Online.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023, 6:30 PM – 7:45 PM.
Three Pillars of Chinese Culture: Architecture, Film, and Ideology
Resident Associate Program
Chinese culture has a long, rich history. In this series, historian Justin M. Jacobs delves into the sweeping changes enacted in the realms of gender, language, education, and architecture during the Mao years.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258276?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258276?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: After Five. Lectures & Discussions.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023, 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM.
Storytime: Rosie Revere, Engineer
One time events
Everyone can do it! Put on your red bandana and join us for a special Storytime. We’ll look at the installation Belief+Doubt by artist Barbara Kruger, participate in a lively read-aloud of Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty, and engineer our own works of art.
Meet in the Museum Lobby.
Storytime is taking a holiday pause after December 20. Please join us again Wednesday, January 10, for Storytime: Back to the Drawing Board. Do this at home! Transform a box into a unique space inspired by Siah Armajani. Instructions here.
, ABOUT STORYTIME
Join Hirshhorn Kids on Wednesdays for a one-of-a-kind storytime experience! Each week offers a fun and fresh theme for our youngest artists and their adults. Get a fun and hands-on introduction to a new artwork each week, and participate in a joyful read-aloud filled with music, stories, and movement. Then, stay and play while your little artist creates. No reservations or tickets required. Nursing caregivers are welcome. Stroller parking is available in the…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden. Event Location: Meet in Museum Lobby. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Barbara Kruger: Belief + Doubt. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.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, December 20, 2023, 10:00 AM – 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 & 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.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023, 10:15 AM – 12:30 PM.
Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258511?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023, 10:15 AM – 11:00 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 10:30 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, December 20, 2023, 10:30 AM – 3:30 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.
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 10:30 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: Defending Freedom, The Era of Segregation 1876-1968.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023, 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Categories: Kids & Families. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Explore More! in STEM: Having Fun with Frequencies
One-Time Events
Explore More! in STEM is a classroom program for ages 8+ to explore STEM concepts in relation to African American history, culture, or the museum. In this lesson, people will learn about sound, frequency, famous African American electric guitarists, and how electric guitars work.
Image Credit: Robert Stewart | NMAAHC.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: 2nd Floor Classrooms. Cost: This is a *free* event! Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Hightlights Tour
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Look for our friendly volunteer at the Welcome Desk for a 45 minute tour of the highlights of the museum.
Event Location: Starts at the Welcome Desk in the Historic Lobby. Cost: FREE. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Seasons of Light
Resident Associate Program
For Ages 5 to 10. Joy, warmth, and community illuminate seasonal holiday festivals the world over.
Venue: S. Dillon Ripley Center. Event Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center Discovery Theater, 3rd Sublevel. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/258512?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2023FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=264355. Categories: Kids & Families.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Permanent Collection Tour
Tours
The National Museum of Asian Art has over 45,000 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: Meet at Freer Information desk. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023, 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, December 20, 2023, 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Coral Reef Tank Talk
One-Time Events
Swim by the Sant Ocean Hall to meet some of the coral reef species that call the Smithsonian NMNH home! Hosted by an Ocean Educator, this interactive cart experience will walk you through the world of saltwater fish, coral colonies, and invertebrates galore!
Image Credit: Sant Ocean Hall, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, from the main hall, 2nd floor. Photo by Jennifer Renteria, Smithsonian.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, The Sant Ocean Hall. Cost: Free. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: The Sant Ocean Hall. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM.