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Storytime Studio: Paint What You Hear
One time events
ABOUT STORYTIME STUDIO
Storytime Studio is a captivating blend of play, educator-led read-alouds, and art exploration designed for kids from birth to age 6 and their caregivers. Every Wednesday morning at 10 and 11 AM, visitors are welcomed into our studio to enjoy a special Storytime adventure.
Storytime Studio has limited capacity. Entry is first-come, first-served. THIS WEEK
Throughout January, we’ve learned how to “Think Like an Artist” by exploring the processes behind our favorite artists’ work. We’re winding up our adventure with the paintings of Janet Sobel, an Abstract Expressionist whose work influenced Jackson Pollock. Sobel, who was a grandmother by the time she started making art, often listened to music for inspiration while she painted. We’ll echo Sobel’s practice by making art while listening to live music. Then we’ll visit Sobel’s artwork The Attraction of Pink (1945), on view in Revolutions.
Featured book: I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by David Catrow, KNOW…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum. Event Location: Art School on the Lower Level. Cost: Free. Related Events: Storytime Studio, About Hirshhorn Kids, Visiting with Kids, Art Project: Paint with No Rules.
Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.si.edu. Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Story Time with DCPL
One-Time Events
Join us for Story Time in collaboration with the DC Public Library! Story Time is a fun way to introduce your child to language and literacy skills through an interactive experience.
For questions about this event, please email us at: HistoryTeachers@si.edu.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: 1 West. Cost: Free.
Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 10:45 AM – 11:15 AM.
Storytime Studio: Paint What You Hear
One time events
ABOUT STORYTIME STUDIO
Storytime Studio is a captivating blend of play, educator-led read-alouds, and art exploration designed for kids from birth to age 6 and their caregivers. Every Wednesday morning at 10 and 11 AM, visitors are welcomed into our studio to enjoy a special Storytime adventure.
Storytime Studio has limited capacity. Entry is first-come, first-served. THIS WEEK
Throughout January, we’ve learned how to “Think Like an Artist” by exploring the processes behind our favorite artists’ work. We’re winding up our adventure with the paintings of Janet Sobel, an Abstract Expressionist whose work influenced Jackson Pollock. Sobel, who was a grandmother by the time she started making art, often listened to music for inspiration while she painted. We’ll echo Sobel’s practice by making art while listening to live music. Then we’ll visit Sobel’s artwork The Attraction of Pink (1945), on view in Revolutions.
Featured book: I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by David Catrow, KNOW…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum. Event Location: Art School on the Lower Level. Cost: Free. Related Events: Storytime Studio, About Hirshhorn Kids, Visiting with Kids, Art Project: Paint with No Rules.
Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 11:00 AM – 12:00 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. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. A Milestone in Church History: The Council of Nicaea
Resident Associate Program
The year 2025 marks the 1, 700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which met in 325 in the presence of Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor. The gathering of some 250 bishops was a momentous event and is remembered as the first ecumenical council, which composed the original Nicene Creed still used in modified form today. However, what really happened at the council remains controversial. Historian David Gwynn explores Nicaea’s disputed legacy for both Christianity and the Roman empire.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265600?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265600?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM.
Defining Freedom Amongst Ideas of Liberty | Cultivating Learning
Smithsonian Sponsored Events
Join the National Museum of African American History and Culture to explore how the concept of liberty and freedom manifested for African Americans in the Revolutionary and New Nation eras. Together we will discover individual and community actions against slavery during these early periods. You will leave with resources and discussion prompts to deepen the story of the founding of the United States and the complex nature of liberty.
Program Details:
This is a Zoom webinar with automatic captioning. You’ll be able to participate using the chat and Q&A, and your camera and mic will be disabled. We’ll record and post the webinar on the Smithsonian Learning Lab’s Events page approximately 72 hours after the session ends.
For general questions, or if we can provide additional accessibility services to support your participation, please email us at learninglab@si.edu. Please make your accessibility request as far in advance as possible—preferably at least one week before the program date.
Thumbnail Image: …
Event Location: Online. Cost: Free. Related Events: In this special 2025-2026 Cultivating Learning series, "Celebrating America at 250," Smithsonian educators share teaching techniques and resources that help tell the story of America's 250th. The series celebrates well-known people, events, and accomplishments of our nation and also provides opportunities to discuss lesser-told histories that together form our national narrative. Join us to explore strategies for using digital museum resources to support student learning at this milestone moment in American… Accessibility: Captioning.
Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
Reclaiming My Time Through Poetry
One-Time Events
Begin the new year by reclaiming your time, voice, and creative practice in this virtual poetry workshop inspired by our exhibition, Reclaiming My Time. Centered on presence, this workshop invites participants to pause, reset expectations, and reconnect with the self through written and spoken word.
The workshop, led by international slam poetry champion Anthony McPherson, will introduce techniques of poetic immediacy—a practice of writing from the present moment rather than the pull of future to-do lists or past memories—as well as elements of stream of consciousness. Participants will be guided to write about the thing while the thing is occurring, composing poetry that reflects their current time, place, and emotional landscape.
Through prompts and a discussion with Museum Curator, Michelle Joan Wilkinson, attendees will acknowledge milestones, and consider this season as a necessary period of rest and grounding.
For inquires, please email NMAAHCEngage@si.edu.
Event Location: Online. Cost: Free! Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/d5gQIP8FSsOlRkbKrlK3xg.
Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM.
Shadows of the Scepter: Occult Belief and Superstition in Tudor England
Resident Associate Program
Behind the grandeur of the Tudor throne lurked a deep fascination with alchemy, astrology, and signs from the divine. Major events such as marriages, coronations, treaties, and military campaigns were often timed according to favorable alignments of the stars. Historian Cheryl White unlocks a hidden world of power where monarchs sometimes navigated political intrigue with the assistance of the dark currents of occult belief.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265485?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265485?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM.
3D Constructions in Mixed Media
Resident Associate Program
Explore new approaches to artmaking while experimenting with a wide range of subjects. Start with quick sketches to refine your ideas, then build your work through layers of wet and dry media.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265244?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265244?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 6:45 PM – 9:00 PM.
Virtual Studio Tour with Artist Liz Schreiber
One-Time Events
Join artist Liz Schreiber and Renwick Gallery Collections Manager, Elana Hain, for a deep dive into all things crop art! A much beloved tradition in the Midwest, crop art combines agriculture and creativity to make art using glue, seeds, plants, and patience. During this virtual studio tour, you will go behind the scenes to learn about Schreiber’s artistic practice, explore her studio space, and learn about the creative process behind pieces like the signature image for State Fairs: Growing American Craft.
Event Location: Online via Zoom. Cost: Free | Registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://events.blackthorn.io/5f4ZMUx7/5a2bVR2KeRZ. Related Exhibition: State Fairs: Growing American Craft. Accessibility: Captioning.
Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
Portrait Painting in Oil and Acrylic
Resident Associate Program
Learn how to paint expressive portraits as you improve your observational skills, ability to see angles and shapes, and understanding of color and value. The class emphasizes how to define a subject’s unique features by determining shapes of light and shadow.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265245?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265245?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM.
The Art of Floral Design
Resident Associate Program
Learn the fundamentals of floral arranging as this class covers essential base mechanics, sourcing flowers, working with seasonal blooms, and photographing your work.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265246?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265246?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Thursday, January 29, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, January 29, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, January 29, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Abstract Watercolor for Beginners
Resident Associate Program
Learn to embrace and celebrate the unpredictability, versatility, and beauty of watercolor. Class discussions cover supplies; color theory, palettes and pigment control; and exercises and experiments to achieve different effects.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265247?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265247?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Thursday, January 29, 2026, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
Life of a Sailor
One-Time Events
Have you ever wondered what a sailor's life was like on a traditional wooden ship? Full of hardship and adventure alike, a seagoing life sometimes offered better opportunities than people could find on land. Join our visiting expert to learn about how water has shaped the lives of sailors from the past and present alike. Trace the evolution of sailing from the tall ships of history to the modern ships of today, compare traditional sailing tools with their modern counterparts, test your knot-tying skills, and more!
Presented by: Alia Payne, Maritime Education Coordinator, Department of Maritime Education, Living Classrooms.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, The Sant Ocean Hall. Cost: Free and open to the public. Related Exhibition: The Sant Ocean Hall. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, January 29, 2026, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Masters and Mediums: Pastels
Resident Associate Program
The teacher introduces students to works of Degas, Renoir, Cassatt, and other masters of pastel. Instruction in a variety of techniques helps you on your way to an inspired pastel art adventure.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265248?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265248?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Thursday, January 29, 2026, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Capturing Winter Scenes
Resident Associate Program
Exploring classic winter scenes, strategize the best techniques to capture the season’s unique qualities. Then go outside and take photos to share for review.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265249?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265249?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Thursday, January 29, 2026, 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM.
Story Time
One-Time Events
Stamp your calendar for Story Time! Join us every week for a fresh story, a stroll through the Museum, hands-on postal play, and more. Together, we’ll explore mail and all the ways it connects us to people, places, and big ideas.
Stop by anytime—whether you stay for one activity or the whole session, this program will get everyone’s “stamp of approval”.
Meet in the Museum Lobby.
If there are services or accommodations that can improve your experience (e.g. ASL interpretation, etc.), please contact NPMprograms@si.edu; 1–2 week’s advance notice is recommended but not required.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Meet in the Historic Lobby. Cost: Free ; no registration required.
Friday, January 30, 2026, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM.
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. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Friday, January 30, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Due to inclement weather, Wonderplace will open at 12 noon on Friday, January 19, pending staff availability. We will update this entry if the operating status for Wonderplace changes. We apologize for any inconvenience.
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. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, January 30, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Discovery Station: Orchids
Smithsonian Gardens
Stop by the Smithsonian Gardens Discovery Station and explore the connective power of orchids! Take a closer look at the amazing traits that orchids share, uncover the history of vanilla, and get inspired by the Smithsonian Gardens’ orchid collection. Our knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer your orchid care questions.
Find the Discovery Station in the exhibition during the following times through April 26, 2026. Mondays: 1–4 p.m. , Tuesdays–Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Programs are subject to volunteer availability; last-minute cancellations may occur. Notes: Free timed-entry passes are required to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for this program. Be sure to reserve your entry pass here: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f Advance timed-entry passes are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. Same-day timed-entry passes are available daily at the entrance. See NMAAHC staff for assistance.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: L2 in the More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids Exhibition. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, January 30, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, January 30, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
¡Carritos! A Learning Activity Cart Program
American Latino Museum
Selected Fridays and Saturdays • 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
January 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, and 31
The National Museum of the American Latino will present a series of mobile-cart activities and experiences in front of the Molina Family Latino Gallery in the American History Museum, as part of the Latino Museum’s learning program during the holiday season.
These 10-minute hands-on mobile-cart activity experiences will allow visitors of all ages to create and connect with items in the Latino Museum collection and themes from past and future exhibitions, as well as items from other Smithsonian collections or content.
Free. No registration is required.
For 8th grade- Reading Level
The National Museum of the American Latino is hosting fun, hands-on activities right outside the Molina Family Latino Gallery at the American History Museum. These are mobile-cart activities — basically small stations where you can stop by and join in. , Each activity lasts about 10 minutes. , You’ll get to make things and explore…
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Molina Family Latino Gallery. Cost: Free! ¡Gratis!
Friday, January 30, 2026, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM.
Masterworks at the Barnes Foundation: Matisse
Resident Associate Program
Drawing on one of the greatest Post-Impressionist and early modern art collections in the world, Barnes Foundation educator Penny Hansen guides a five-part series of online tours that examine the paintings of artists who helped shape a revolutionary period in the history of art. High-definition Deep Zoom technology provides close-up views of their canvases. This session highlights Henri Matisse.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265518?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265518?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Friday, January 30, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Papal Patronage of the Arts
Resident Associate Program
Artistic patronage was an important tool in a Renaissance pope’s arsenal, employed both to display power and to communicate and persuade. Art historian Liz Lev looks at the fruitful connection between popes and art from the halcyon days of 15th-century Popes Sixtus IV and Julius II to the Enlightenment era, examining a variety of masterworks including the Laocoön statue and frescoes by Botticelli and Raphael. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265601?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265601?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Friday, January 30, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM.
The Great Yawn of History
Films
Watch the Trailer
Beitollah, a devout middle-aged man, becomes convinced that a recurring dream about a box of gold hidden deep inside a cave is a divine message meant for him. Bound by his strict religious interpretation—which forbids him from touching the treasure—he hires Shoja, a young non-believer, to retrieve it on his behalf. Their journey across Iran, from misty northern forests to vast southern deserts, becomes far more than a search for treasure. It draws in strangers, awakens hidden desires, and blurs the line between faith and illusion.
As the men travel, the promise of gold begins to shift in meaning, revealing their opposing worldviews and the personal longings they try to hide. Their quest turns into an allegorical exploration of belief, greed, and the fragile hope that something extraordinary might redeem an ordinary life. When they finally reach the cave, what awaits them is not simply a discovery but a reckoning—one that forces both men to confront the cost of chasing miracles and the trut…
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://ffi2026.eventive.org/films. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Captioning. Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, January 30, 2026, 7:00 PM – 8:40 PM.
Open Studio: Musical Abstractions
One time events
This January, we’ll learn how to “Think Like an Artist” at Open Studio. Each week, we’ll get inspired by artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Janet Sobel, and Adam Pendleton.
Join us this Saturday as we dive into Sobel’s work and her artistic practice of listening to music while painting. We’ll use paint to make drips and splatters while listening to various genres of music. We’ll be joined by guest DC salsa band Orquesta Manplesa from 1 to 2 PM, too!
Meet in Art School on the Museum’s Lower Level.
Guest Artists,
At the intersection of tradition and youth, just past 16th Street, lies Orquesta Manplesa. Named after the Spanish pronunciation of “Mount Pleasant,” the 10-piece salsa band is redefining what it means to be a part of DC’s Latino community. One of the busiest bands in the District, Orquesta Manplesa can be seen on stages such as Pearl St Warehouse, Plaza Stage at Nationals Park, and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, as well as local bars and restaurants, every weekend. Orquesta Manplesa lives…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum. Event Location: Meet in the Art School on the Lower Level. Cost: Free. Related Events: Open Studio, Hirshhorn Art School, Art School Everywhere, Art Project: Hidden Noise Maker.
Saturday, January 31, 2026, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.si.edu. Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Saturday, January 31, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, January 31, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
The Vikings: New Perspectives on History and Society
Resident Associate Program
The Vikings have fascinated people for centuries, but new discoveries have transformed the view of their world. Archaeology and modern scientific techniques have revealed that Vikings were as good at trading as they were at raiding. In a daylong seminar, historian Jennifer Paxton traces how Vikings pioneered in creating an economic empire that reached from the far western Atlantic Ocean to the markets of Constantinople and Baghdad.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265486?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265486?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Saturday, January 31, 2026, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM.
Discovery Station: Orchids
Smithsonian Gardens
Stop by the Smithsonian Gardens Discovery Station and explore the connective power of orchids! Take a closer look at the amazing traits that orchids share, uncover the history of vanilla, and get inspired by the Smithsonian Gardens’ orchid collection. Our knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer your orchid care questions.
Find the Discovery Station in the exhibition during the following times through April 26, 2026. Mondays: 1–4 p.m. , Tuesdays–Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Programs are subject to volunteer availability; last-minute cancellations may occur. Notes: Free timed-entry passes are required to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for this program. Be sure to reserve your entry pass here: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f Advance timed-entry passes are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. Same-day timed-entry passes are available daily at the entrance. See NMAAHC staff for assistance.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: L2 in the More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids Exhibition. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, January 31, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, January 31, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Art Guardians | Family Workshop: Cut + Paste
Kids and Family
Explore how light exposure can damage art in this interactive workshop for children ages 6–11 and their caregivers. Following a visit to Cut + Paste: Experimental Japanese Prints and Photographs, participants will conduct experiments to observe the effects of light on different paper samples and learn why some artworks need special protection. Families will create a collage inspired by the layered, cut-paper designs in the exhibition, then take it home to continue their investigation into how light affects art. Image credit: Department of Conservation and Scientific Research.
Venue: Asian Art Museum, East Building. Building: East Building. Event Location: ImaginAsia Studio. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recquired). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1977633516083?aff=oddtdtcreator. Related Exhibition: Cut + Paste: Experimental Japanese Prints and Photographs. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, January 31, 2026, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM.
¡Carritos! A Learning Activity Cart Program
American Latino Museum
Selected Fridays and Saturdays • 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
January 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, and 31
The National Museum of the American Latino will present a series of mobile-cart activities and experiences in front of the Molina Family Latino Gallery in the American History Museum, as part of the Latino Museum’s learning program during the holiday season.
These 10-minute hands-on mobile-cart activity experiences will allow visitors of all ages to create and connect with items in the Latino Museum collection and themes from past and future exhibitions, as well as items from other Smithsonian collections or content.
Free. No registration is required.
For 8th grade- Reading Level
The National Museum of the American Latino is hosting fun, hands-on activities right outside the Molina Family Latino Gallery at the American History Museum. These are mobile-cart activities — basically small stations where you can stop by and join in. , Each activity lasts about 10 minutes. , You’ll get to make things and explore…
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Molina Family Latino Gallery. Cost: Free! ¡Gratis!
Saturday, January 31, 2026, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM.
Art Studio
One-Time Events
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program, where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery’s Eventbrite page.
Venue: Portrait Gallery. Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-art-studio-tickets-1112707681629?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-share-source=organizer-profile&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile.
Saturday, January 31, 2026, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Visual Journaling Creativity Workout
Resident Associate Program
In an afternoon of artistic experimentation designed to strengthen creative muscles and deepen skills in visual expression, explore five distinct modes of visual thinking—memory, observation, imagination, narrative, and experimentation—to complete eight expressive journaling exercises using the marking and mapping approach.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265225?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265225?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Saturday, January 31, 2026, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Art Guardians | Family Workshop: Cut + Paste
Kids and Family
Explore how light exposure can damage art in this interactive workshop for children ages 6–11 and their caregivers. Following a visit to Cut + Paste: Experimental Japanese Prints and Photographs, participants will conduct experiments to observe the effects of light on different paper samples and learn why some artworks need special protection. Families will create a collage inspired by the layered, cut-paper designs in the exhibition, then take it home to continue their investigation into how light affects art. Image credit: Department of Conservation and Scientific Research.
Venue: Asian Art Museum, East Building. Building: East Building. Event Location: ImaginAsia Studio. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recquired). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1977633516083?aff=oddtdtcreator. Related Exhibition: Cut + Paste: Experimental Japanese Prints and Photographs. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, January 31, 2026, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM.
SANGJARU
Performances
Sangjaru is a captivating Korean folk fusion band that merges the energy of traditional Korean music with the infectious rhythms of gypsy swing, funk, rock, and improvisation.
The name “Sangjaru” originates from the combination of two Korean words, “sangja” (box) and “jaru” (sack). While a box retains a fixed form, a sack adapts to its contents. Inspired by this analogy, the band aspires to infuse new creativity into the rich traditions of Korean music. Through a blend of diverse musical influences, Sangjaru creates innovative cultural expressions that are both distinctive and exhilarating that captivate and delight audiences worldwide.
In 2019, Sangjaru won the prestigious Sori Frontier competition, part of the Jeonju International Sori Festival, which aims to promote promising Korean artists to the global music scene. This recognition solidified Sangjaru’s reputation as one of Korea’s most exciting emerging bands.
Band Members: Cho Sungyoon, guitar; Kwon Hyochang, janggu (hourglass drum) and kkwaenggwari…
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sangjaru-tickets-1977429483817?aff=oddtdtcreator. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, January 31, 2026, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM.
Teen Studio: Rhythmic Painting
One time events
Teens: Ready to level up your art? Join us for Teen Studio, a free art-making program exclusively for teens ages 13–19. Push your artistic boundaries using materials and techniques inspired by artists whose work is now on view at the Hirshhorn.
This month, we’ll learn to “Think Like an Artist”—we’ll welcome ambiguity, embrace possibility, reveal patterns, and think through making. This Saturday, we’ll look closely at The Attraction of Pink (1945) by artist Janet Sobel, who painted to music. Then we’ll head back to Art School and let our paintbrushes be guided by music of guest salsa artists Orquesta Manplesa.
Drop in to Teen Studio every Saturday between 2:30 and 4 PM. Register for the entire school year by emailing HMSGeducation@si.edu (one-time registration covers all sessions). Join one or join them all! Meet in Art School on the Museum’s Lower Level.
Guest Artists,
At the intersection of tradition and youth, just past 16th Street, lies Orquesta Manplesa. Named after the Spanish pronunciation of…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum. Event Location: Art School on the Lower Level. Cost: Free. Related Events: Teen Studio, Hirshhorn Art School, Art School Everywhere, About the Artist.
Saturday, January 31, 2026, 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.si.edu. Winds of the Smithsonian Academy Orchestra: Music of Dvorák (Masterworks of Three Centuries)
Resident Associate Program
The 49th season of the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society features musical masterpieces from the early 17th century to the middle of the 20th, played on some of the world’s most highly prized musical instruments in an 8-concert series. This concert features music of Dvorák performed by the Winds of the Smithsonian Academy Orchestra, with Natalie Kress & Freya Creech, violins; Ismar Gomes, cello; Kenneth Slowik conductor & harmonium.
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/265761?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Saturday, January 31, 2026, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM.
Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Sunday, February 1, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, February 1, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Discovery Station: Orchids
Smithsonian Gardens
Stop by the Smithsonian Gardens Discovery Station and explore the connective power of orchids! Take a closer look at the amazing traits that orchids share, uncover the history of vanilla, and get inspired by the Smithsonian Gardens’ orchid collection. Our knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer your orchid care questions.
Find the Discovery Station in the exhibition during the following times through April 26, 2026. Mondays: 1–4 p.m. , Tuesdays–Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Programs are subject to volunteer availability; last-minute cancellations may occur. Notes: Free timed-entry passes are required to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for this program. Be sure to reserve your entry pass here: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f Advance timed-entry passes are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. Same-day timed-entry passes are available daily at the entrance. See NMAAHC staff for assistance.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: L2 in the More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids Exhibition. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, February 1, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, February 1, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Romare Bearden-Inspired Compositions: Exploring Mixed Media Techniques - In Person
Resident Associate Program
While Romare Bearden worked in many mediums from oil and watercolor to printmaking, he is best known for his mixed-media collages and photomontages. After looking at Bearden’s works of art, students try their hand at creating Bearden-inspired mixed-media compositions.
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/265250?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Sunday, February 1, 2026, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM.
Beyond the Studio Workshop: Embroidery with Capital Stitch Co
One-Time Events
SOLD OUT
Local maker Miri Artyukhina of Capital Stitch Co returns to SAAM to lead an embroidery workshop inspired by Valentine’s Day. Participants will learn embroidery basics and all skills required to create a charming artwork, to keep for yourself or gift to your Valentine. Please note that space is limited for this program and registration is required. Participants must register by 7 p.m. ET on January 18.
Tickets available on December 18
Image credit: Image courtesy of the artist.
Venue: American Art Museum. Event Location: MacMillan Education Center. Cost: SOLD OUT. Get Tickets/Register: https://events.blackthorn.io/5f4ZMUx7/5a2bVR2KsJF.
Sunday, February 1, 2026, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Art Studio
One-Time Events
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program, where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery’s Eventbrite page.
Venue: Portrait Gallery. Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-art-studio-tickets-1112707681629?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-share-source=organizer-profile&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile.
Sunday, February 1, 2026, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Singing Wings
Films
Watch the Trailer
A heartwarming documentary that feels like a fairy tale, this film follows a seventy-eight-year-old woman in a Kurdish village where storks spend the winter. Khadijeh is a full-time caregiver for both her disabled husband and a stork with a broken wing that was left behind by its flock. When not involved in these activities, she spends her time trying to convince her daughter not to emigrate to the United Kingdom.
Director Hemen Khaledi, who grew up in the area, is attuned to the rhythms of village life. He emphasizes not only Khadijeh’s caregiving but also her hearty sense of humor. And he is not unaware of the irony of Khadijeh helping a bird to fly away while keeping her daughter from doing the same.
Directed by: Hemen Khaledi. Countries: Iran, Georgia, Belgium. Released: 2025. Length: 73 min. Format: DCP. Language: Kurdish with English subtitles. Image courtesy of CAT&Docs.
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://ffi2026.eventive.org/films. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible. Captioning.
Sunday, February 1, 2026, 1:30 PM – 2:45 PM.
Spanish-Language Walk-In Tours
One-Time Events
Join a volunteer docent for a lively tour of the National Portrait Gallery in Spanish.
Venue: Portrait Gallery. Event Location: F Street Lobby. Cost: Free. Registration Encouraged. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-spanish-language-docent-tours-tickets-1530971289339?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-share-source=organizer-profile&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile.
Sunday, February 1, 2026, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Maydegol
Films
Watch the Trailer
The feisty heroine of this documentary by Sarvnaz Alambeigi is a teenaged immigrant from Afghanistan who dreams of becoming a professional Muay Thai boxer. Training in secret because of her conservative family’s disapproval, Maydegol battles not only her opponents but also the prejudicial attitudes of many Iranians toward foreigners living among them, physical abuse from her father, and the hopelessness of being unable to leave. Yet she finds joy and fellowship with fellow athletes and immigrants. Like The Crowd, Maydegol shows the resilience of Iranian Generation Z youths in the face of overwhelming societal pressure.
Director: Sarvnaz Alamgeigi. Countries: Iran, Germany, France. Released: 2024. Length: 73 min. Format: DCP. Language: Persian and Dari with English subtitles. Image courtesy of Tavskovski Films.
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://ffi2026.eventive.org/films. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible. Captioning.
Sunday, February 1, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Monday, February 2, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Portrait Gallery Kids
One-Time Events
Children and families are invited to learn, play and create at the Portrait Gallery! Join educators every Monday as we explore a variety of topics and artistic materials. Participants will get a closer look at art with hands-on activities, music and story times. Portrait Gallery Kids is a fun way to engage with art and each other.
Venue: Portrait Gallery. Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-portrait-gallery-kids-tickets-654254040447?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-share-source=organizer-profile&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile.
Monday, February 2, 2026, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Secrets and Symbols in Art: The Iconography of Allegory and Personification of Ideas
Resident Associate Program
When figures represent abstract concepts—such as justice, envy, or time—an artwork enters the world of allegory. Art historian Noah Charney breaks down how allegories were constructed by artists and contrasts Titian’s straightforward Allegory of Prudence with a brilliant and baffling painting by Bronzino, Allegory with Venus and Cupid, a multilayered complex riddle. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265722?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265722?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Monday, February 2, 2026, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
Creating Tiny Books in Mixed Media
Resident Associate Program
Create a miniature work of art that unfolds into something magical. Explore the charm and versatility of the accordion book form—perfect for storytelling, journaling, or simply experimenting with imagery.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265251?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265251?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Monday, February 2, 2026, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Discovery Station: Orchids
Smithsonian Gardens
Stop by the Smithsonian Gardens Discovery Station and explore the connective power of orchids! Take a closer look at the amazing traits that orchids share, uncover the history of vanilla, and get inspired by the Smithsonian Gardens’ orchid collection. Our knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer your orchid care questions.
Find the Discovery Station in the exhibition during the following times through April 26, 2026. Mondays: 1–4 p.m. , Tuesdays–Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Programs are subject to volunteer availability; last-minute cancellations may occur. Notes: Free timed-entry passes are required to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for this program. Be sure to reserve your entry pass here: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f Advance timed-entry passes are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. Same-day timed-entry passes are available daily at the entrance. See NMAAHC staff for assistance.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: L2 in the More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids Exhibition. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Monday, February 2, 2026, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
California Modern Architecture: Redefining Modern Living
Resident Associate Program
Few movements have defined a region’s identity as clearly as California Modernism. From the 1920s through the 1960s, noted contemporary architects, designers, and developers transformed Los Angeles into a showcase of modern living. Using glass, steel, and concrete, they created homes that embodied clarity, openness, and light. Art historian Jennie Hirsh explores the generation of architectural visionaries who reshaped the modern landscape of design across California and beyond. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265454?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265454?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Monday, February 2, 2026, 6:45 PM – 8:00 PM.
Write Into Art: Creative Writing Inspired by Visual Art
Resident Associate Program
Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for a course of three online workshops that explore essential elements of writing and styles through close looking, word-sketching, and imaginative response to prompts. The sessions spotlight a wide range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265602?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265602?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM.
Discovery Station: Orchids
Smithsonian Gardens
Stop by the Smithsonian Gardens Discovery Station and explore the connective power of orchids! Take a closer look at the amazing traits that orchids share, uncover the history of vanilla, and get inspired by the Smithsonian Gardens’ orchid collection. Our knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer your orchid care questions.
Find the Discovery Station in the exhibition during the following times through April 26, 2026. Mondays: 1–4 p.m. , Tuesdays–Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Programs are subject to volunteer availability; last-minute cancellations may occur. Notes: Free timed-entry passes are required to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for this program. Be sure to reserve your entry pass here: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f Advance timed-entry passes are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. Same-day timed-entry passes are available daily at the entrance. See NMAAHC staff for assistance.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: L2 in the More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids Exhibition. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Going the Distance
Resident Associate Program
Ages 6 to 12. Follow the lives of Olympians Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph from childhood infirmity to Olympic glory in this soaring musical.
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/265012?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 10:15 AM – 11:00 AM.
Going the Distance
Discovery Theater Automatic Upload
Ages 6 to 12. Follow the lives of Olympians Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph from childhood infirmity to Olympic glory in this soaring musical.
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/265012?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-DT-ev&utm_content=DT-Trumba-event&promo=276224.
Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 10:15 AM – 11:00 AM.
Art in the A.M.
One-Time Events
Inspire early childhood creativity with SAAM during Art in the A.M. Children ages up to 5 years and their caregivers are invited to the museum before hours to learn, connect, and create in the galleries. During this program, participants will play an art detective game as they enjoy the modern and contemporary art galleries at SAAM. Participants will then assemble their own mixed-media collage artworks.
Please note that space is limited for this program and registration is required.
Image credit: Firelei Báez, Untitled (Premiere Carte Pour L'Introduction A L'Histoire De Monde), 2022, oil and acrylic on archival printed canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative and the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, © 2023, Firelei Báez. Image courtesy of the artist and James Cohan, New York. Photographer: Jackie Furtado.
Venue: American Art Museum. Event Location: Meet in G Street lobby. Cost: Free | Registration required. Get Tickets/Register: https://events.blackthorn.io/5f4ZMUx7/5a2bVR2M7g1.
Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 10:30 AM.
Going the Distance
Resident Associate Program
Ages 6 to 12. Follow the lives of Olympians Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph from childhood infirmity to Olympic glory in this soaring musical.
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/265013?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Going the Distance
Discovery Theater Automatic Upload
Ages 6 to 12. Follow the lives of Olympians Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph from childhood infirmity to Olympic glory in this soaring musical.
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/265013?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-DT-ev&utm_content=DT-Trumba-event&promo=276224.
Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Masterpieces of the Symphony
Resident Associate Program
For composers like Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky, the symphony was both a personal benchmark and a lasting measure of greatness. Their mastery of the form has captivated music lovers for generations. In a 5-session series, opera and classical music expert Saul Lilienstein examines the rich tapestry of the symphonic tradition with excerpts from landmark works spanning the late 18th to the close of the 19th century.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265487?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265487?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Mosaic Basics
Resident Associate Program
This workshop offers a comprehensive introduction to the art of mosaics. Whether you're exploring mosaics for the first time or looking to strengthen your skills, gain the knowledge and confidence to create visually compelling and technically sound mosaic artwork.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265252?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265252?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease and the Dementias: What We Know, What We Can Do
Resident Associate Program
Alzheimer’s disease, and the dementias in general, are among the most-feared consequences of being lucky enough to survive into older age. Barry Gordon, a nationally recognized expert on memory and memory disorders, sheds light on these debilitating conditions and provides guidance on what you need to know to take the most informed and active steps if faced with one of them—whether personally or in a family member or friend.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265488?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265488?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 6:30 PM – 8:30 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. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Wednesday, February 4, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, February 4, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Discovery Station: Orchids
Smithsonian Gardens
Stop by the Smithsonian Gardens Discovery Station and explore the connective power of orchids! Take a closer look at the amazing traits that orchids share, uncover the history of vanilla, and get inspired by the Smithsonian Gardens’ orchid collection. Our knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer your orchid care questions.
Find the Discovery Station in the exhibition during the following times through April 26, 2026. Mondays: 1–4 p.m. , Tuesdays–Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Programs are subject to volunteer availability; last-minute cancellations may occur. Notes: Free timed-entry passes are required to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for this program. Be sure to reserve your entry pass here: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f Advance timed-entry passes are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. Same-day timed-entry passes are available daily at the entrance. See NMAAHC staff for assistance.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: L2 in the More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids Exhibition. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, February 4, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, February 4, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Going the Distance
Resident Associate Program
Ages 6 to 12. Follow the lives of Olympians Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph from childhood infirmity to Olympic glory in this soaring musical.
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/265014?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Wednesday, February 4, 2026, 10:15 AM – 11:00 AM.
Going the Distance
Discovery Theater Automatic Upload
Ages 6 to 12. Follow the lives of Olympians Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph from childhood infirmity to Olympic glory in this soaring musical.
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/265014?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-DT-ev&utm_content=DT-Trumba-event&promo=276224.
Wednesday, February 4, 2026, 10:15 AM – 11:00 AM.
Going the Distance
Resident Associate Program
Ages 6 to 12. Follow the lives of Olympians Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph from childhood infirmity to Olympic glory in this soaring musical.
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/265015?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Wednesday, February 4, 2026, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Going the Distance
Discovery Theater Automatic Upload
Ages 6 to 12. Follow the lives of Olympians Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph from childhood infirmity to Olympic glory in this soaring musical.
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/265015?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-DT-ev&utm_content=DT-Trumba-event&promo=276224.
Wednesday, February 4, 2026, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Sex and Love in the Ancient World
Resident Associate Program
When it comes to sex and love, ancient peoples tell us a lot about topics including what was forbidden; opportunities for premarital and extramarital sex; their ways of lovemaking; and how members of the same and the opposite gender expressed love for one another. Drawing from a multitude of cultures, professor emeritus of classics Robert Garland discusses what we know and don’t know about sex and love in the ancient world.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265669?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265669?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Wednesday, February 4, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Lessons of the Hour Conversation with Artist Isaac Julien, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III
One-Time Events
SOLD OUT
Join artist Sir Isaac Julien and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as they discuss Julien’s video installation, Lessons of the Hour (2019), and how contemporary art intersects with history. Secretary of the Smithsonian, Lonnie G. Bunch III, will moderate the conversation. Lessons of the Hour, a vivid picture of nineteenth-century activist, writer, orator, and philosopher Frederick Douglass, includes passages from his most impactful speeches. In this conversation, the artist and Justice Jackson will reflect on Douglass' legacy, what he illuminates about our shared past, and what lessons he offers as we look ahead.
Please note that space is limited for this program, and registration is required. Registration ends on January 28 at 7 p.m. ET.
All participants must present a valid form of government ID at check in. All bags will be screened before entry into the auditorium. Bags must adhere to standard airline personal item sizing (18 x 14 x 8 inches maximum). Doors open at 6 p.m. and…
Venue: American Art Museum. Event Location: McEvoy Auditorium. Cost: SOLD OUT. Related Exhibition: https://www.si.edu/exhibitions/isaac-julien-lessons-hour-frederick-douglass:event-exhib-6711.
Wednesday, February 4, 2026, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM.
Ask A D.C. Native, Live!
One-Time Events
ACM Beyond The Exhibition presents Ask A D.C. Native, Live! together with The 51st and Grounded Cafe.
Together with The 51st, join us for Ask A D.C. Native, Live! a lively and engaging game-style program where DC natives and friends compete in a friendly way while showcasing their knowledge of the city’s history, art, and culture. In celebration of Black History Month, this special edition of the show brings community voices to the forefront, honoring the people, stories, and traditions that shape Washington, DC.
About ACM Beyond The Exhibition
Keeping engagement alive while our gallery transforms.
While we undergo an exciting exhibition installation from January through May of 2026, our work continues beyond the walls. Join us for a vibrant series based on History, Wellness and Culture hosted at partner locations throughout Ward 8, January through March 2026.
These free programs carry forward ACM’s program scope which fosters creativity, learning, and connection. Whether exploring history, or engaging…
Venue: Anacostia Community Museum. Event Location: Grounded Cafe - 1913 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE, Washington, D.C. Cost: Free.
Wednesday, February 4, 2026, 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM.
Sacred Sites of Tibet
Resident Associate Program
The city of Lhasa is filled with monuments that are considered sacred by the religious traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Historian Justin M. Jacobs provides an in-depth look at three of the most important: Jokhang Temple, Potala Palace, and Norbulingka Park. Jacobs’ virtual journey through these sites reveals the history of Tibet, its diverse cultural influences, and its complex relationship with China.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265603?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265603?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Wednesday, February 4, 2026, 6:45 PM – 8:15 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. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Discovery Station: Orchids
Smithsonian Gardens
Stop by the Smithsonian Gardens Discovery Station and explore the connective power of orchids! Take a closer look at the amazing traits that orchids share, uncover the history of vanilla, and get inspired by the Smithsonian Gardens’ orchid collection. Our knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer your orchid care questions.
Find the Discovery Station in the exhibition during the following times through April 26, 2026. Mondays: 1–4 p.m. , Tuesdays–Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Programs are subject to volunteer availability; last-minute cancellations may occur. Notes: Free timed-entry passes are required to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for this program. Be sure to reserve your entry pass here: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f Advance timed-entry passes are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. Same-day timed-entry passes are available daily at the entrance. See NMAAHC staff for assistance.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: L2 in the More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids Exhibition. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Going the Distance
Resident Associate Program
Ages 6 to 12. Follow the lives of Olympians Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph from childhood infirmity to Olympic glory in this soaring musical.
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/265016?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 10:15 AM – 11:00 AM.
Going the Distance
Discovery Theater Automatic Upload
Ages 6 to 12. Follow the lives of Olympians Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph from childhood infirmity to Olympic glory in this soaring musical.
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/265016?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-DT-ev&utm_content=DT-Trumba-event&promo=276224.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 10:15 AM – 11:00 AM.
Going the Distance
Resident Associate Program
Ages 6 to 12. Follow the lives of Olympians Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph from childhood infirmity to Olympic glory in this soaring musical.
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/265017?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Going the Distance
Discovery Theater Automatic Upload
Ages 6 to 12. Follow the lives of Olympians Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph from childhood infirmity to Olympic glory in this soaring musical.
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/265017?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-DT-ev&utm_content=DT-Trumba-event&promo=276224.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
The Origins of Western Art: From the Greek “Dark Ages” to the Early Christian Period
Resident Associate Program
Our modern world echoes creative vestiges of the past, so one key to understanding our surroundings is through an overview of ancient material culture. Focusing on the Mediterranean region, art historian Renee Gondek surveys art from the Greek “Dark Ages” through the early Christian period of ancient Rome. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265723?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265723?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Drawing with Pen and Ink
Resident Associate Program
Drawing with pen and ink is a versatile and inexpensive way to create art. Learn a variety of techniques, from hatching to washes. Explore the proper use of different types of pens, a variety of inks, and suitable papers for creating everything from simple sketches to fine art.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265253?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265253?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
First Thursdays: Come Look with Us
One-Time Events
Wind down after work with the National Portrait Gallery’s educators as they share their favorite portraits with you. Participants will enjoy close looking and engaging in conversations about artworks in the galleries.
Venue: Portrait Gallery. Event Location: G Street Lobby. Cost: Free. Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-first-thursdays-come-look-with-us-tickets-1233093649299?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-share-source=organizer-profile&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 5:30 PM – 6:15 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Paul Laurence Dunbar: Beyond the Mask
One-Time Events
ACM Beyond The Exhibition presents a film screening and discussion together with Allen Chapel AME, WETA and The ACC.
The film is a feature-length documentary on the life and legacy of the first African American poet to gain national and international fame. The documentary places Dunbar in historical context, touching on events such as the Wilmington Race Massacre of 1898, and via interviews with several scholars who address his tempestuous marriage to fellow writer Alice Ruth Moore, his struggles with alcoholism and his premature death at age 33 from tuberculosis. It also provides insight into how his achievements are celebrated today by artists, writers, and musicians.
The film will be followed by a Q & A with the filmmaker, Frederick Lewis.
About ACM Beyond The Exhibition
Keeping engagement alive while our gallery transforms.
While we undergo an exciting exhibition installation from January through May of 2026, our work continues beyond the walls. Join us for a vibrant series based on History, Wellness…
Venue: Anacostia Community Museum. Event Location: Allen Chapel AME Church 2498 Alabama Ave. SE, Washington, D.C. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/paul-laurence-dunbar-beyond-the-mask-tickets-1979727472162?aff=oddtdtcreator.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Liberty in the Cane Fields: The Haitian Revolution and Its Legacy
Resident Associate Program
Scholars contend that the Haitian Revolution remains the only successful large-scale revolt in which enslaved people won their freedom, overthrew the existing colonial government, and established an independent state. Historian Alexander Mikaberidze traces the rebellion from its beginnings during the French Revolution to its culmination in 1804, which reshaped ideas about race, freedom, and sovereignty across the Atlantic world.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265489?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265489?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM.
Historically Speaking: Joy Goddess
One-Time Events
A’Lelia Walker, often referred to as the “Joy Goddess of Harlem,” was a key figure in the arts and culture of the 1920s. She was the daughter of pioneering entrepreneur Madame C.J. Walker and played an important role in managing one of the most successful Black-owned businesses of the early 20th century. In her biography, Joy Goddess, A’Lelia Bundles draws on family archives and historical research to explore her great-grandmother’s contributions as an arts patron, business leader, and public figure. The conversation, moderated by Michel Martin, host of NPR’s Morning Edition, will delve into how joy, style, and social connections helped A’Lelia Walker become one of the most significant cultural icons of the Harlem Renaissance. Book sales will be available courtesy of Smithsonian Enterprises.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: Oprah Winfrey Theater. Cost: Free; Registration is Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/019ba367-e516-aa54-32da-68e5b236a1ad.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
Yumi Kurosawa Trio
Performances
This event, originally scheduled for October 16, 2025, is rescheduled to February 5, 2026.
Enjoy the unique combination of koto, violin, and percussion with the Yumi Kurosawa Trio as we kick off the 2025–2026 Bill and Mary Meyer Concert Series!
Seating is limited. Reserve your seat in advance to pick where you sit ($6 fee per order). Join the standby line for remaining seats on the day of the concert, free of charge.
Japanese musician and composer Yumi Kurosawa performs on a modern twenty-string koto, joined by violinist Naho Parrini and percussionist Yousif Sheronick. Their program features exhilarating new compositions from Kurosawa alongside striking reinterpretations of favorites from her oeuvre, including pieces from the trio’s album Metamorphosis, highlighting the shared affinity between these seemingly disparate instruments.
About the Performers
Since winning the National Japanese Koto Competition and moving to the United States, Yumi Kurosawa has performed at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the…
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: $6 per order. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/yumi-kurosawa-trio-tickets-1611689118539?aff=oddtdtcreator. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, February 5, 2026, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Story Time
One-Time Events
Stamp your calendar for Story Time! Join us every week for a fresh story, a stroll through the Museum, hands-on postal play, and more. Together, we’ll explore mail and all the ways it connects us to people, places, and big ideas.
Stop by anytime—whether you stay for one activity or the whole session, this program will get everyone’s “stamp of approval”.
Meet in the Museum Lobby.
If there are services or accommodations that can improve your experience (e.g. ASL interpretation, etc.), please contact NPMprograms@si.edu; 1–2 week’s advance notice is recommended but not required.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Meet in the Historic Lobby. Cost: Free ; no registration required.
Friday, February 6, 2026, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM.
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. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Friday, February 6, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Due to inclement weather, Wonderplace will open at 12 noon on Friday, January 19, pending staff availability. We will update this entry if the operating status for Wonderplace changes. We apologize for any inconvenience.
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. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, February 6, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Discovery Station: Orchids
Smithsonian Gardens
Stop by the Smithsonian Gardens Discovery Station and explore the connective power of orchids! Take a closer look at the amazing traits that orchids share, uncover the history of vanilla, and get inspired by the Smithsonian Gardens’ orchid collection. Our knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer your orchid care questions.
Find the Discovery Station in the exhibition during the following times through April 26, 2026. Mondays: 1–4 p.m. , Tuesdays–Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Programs are subject to volunteer availability; last-minute cancellations may occur. Notes: Free timed-entry passes are required to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for this program. Be sure to reserve your entry pass here: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f Advance timed-entry passes are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. Same-day timed-entry passes are available daily at the entrance. See NMAAHC staff for assistance.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: L2 in the More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids Exhibition. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, February 6, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, February 6, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Going the Distance
Resident Associate Program
Ages 6 to 12. Follow the lives of Olympians Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph from childhood infirmity to Olympic glory in this soaring musical.
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/265018?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Friday, February 6, 2026, 10:15 AM – 11:00 AM.
Going the Distance
Discovery Theater Automatic Upload
Ages 6 to 12. Follow the lives of Olympians Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph from childhood infirmity to Olympic glory in this soaring musical.
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/265018?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-DT-ev&utm_content=DT-Trumba-event&promo=276224.
Friday, February 6, 2026, 10:15 AM – 11:00 AM.
Detecting Stone Age Paleodiets
One-Time Events
Ever wondered what the REAL paleodiet was, and how scientists can tell what ancient people ate? Dr. Briana Pobiner, Smithsonian research scientist, studies the marks that stone tools left on animal bones millions of years ago. Come chat with Dr. Pobiner and learn more about the dietary and behavioral clues our ancestors left behind!
Image credit: Sabrina Curran.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, Hall of Human Origins. Cost: Free and open to the public. Related Exhibition: The David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, February 6, 2026, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Going the Distance
Resident Associate Program
Ages 6 to 12. Follow the lives of Olympians Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph from childhood infirmity to Olympic glory in this soaring musical.
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/265019?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Friday, February 6, 2026, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Going the Distance
Discovery Theater Automatic Upload
Ages 6 to 12. Follow the lives of Olympians Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph from childhood infirmity to Olympic glory in this soaring musical.
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/265019?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-DT-ev&utm_content=DT-Trumba-event&promo=276224.
Friday, February 6, 2026, 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM.
Masterworks at the Barnes Foundation: Renoir
Resident Associate Program
Drawing on one of the greatest Post-Impressionist and early modern art collections in the world, Barnes Foundation educator Penny Hansen guides a five-part series of online tours that examine the paintings of artists who helped shape a revolutionary period in the history of art. High-definition Deep Zoom technology provides close-up views of their canvases. This session highlights Pierre-August Renoir.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265519?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265519?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Friday, February 6, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Artful Movement | SEL Webinar for Students K–3
Kids and Family
Get ready to observe, chat, and move with art! In these webinars, students (grades K–3) will look carefully at a work of art through facilitated exploration. Then, they will breathe, stretch, and flow through a guided mindful movement. This month’s theme is “Let's Celebrate.”
These sessions are perfect for families, homeschool groups, virtual schools, and teachers who may want to review a recording with their students after the live session. Everyone who registers gets a link to the recording. Each session includes American Sign Language interpretation. Sessions take place on Fridays from 1 to 1:30 p.m. We present these webinars in partnership with Create Calm. Children Playing in the Snow at the New Year (detail); China, 1800–1900; ink and color on silk; National Museum of Asian Art Collection, Smithsonian Institution, Gift of Mrs. Douglas Woods Sprunt in Memory of Rear Admiral and Mrs. Edgar L. Woods, S1993.43.
Event Location: Zoom. Cost: Free. Register in advance (required). Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SaYByw1tRPKHgODBv1gNHQ. Accessibility: ASL-interpreted program.
Friday, February 6, 2026, 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Mortician
Films
Blending dark humor and slow-burning drama, Canadian-Iranian filmmaker Abdolreza Kahani’s Mortician stars Nima Sadr as Mojtaba, a sad-sack Iranian mortician living in exile in a snowy Canadian city. His job is to wash bodies according to Muslim tradition, but the company he works for is going out of business.
But then an exiled singer approaches him with a mysterious offer. Jana (Iran-born pop star Gola) is on the run from the Iranian authorities and plans to commit suicide as a political statement. And she wants to retain Mojtaba’s services. As she works to convince him, an odd-couple friendship evolves, and Mojtaba must wrestle with his faith. Variety’s Guy Lodge calls it “a trenchant, witty and penetratingly sad black comedy on the difficulty of escaping the Iranian regime—even halfway across the world.”
Director: Abdolreza Kahani. Country: Canada. Released: 2025. Length: 94 min. Format: DCP. Language: Persian with English subtitles. Image courtesy of Visit Films.
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://ffi2026.eventive.org/films. Accessibility: Captioning. Wheelchair accessible. Assisted listening devices.
Friday, February 6, 2026, 7:00 PM – 8:40 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. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Saturday, February 7, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, February 7, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Art Deco: Vibrant, Eclectic, and Dynamic
Resident Associate Program
With the advent of the Jazz Age, the art world searched for modern forms to reflect an exciting new era. They were found in bold geometric shapes and in contemporary technology and material as Art Deco quickly reflected sleek modern living, the machine age, and the skyscraper. Art historian Bonita Billman unfolds this innovative international movement in architecture, furniture, interiors, fashions, advertising, and films. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265490?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265490?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Saturday, February 7, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Discovery Station: Orchids
Smithsonian Gardens
Stop by the Smithsonian Gardens Discovery Station and explore the connective power of orchids! Take a closer look at the amazing traits that orchids share, uncover the history of vanilla, and get inspired by the Smithsonian Gardens’ orchid collection. Our knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer your orchid care questions.
Find the Discovery Station in the exhibition during the following times through April 26, 2026. Mondays: 1–4 p.m. , Tuesdays–Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Programs are subject to volunteer availability; last-minute cancellations may occur. Notes: Free timed-entry passes are required to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for this program. Be sure to reserve your entry pass here: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f Advance timed-entry passes are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. Same-day timed-entry passes are available daily at the entrance. See NMAAHC staff for assistance.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: L2 in the More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids Exhibition. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, February 7, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, February 7, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Upcycled Brooch Workshop
Resident Associate Program
Be both stylish and sustainable with a brooch you create from upcycled materials. The project takes the form of a wearable diorama made with an aluminum can, beads, wire, and any small special object that can be placed inside.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265254?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265254?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Saturday, February 7, 2026, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Art Studio
One-Time Events
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program, where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery’s Eventbrite page.
Venue: Portrait Gallery. Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-art-studio-tickets-1112707681629?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-share-source=organizer-profile&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile.
Saturday, February 7, 2026, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Beginning Mixed Media Techniques
Resident Associate Program
This class prepares you to create your next mixed-media masterpiece. You are encouraged to take risks and work beyond your traditional practice in pursuit of developing your personal language. The techniques you learn can be applied to a variety of subject matter and styles and surfaces to create your own artistic statement.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265255?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265255?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Saturday, February 7, 2026, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Teen Studio: Cloudy with a Chance of Artistic Inspiration!
One time events
Teens: Ready to level up your art? Join us for Teen Studio, a free art-making program exclusively for teens ages 13–19. Push your artistic boundaries using materials and techniques inspired by artists whose work is now on view at the Hirshhorn.
This month, Art School is exploring the big ideas in the Hirshhorn’s newest exhibition: Big Things for Big Rooms. The exhibition explores installation art, meaning large-scale artworks that wrap the viewer in a multisensory experience. This Saturday, we’ll experience Spencer Finch’s Cloud (H20) (2006). Then we will create molecular light paintings of our own.
Drop in to Teen Studio every Saturday between 2:30 and 4 PM. Register for the entire school year here (one-time registration covers all sessions). Join one session or join them all! Meet in Art School on the Museum’s Lower Level.
Looking for more? Explore Art School Everywhere, wherever you are, to learn about artists in the Hirshhorn collection and get creative any time. Do this at home! Create a light…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum. Event Location: Art School on the Lower Level. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: Big Things for Big Rooms.
Saturday, February 7, 2026, 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.si.edu. The Axelrod String Quartet: Haydn, Shostakovich, and Beethoven (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 four-concert series on Saturdays.
This concert features:
Haydn: Quartet in G Major, Op. 33, No. 5
Shostakovich: Quartet in F Major, Op. 73
Beethoven: Quartet in E Minor, Op. 59, No. 2.
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/264804?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Saturday, February 7, 2026, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM.
Morning at the Museum
One-Time Events
This free, sensory friendly program, is intended for children, teenagers, and young adults who are neurodivergent to explore the Museum and participate in activities independently at their own pace.
The Museum will open at 8AM. Prior to the program, pre-registered families receive “pre-visit” materials to help them prepare for their visit including social narratives, sensory maps, visual schedules, and tip sheets.
American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be available upon request, please email NMAAHCVisitorServices@si.edu.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: All Floors. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/0b672d03-2334-b395-88e4-5a073bc48db8. Accessibility: Sensory Programs. Wheelchair accessible. ASL-interpreted program.
Sunday, February 8, 2026, 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM.
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. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Sunday, February 8, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, February 8, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Discovery Station: Orchids
Smithsonian Gardens
Stop by the Smithsonian Gardens Discovery Station and explore the connective power of orchids! Take a closer look at the amazing traits that orchids share, uncover the history of vanilla, and get inspired by the Smithsonian Gardens’ orchid collection. Our knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer your orchid care questions.
Find the Discovery Station in the exhibition during the following times through April 26, 2026. Mondays: 1–4 p.m. , Tuesdays–Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Programs are subject to volunteer availability; last-minute cancellations may occur. Notes: Free timed-entry passes are required to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for this program. Be sure to reserve your entry pass here: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f Advance timed-entry passes are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. Same-day timed-entry passes are available daily at the entrance. See NMAAHC staff for assistance.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: L2 in the More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids Exhibition. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, February 8, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, February 8, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Art Studio
One-Time Events
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program, where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery’s Eventbrite page.
Venue: Portrait Gallery. Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-art-studio-tickets-1112707681629?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-share-source=organizer-profile&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile.
Sunday, February 8, 2026, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Cutting through Rocks
Films
In Person: Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki, directors.
Watch the Trailer
Directed by the Bethesda-based team of Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki, this documentary is a portrait of a very determined woman named Sara Shahverdi. The first woman elected to her village council, Shahverdi is a motorcycle-riding midwife who wants to use her platform to empower young women and end child marriages, among other causes. But she faces resistance at every turn from her deeply conservative fellow villagers. Described by Phuong Lee (The Guardian) as “a thought-provoking portrait of an extraordinary spirit.”
Director: Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki. Countries: Iran, Qatar, Chile, Canada, Netherlands, Germany, United States. Released: 2025. Length: 95 min. Format: DCP. Language: Azerbaijani, Turkish, Persian, English with English subtitles. Image courtesy of RXR Media.
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://ffi2026.eventive.org/films. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible. Captioning.
Sunday, February 8, 2026, 2:00 PM – 3:45 PM.
Mind-Body Centering Through Art and Handwork
Resident Associate Program
Traditional circular patterns have long been used around the world in contemplation and relaxation practices. Learn how to create calming geometric designs that emphasize the connection among the mind, the body, and the spirit.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265256?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265256?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Sunday, February 8, 2026, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
Botanical Gardens of the World
Resident Associate Program
Indulge in a colorful midwinter escape as horticultural expert Keith Tomlinson leads a series of virtual visits that highlight the beauty of notable botanical gardens in settings as varied as Singapore, the Arizona desert, and the American Midwest. In vibrant visuals he explores how each garden has taken a unique approach to design and interpretation as they celebrate plant collections, conservation, education, and the distinctive environments and landscapes in which they bloom. This session focuses on the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265695?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265695?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Sunday, February 8, 2026, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM.
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk
Films
Watch the Trailer
When exiled Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi set out to make a documentary about the war in the Gaza Strip, she was denied entry. But she was introduced to young photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, who had been documenting the war from the inside. Though they never met in person, their videocalls make up the bulk of Farsi’s remarkable film.
Interspersed with news footage and Hassouna’s own photographs, these calls paint a harrowing portrait of life during wartime. Hassouna keeps up a brave face even as her relatives are killed, electricity is scarce, and food and water hard to come by. The bond between Hassouna and Farsi—who was imprisoned in Iran for her political activism—is evident in every frame.
As Jordan Mintzer put it in the Hollywood Reporter, the film “is ultimately less a documentary exposé than a piece of raw unfiltered evidence, bearing witness to a tragedy that continues to unfold.” Hassouna and ten of her relatives were killed in their sleep by an airstrike one day after it was…
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://ffi2026.eventive.org/films. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Captioning. Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, February 8, 2026, 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM.
The Axelrod String Quartet: Haydn, Shostakovich, and Beethoven (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 four-concert series on Sundays.
This concert features:
Haydn: Quartet in G Major, Op. 33, No. 5
Shostakovich: Quartet in F Major, Op. 73
Beethoven: Quartet in E Minor, Op. 59, No. 2.
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/264808?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Sunday, February 8, 2026, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Monday, February 9, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Portrait Gallery Kids
One-Time Events
Children and families are invited to learn, play and create at the Portrait Gallery! Join educators every Monday as we explore a variety of topics and artistic materials. Participants will get a closer look at art with hands-on activities, music and story times. Portrait Gallery Kids is a fun way to engage with art and each other.
Venue: Portrait Gallery. Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-portrait-gallery-kids-tickets-654254040447?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-share-source=organizer-profile&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile.
Monday, February 9, 2026, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. The Crown and the Cradle: Royal Babies in British History
Resident Associate Program
Expectations have always been high when it comes to the British line of succession, says historian Siobhan Clarke, and the birth of a royal baby could shape an empire. She explores the historical significance of these important infants from the 15th century to today, examining how the fertility, pregnancies, and childbirths of queens have shaped politics—and why the nation’s history has often hung on a tiny heartbeat.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265491?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265491?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Monday, February 9, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM.
Discovery Station: Orchids
Smithsonian Gardens
Stop by the Smithsonian Gardens Discovery Station and explore the connective power of orchids! Take a closer look at the amazing traits that orchids share, uncover the history of vanilla, and get inspired by the Smithsonian Gardens’ orchid collection. Our knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer your orchid care questions.
Find the Discovery Station in the exhibition during the following times through April 26, 2026. Mondays: 1–4 p.m. , Tuesdays–Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Programs are subject to volunteer availability; last-minute cancellations may occur. Notes: Free timed-entry passes are required to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for this program. Be sure to reserve your entry pass here: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f Advance timed-entry passes are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. Same-day timed-entry passes are available daily at the entrance. See NMAAHC staff for assistance.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: L2 in the More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids Exhibition. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Monday, February 9, 2026, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Santa Maria Maggiore
Resident Associate Program
Santa Maria Maggiore is the largest Marian church in Rome and houses one of the most important icons of Mary, the Salus Populi Romani, traditionally attributed to Saint Luke the Evangelist, the patron saint of painters. Seven popes as well as Bernini are entombed in the basilica. Italian Renaissance art expert Rocky Ruggiero highlights the importance of Santa Maria Maggiore through its history, architecture, and works of art. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265604?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265604?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Monday, February 9, 2026, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
Discovery Station: Orchids
Smithsonian Gardens
Stop by the Smithsonian Gardens Discovery Station and explore the connective power of orchids! Take a closer look at the amazing traits that orchids share, uncover the history of vanilla, and get inspired by the Smithsonian Gardens’ orchid collection. Our knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer your orchid care questions.
Find the Discovery Station in the exhibition during the following times through April 26, 2026. Mondays: 1–4 p.m. , Tuesdays–Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Programs are subject to volunteer availability; last-minute cancellations may occur. Notes: Free timed-entry passes are required to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for this program. Be sure to reserve your entry pass here: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f Advance timed-entry passes are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. Same-day timed-entry passes are available daily at the entrance. See NMAAHC staff for assistance.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: L2 in the More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids Exhibition. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Play Date at NMNH: Backyard Bird Count!
One-Time Events
Join us on Tuesdays for special family play dates with museum educators!
This Tuesday we invite you to join us to celebrate birds! Together through play and art-making, families will engage in different ways to observe and record their own observations of birds they see outside (or even inside) the museum as well as learn about the Backyard Bird Count event happening February 13-16 all around the world!
The event is part of our drop-in program, Play Date at NMNH. Play Date at NMNH is a program designed for early learners and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome.
Location: This program is held in Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center, on the Ground Floor of the museum. Please enter through the Constitution Avenue entrance. Q?rius is located on the right as you enter the museum.
Accessibility: Access services such as American Sign Language interpretation, real-time captioning (CART), or audio-description are available…
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center (Ground Floor). Cost: Free. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM.
Poetry and Collage
Resident Associate Program
As T.S. Eliot said, “genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.” Transform words into a visual illustration combining imagery, color, and mark making as you manipulate the materials to draw out the emotion you feel.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265257?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265257?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 10:30 AM – 1:30 PM.
Easter Island: Revisiting a History
Resident Associate Program
Archaeologist Mike Pitts, author of Island at the Edge of the World, challenges the myth of ecological collapse on Easter Island (Rapa Nui). Drawing on early records and recent archaeology, he reveals the Islanders’ resilience and reinterprets the iconic statues, surveying a unified culture shaped by powerful beliefs, rituals, and creativity. He refutes the long-held narrative of self-destruction and offers a deeper understanding of the island’s spiritual and cultural legacy that is rooted in Polynesian mythology and Pacific traditions.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265698?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265698?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Slow Stitch Fabric Journal
Resident Associate Program
Let your creativity flow as you slow stitch a fabric journal composed of your favorite embroidery stitches, embellishments, and fabric scraps. Build a repertoire of embroidery stitches combined with other textile-based elements to produce a finished, bound fabric book with a personalized cover by the end of the class.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265258?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265258?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
Converse with a Conservator Gallery Talk: Artworks on Paper
One-Time Events
Join Paper Conservator Basia Nosek to learn about the care of drawings, prints, and watercolors in SAAM’s collection. Nosek’s talk will feature works on view by Alexander Bogardy and Dan Miller, among others, in SAAM’s modern and contemporary art galleries.
Venue: American Art Museum. Event Location: Meet in G Street Lobby. Cost: Free | Registration encouraged
Registration opens January 13. Get Tickets/Register: https://events.blackthorn.io/5f4ZMUx7/5a2bVR2QaEn.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM.
(Rescheduled from Jan 26) Behind the Science: Herbivores That Chewed Through Time: How Insects and Pathogens Responded to Earth’s Biggest Events
One-Time Events
Announcing a new After-Hours series at the National Museum of Natural History:
Behind the Science
A monthly after-hours series featuring NMNH scientists and researchers
Each month, join the National Museum of Natural History for the new series, Behind the Science, where NMNH researchers share insights into their latest discoveries and explore the fascinating questions driving their work—from the origins of life to the future of our planet. Come learn what’s happening behind the scenes and how science shapes our understanding of the natural world.
Programs take place in Q?rius, the Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center.
Topics and speakers announced on a rolling basis, but save the dates now!February 10 (RESCHEDULED FROM JAN 26): Conrad Labandeira, Paleobiology, The leaves of plants are everywhere. They provide the primary documentation of insect and pathogen feeding styles – or herbivory – on plants in the modern and fossil records. Leaves also are the most abundant, macroscopic item in the fossil…
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: National Museum of Natural History (Ground Floor). Cost: Free; registration is required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/58024102/behind-the-scienceherbivores-that-chewed-through-timehow-insects-and-pathogens-responded-to-earths-biggest-events-washington-national-museum-of-natural-history. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 6:30 PM – 8:15 PM.
For more info visit www.etix.com. An Unsung Hero of the Fight Against Slavery
Resident Associate Program
Thomas Smallwood, born into slavery in 1801 near Washington, D.C. bought his freedom, began organizing mass escapes from slavery by the wagonload, and wrote about the escapes in newspaper dispatches. Smallwood never got the credit he deserved, says journalist Scott Shane. Shane recounts the exploits of Smallwood and his white colleague, Charles Torrey, setting them against the backdrop of the slave trade in the United States.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265724?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265724?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 6:30 PM – 7:45 PM.
Lombardy: The Cultural Splendors of Milan and Beyond
Resident Associate Program
Lombardy’s capital of Milan is one of the most cosmopolitan of the Italian peninsula, and the region is an important center for business, industry, media, fashion, design, and agricultural production, rendering it Italy’s wealthiest. Art historian Sophia D’Addio spotlights Lombardy’s rich artistic legacy in cities including Bergamo, Cremona, and Mantua. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265481?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265481?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 6:30 PM – 8:15 PM.
How the Civil War Changed Walt Whitman's Poetry
Resident Associate Program
When Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter, Walt Whitman declared it "the volcanic upheaval of the nation”—the inception of a war that would dramatically alter the shape and character of American culture. Scholar Randall Fuller of the University of Kansas traces the changes in his poetry from idealism to a realism that depicts a more chastened view of America as a place where enormous suffering had occurred.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265605?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265605?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 6:45 PM – 8:15 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. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Discovery Station: Orchids
Smithsonian Gardens
Stop by the Smithsonian Gardens Discovery Station and explore the connective power of orchids! Take a closer look at the amazing traits that orchids share, uncover the history of vanilla, and get inspired by the Smithsonian Gardens’ orchid collection. Our knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer your orchid care questions.
Find the Discovery Station in the exhibition during the following times through April 26, 2026. Mondays: 1–4 p.m. , Tuesdays–Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Programs are subject to volunteer availability; last-minute cancellations may occur. Notes: Free timed-entry passes are required to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for this program. Be sure to reserve your entry pass here: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f Advance timed-entry passes are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. Same-day timed-entry passes are available daily at the entrance. See NMAAHC staff for assistance.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: L2 in the More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids Exhibition. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Carthage: A New History of an Ancient Empire
Resident Associate Program
For 600 years, the city-state of Carthage dominated the western Mediterranean, growing into the region’s largest and wealthiest empire. After Carthage ultimately fell to Rome and was destroyed in 146 B.C.E. its story was largely erased—leaving its conquerors to write the history books. Drawing on the latest archaeological discoveries and groundbreaking research, ancient historian Eve MacDonald restores Carthage’s story, revealing a cosmopolitan city of wealth and brave warriors as well as amazing beauty and technological sophistication.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265725?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265725?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM.
Birds and Nature in Collage
Resident Associate Program
Sketch birds and nature, then combine your drawings with paper and paint, adding textures to create mixed-media art.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265259?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265259?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM.
Street of Shame
Films
In this heartbreaking drama, five women toil in Tokyo’s red-light district as sex workers, all reaching toward different dreams and hopes. Yet, each find those dreams shattered by the socioeconomic realities surrounding them. Street of Shame was so cutting and popular that some said it brought about the antiprostitution law passed in Japan just a few months later. For his final film, Kenji Mizoguchi brought a lifetime of experience to bear.
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi. Country: Japan. Released: 1956. Length: 85 min. Format: DCP. Language: Japanese with English subtitles. Image courtesy of Janus Films.
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://nmaamatinees.eventive.org/schedule/69373fe6139ea1a7f5d743d7. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Captioning. Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 2:00 PM – 3:45 PM.
Conservation Classroom: Valen-TINY Mammals
Special Zoo Events
Valen-TINY Mammals
This virtual school program is part of Conservation Classroom, a collection of monthly lessons for K-5 students. Each lesson has four elements: wonder (video), engage (live virtual program), act (activities), and connect (video). Follow along with all four parts or pick and choose the videos and activities you want to explore. Explore the Valen-TINY Mammals Resources , Grade/Learning Level: K-5
Standards: Supports NGSS K-LS1-1, 1-LS1-2, 1-LS3-1, 3-LS1-1, 3-LS3-1, 3-LS4-3, 4-LS1-1, 5-PS3-1, 5-PS3-1
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns, cause and effect, energy and matter
Program Details: What makes an animal a mammal? Valen-TINY mammals gives students an up-close look at mammal traits from cute and tiny zoo animals. , Aligned with K-5 Next Generation Science Standards , Designed for all audiences, from individual students to large groups or schools , Webinar-styled; Participants’ audio and video will be off , Students can engage with hosts by using polls, Q&A, and chat. , The program will…
Event Location: Online. Cost: Free! Registration is required. 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. Spanish-interpreted program.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Growing Community: Flowers, Flowers, Flowers
One-Time Events
ACM Beyond The Exhibition presents a Growing Community Series together with Martha's Table
Join ACM’s Growing Community at Martha’s Table Healthy Happy Hour, a free weekly community gathering that brings neighbors together for connection and wellness. Stop by the Commons to enjoy refreshing healthy mocktails, nutritious snacks, music, gardening activities, and hands-on wellness activities for all ages.
This hands-on floral design workshop will introduce participants to the basics of flower selection, balance, and arrangement. Guests will create their own seasonal floral arrangement in celebration of Valentine’s Day, perfect to enjoy at home or share with a loved one, friend, or mentor.
About ACM Beyond The Exhibition
Keeping engagement alive while our gallery transforms.
While we undergo an exciting exhibition installation from January through May of 2026, our work continues beyond the walls. Join us for a vibrant series based on History, Wellness and Culture hosted at partner locations throughout Ward…
Venue: Anacostia Community Museum. Event Location: Martha's Table at The Commons- 2375 Elvans Rd. SE, Washington, D.C. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/growing-community-flowers-flowers-flowers-tickets-1979727724918?aff=oddtdtcreator.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM.
Handi-hour
One-Time Events
Cozy up to craft at DC’s original crafting happy hour! Try your hand at rosemaling, a Norwegian painting style featured in State Fairs: Growing American Craft, enjoy live music from Beyond the Wall and sample local cider and beer. Light snacks, crafting materials, two drinks, and after-hours access to both floors of the exhibition galleries are included in the ticket price.
Attendees must be 21+ to attend and show a valid ID with birthdate at the door. Tickets are $25 and are available beginning February 2.
Venue: American Art Museum. Event Location: Renwick Gallery. Cost: $25 | Registration required
Tickets available February 2. Get Tickets/Register: https://events.blackthorn.io/en/5f4ZMUx7/handi-hour-5a2bVR2SW5R/overview. Related Exhibition: State Fairs: Growing American Craft.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM.
Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud: Artistic Friends and Rivals
Resident Associate Program
Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud, two key figures of postwar British art, shared a complex personal and artistic bond. Art historian Aneta Georgievska-Shine explores this relationship by examining their distinct approaches to painting—Bacon’s expressive style contrasted with Freud’s painstaking realism. Despite their differences, both artists were fascinated by the human figure, and their mutual admiration sparked a rivalry that shaped their artistic trajectories. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265607?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265607?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
Over the Rainbow: The Hollywood Career of Judy Garland
Resident Associate Program
There wasn’t anything Judy Garland couldn’t do, from breaking an audience’s heart with a song to effortlessly dancing up a storm to delivering enthralling comic and dramatic performances. Media historian Brian Rose examines her remarkable Hollywood career, which began in her young teens at MGM and continued with such timeless classics as The Wizard of Oz, Easter Parade, and her stirring comeback in 1954’s A Star is Born.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265606?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265606?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 6:30 PM – 7:45 PM.
Valentine's Day: A Very Short History
Resident Associate Program
Valentine’s Day is celebrated in more countries around the world than any other holiday. Andrew Roth of the Jefferson Educational Society in Erie, Pennsylvania, unlocks the hidden stories behind its evolution from ancient and surprising origins to how it’s marked today. He also traces how greeting cards, wine, roses, and chocolate came to symbolize one of our most revered cultural traditions of saying “I love you.”.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265726?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265726?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 6:30 PM – 7:45 PM.
Musicians from Marlboro II
Performances
Seating is limited. Reserve your seat in advance to pick where you sit ($6 fee per seat). Join the standby line for remaining seats on the day of the concert, free of charge.
Each summer, musicians from around the world gather in the Green Mountains of Vermont to participate in a “fundamentally natural and unique” approach to music-making: the Marlboro Music School (New York Classical Review). In our second Marlboro performance of the season, eight artists perform string quartets by Beethoven and MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient Tyshawn Sorey, as well as Beethoven’s vivacious Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 20.
Program Sorey's Untitled (2023) , Beethoven's String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 59, No. 2 (1806) , Beethoven's Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 20 (1799),
Artists include violinists Claire Bourg and Stephanie Zyzak, violist Cara Pogossian, cellist Marcy Rosen, double bassist Nina Bernat, clarinetist Javier Morales-Martinez, bassoonist Natalya Rose Vrbsky, and horn player Carys Sutherland. This performance is…
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/musicians-from-marlboro-ii-tickets-1975645418630?aff=oddtdtcreator. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible. Assisted listening devices.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Thursday, February 12, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, February 12, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Discovery Station: Orchids
Smithsonian Gardens
Stop by the Smithsonian Gardens Discovery Station and explore the connective power of orchids! Take a closer look at the amazing traits that orchids share, uncover the history of vanilla, and get inspired by the Smithsonian Gardens’ orchid collection. Our knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer your orchid care questions.
Find the Discovery Station in the exhibition during the following times through April 26, 2026. Mondays: 1–4 p.m. , Tuesdays–Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Programs are subject to volunteer availability; last-minute cancellations may occur. Notes: Free timed-entry passes are required to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for this program. Be sure to reserve your entry pass here: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f Advance timed-entry passes are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. Same-day timed-entry passes are available daily at the entrance. See NMAAHC staff for assistance.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: L2 in the More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids Exhibition. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, February 12, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, February 12, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Ocean Valentine's Day
One-Time Events
Fall in love with the ocean! From corals that can’t live without their algae friends to penguins that use pebbles to propose to heart-shaped critters, the ocean is full of fascinating relationships, animals, and habitats. Come to the Sant Ocean Hall to learn from our scientists and educators about curious ocean connections!
Image credit: Mary Hannon.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, The Sant Ocean Hall. Cost: Free and open to the public. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, February 12, 2026, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Preservation Station: Exploring the Family Treasures Toolkit
One-Time Events
Join us as we explore the Family Treasures Toolkit. Learn how to preserve family treasures so they are available for generations to come.
This interactive session will be led by museum professionals highlighting general tips, strategies, and fun preservation demonstrations.
Individuals interested in incorporating preservation activities at their next family gathering or reunion are encouraged to attend.
Treasures Toolkits are available online for download. Whether you are safeguarding family heirlooms or leading a community preservation project, our Treasures Toolkits are here to guide you.
Click below to explore:
For Individuals and Families, For Groups and Organizations
Come in person or explore the digital resources.
Start preserving your cherished objects today!
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: 2nd Floor Classrooms. Cost: Free. Get Tickets/Register: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/80e38fd8-6a1d-173a-bb0f-0d95f6376f01.
Thursday, February 12, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
Spanish-Language Walk-In Tours
One-Time Events
Join a volunteer docent for a lively tour of the National Portrait Gallery in Spanish.
Venue: Portrait Gallery. Event Location: F Street Lobby. Cost: Free. Registration Encouraged. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-spanish-language-docent-tours-tickets-1530971289339?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-share-source=organizer-profile&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile.
Thursday, February 12, 2026, 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Understanding Your New Mirrorless Camera
Resident Associate Program
Even if you had a good handle on using your previous DSLR camera, the technology and options available in your new mirrorless camera can be overwhelming. Learn how to approach using your new camera and take it out for a photo shoot. The second session is a photo review.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265260?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265260?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Thursday, February 12, 2026, 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM.
Learning from Lincoln
Resident Associate Program
Abraham Lincoln is typically ranked as the nation’s foremost president. He possessed extraordinary leadership skills that he used to win the Civil War and preserve the nation. While most leaders may display a unique style, there is even more to learn from Lincoln. Marking the 217th anniversary of his birth, Lincoln scholar and author Louis P. Masur proposes that studying this remarkable president can offer insights into becoming better leaders.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265608?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265608?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Thursday, February 12, 2026, 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM.
Nourishing Networks: How Food Shaped New Orleans
Resident Associate Program
Gumbo and beignets may be the flavors most people know, but the real story of New Orleans food is one of struggle, resilience, and power, reveals historian Ashley Rose Young, author of Nourishing Networks: The Public Culture of Food in New Orleans. She uncovers how, from 1800 to today, street vendors, cooks, and customers turned meals into weapons of influence—shaping taste, battling officials, and rewriting laws. Beneath the powdered sugar and peppery roux lies a history of conflict and creativity—of ordinary people whose daily struggles over food helped define the identity of one of America’s most captivating cities.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265727?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265727?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Thursday, February 12, 2026, 6:45 PM – 8:00 PM.
Drawing Techniques: Perspective
Resident Associate Program
One of the most exciting, and sometimes challenging, things about learning how to draw is recreating what you see in three-dimensional space on two-dimensional paper. Using lines that recede to the horizon, explore basic linear perspective and create objects that visually jump off the page.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265261?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265261?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Thursday, February 12, 2026, 7:30 PM – 9:15 PM.
An Art Lover’s Day Out: The Walters Art Museum and Baltimore Museum of Art
Resident Associate Program
Beat the winter blues and immerse yourself in the warmth of creativity at two of Baltimore’s cultural gems: the Walters Art Museum and the Baltimore Museum of Art. The visit to the Walters includes a special tour of the “Latin American Art/Arte Latinoamericano” exhibition. The Baltimore Museum of Art visit includes the opportunity to see the Cone Collection, which includes 500 works by Matisse. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Event Location: Departs Mayflower Hotel, DeSales St side 1127 Connecticut Ave NW. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265626?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Friday, February 13, 2026, 8:30 AM – 6:30 PM.
Story Time
One-Time Events
Stamp your calendar for Story Time! Join us every week for a fresh story, a stroll through the Museum, hands-on postal play, and more. Together, we’ll explore mail and all the ways it connects us to people, places, and big ideas.
Stop by anytime—whether you stay for one activity or the whole session, this program will get everyone’s “stamp of approval”.
Meet in the Museum Lobby.
If there are services or accommodations that can improve your experience (e.g. ASL interpretation, etc.), please contact NPMprograms@si.edu; 1–2 week’s advance notice is recommended but not required.
Venue: Postal Museum. Event Location: Meet in the Historic Lobby. Cost: Free ; no registration required.
Friday, February 13, 2026, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM.
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. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Friday, February 13, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Due to inclement weather, Wonderplace will open at 12 noon on Friday, January 19, pending staff availability. We will update this entry if the operating status for Wonderplace changes. We apologize for any inconvenience.
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. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, February 13, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Discovery Station: Orchids
Smithsonian Gardens
Stop by the Smithsonian Gardens Discovery Station and explore the connective power of orchids! Take a closer look at the amazing traits that orchids share, uncover the history of vanilla, and get inspired by the Smithsonian Gardens’ orchid collection. Our knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer your orchid care questions.
Find the Discovery Station in the exhibition during the following times through April 26, 2026. Mondays: 1–4 p.m. , Tuesdays–Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Programs are subject to volunteer availability; last-minute cancellations may occur. Notes: Free timed-entry passes are required to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for this program. Be sure to reserve your entry pass here: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f Advance timed-entry passes are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. Same-day timed-entry passes are available daily at the entrance. See NMAAHC staff for assistance.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: L2 in the More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids Exhibition. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, February 13, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, February 13, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Nick Cave: Mammoth Gallery Talk
One-Time Events
SOLD OUT
Join us for a midday gallery talk to celebrate the opening of SAAM’s new exhibition Nick Cave: Mammoth with Sarah Newman, the James Dicke Curator of Contemporary Art and exhibition organizer.
Image credit: Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery. Photo by James Prinz.
Venue: American Art Museum. Event Location: Meet in G Street Lobby. Cost: SOLD OUT
Free | Registration encouraged. Get Tickets/Register: https://events.blackthorn.io/5f4ZMUx7/5a2bVR2P71x. Related Exhibition: Nick Cave: Mammoth.
Friday, February 13, 2026, 11:45 AM.
Colors of Love: A Reflective Writing Workshop
Resident Associate Program
Discover the power of reflective writing guided by the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, Mary Hall Surface. Inspired by paintings of the visionary Belorussian-born French artist Marc Chagall and by poetry across time, participants slow down, look closely, and reflect to explore love as an animating force in their lives.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265609?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265609?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Friday, February 13, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Masterworks at the Barnes Foundation: Modigliani and Soutine
Resident Associate Program
Drawing on one of the greatest Post-Impressionist and early modern art collections in the world, Barnes Foundation educator Penny Hansen guides a five-part series of online tours that examine the paintings of artists who helped shape a revolutionary period in the history of art. High-definition Deep Zoom technology provides close-up views of their canvases. This session highlights Amedeo Modigliani and Chaim Soutine.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265520?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265520?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Friday, February 13, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Africa, With Love
One-Time Events
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with African Art!
Join African Art for an evening of music, artmaking, and more!
Performances by Chopteeth Sylvia Williams Gallery (Sublevel 1), . Artmaking with Shiri Achu Pavilion (Garden Level), . Drinks Available for Purchase Mezzanine (Sublevel 1), . Museum Store Open Sublevel 1, . Galleries Open Sublevels 1, 2, 3
Registration required.
By attending this event, you grant the Smithsonian Institution permission to photograph, film, videotape you and/or record your voice and likeness in connection with or the promotion of the project.
We use Eventbrite, a third-party events service. Their Privacy Statement applies to your use of this service.
Venue: African Art Museum. Event Location: Throughout the museum. Cost: FREE. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/africa-with-love-tickets-1980662020421. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, February 13, 2026, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM.
DC | The Story of Chocolate
One-Time Events
Bring the whole family or your Valentine to enjoy a day of chocolate history, culture, and food. Visitors can watch as Executive Chef Alex Strong of the museum's own Mitsitam Cafe shows how she makes some tasty chocolate treats, enjoy performances by dance group Danza Tecuanis, and follow the path from blossom to beverage with an interactive presentation, and make and take a bookmark to remember the day! SCHEDULE, Level 3, imagiNATIONS Activity Center 10 AM-4 PM| Amate Bookmark Activity Made from fig and mulberry bark, amate is a type of paper that has been made and used by Indigenous communities of what is now Mexico for generations. Amate was often used to create codices or folding books. Join our museum educators to make and take home your own amate bookmark. *Please note: The imagiNATIONS Activity Center has a limited capacity and is first come, first served and sometimes requires free timed entry tickets. Please see imagiNATIONS Activity Center staff for details. , , , Level 1, Potomac…
Venue: American Indian Museum DC. Event Location: Level 1: Potomac Atrium, Level 3: imagiNATIONS Activity Center. Cost: FREE.
Saturday, February 14, 2026, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Saturday, February 14, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, February 14, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Discovery Station: Orchids
Smithsonian Gardens
Stop by the Smithsonian Gardens Discovery Station and explore the connective power of orchids! Take a closer look at the amazing traits that orchids share, uncover the history of vanilla, and get inspired by the Smithsonian Gardens’ orchid collection. Our knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer your orchid care questions.
Find the Discovery Station in the exhibition during the following times through April 26, 2026. Mondays: 1–4 p.m. , Tuesdays–Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Programs are subject to volunteer availability; last-minute cancellations may occur. Notes: Free timed-entry passes are required to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for this program. Be sure to reserve your entry pass here: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f Advance timed-entry passes are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. Same-day timed-entry passes are available daily at the entrance. See NMAAHC staff for assistance.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: L2 in the More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids Exhibition. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, February 14, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, February 14, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
250th Festival: Celebrating Our Story
One-Time Events
Kick off the yearlong celebration of America’s 250th anniversary at the National Portrait Gallery! We’re bringing the past to life in a festival for all ages that commemorates 250 years of art, history and culture. Dance along with live performances and take guided tours through the galleries. Enjoy story times, games and more! Participants can create art with friends and family and take home a booklet to celebrate the 250th all year long. This free community festival will highlight joyful moments and heroic stories that have shaped the nation.
Event Location: Kogod Courtyard. Cost: Free. Registration Encouraged. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/250th-festival-celebration-of-our-story-tickets-1976588921673?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-share-source=organizer-profile&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile.
Saturday, February 14, 2026, 11:30 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Portrait Signs: A Tour in ASL
One-Time Events
Portrait Signs is a Deaf-led tour in American Sign Language that explores a variety of topics related to portraiture, history and biography, focusing on works from the museum’s special exhibitions and permanent collection.
Event Location: G Street Lobby. Cost: Free. Registration Encouraged. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-portrait-signs-a-tour-in-asl-tickets-713964475967?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-share-source=organizer-profile&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile. Accessibility: ASL-interpreted program.
Saturday, February 14, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Art Studio
One-Time Events
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program, where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery’s Eventbrite page.
Venue: Portrait Gallery. Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-art-studio-tickets-1112707681629?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-share-source=organizer-profile&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile.
Saturday, February 14, 2026, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Teen Studio: Will You Be My Valentine?
One time events
Teens: Ready to level up your art? Join us for Teen Studio, a free art-making program exclusively for teens ages 13–19. Push your artistic boundaries using materials and techniques inspired by artists whose work is now on view at the Hirshhorn.
This weekend, we’ll celebrate Valentine’s Day! We’ll start with a scavenger hunt, searching for love in the Hirshhorn’s collection. Then we’ll head back to Art School to make valentines for our loved ones!
Drop in to Teen Studio every Saturday between 2:30 and 4 PM. Register for the entire school year here (one-time registration covers all sessions). Join one session or join them all! Meet in Art School on the Museum’s Lower Level.
Looking for more? Explore Art School Everywhere, wherever you are, to learn about artists at the Hirshhorn and get creative any time. Do this at home! Create a light sculpture inspired by artist Olafur Eliasson.
Olafur Eliasson: Rainbow Reflections,
ABOUT TEEN STUDIO
Teens ages 13–19 are invited to hang out and get creative at the…
Venue: Hirshhorn Museum. Event Location: Art School on the Lower Level. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: Big Things for Big Rooms.
Saturday, February 14, 2026, 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit hirshhorn.si.edu. Spark!Lab
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Spark!Lab is where museum visitors become inventors. The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation invites children between the ages of 6 and 12 to create, collaborate, explore, test, experiment and invent. Activities for children and families incorporate traditional science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with art, history and creativity.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Spark!Lab, First Floor, West Wing. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Related Exhibition: Places of Invention, Inventive Minds, Landmark Object: Ralph Baer's Workshop, Inventing in America.
Sunday, February 15, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit invention.si.edu. Wonderplace
Ongoing Tours & Activities
This learning space designed especially for children ages six and under combines age appropriate activities with museum collections and touchable objects to provide a gateway to history and a place to exercise curiosity for the youngest historians.
Admission to Wonderplace is on a first come, first-served basis. At busy times, we may use FREE, timed tickets to minimize wait time if needed. Tickets are available for 30-minute visits on a first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required for the first session from 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. To visit during a later half-hour session, visitors may pick up a ticket at Wonderplace in 1 West. The last entry using timed tickets is at 3:30 p.m.
Hours are subject to change.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Wonderplace, 1 West. Cost: Free; first come, first served. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, February 15, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Discovery Station: Orchids
Smithsonian Gardens
Stop by the Smithsonian Gardens Discovery Station and explore the connective power of orchids! Take a closer look at the amazing traits that orchids share, uncover the history of vanilla, and get inspired by the Smithsonian Gardens’ orchid collection. Our knowledgeable volunteers are happy to answer your orchid care questions.
Find the Discovery Station in the exhibition during the following times through April 26, 2026. Mondays: 1–4 p.m. , Tuesdays–Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4p.m.
Programs are subject to volunteer availability; last-minute cancellations may occur. Notes: Free timed-entry passes are required to enter the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) for this program. Be sure to reserve your entry pass here: https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f Advance timed-entry passes are released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis. Same-day timed-entry passes are available daily at the entrance. See NMAAHC staff for assistance.
Venue: African American History and Culture Museum. Event Location: L2 in the More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids Exhibition. Cost: Free. Related Exhibition: More than a Flower: The Connective Power of Orchids. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, February 15, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Interactive Programs
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Docents offer interactive programming throughout the museum, in the form of Highlights tours of the museum, gallery spotlight talks, and hands-on cart programs.
Tours of the museum’s highlights generally take place daily at 10:15 AM and 1 PM. Additional tours may be offered on the hour between 11 AM and 3 PM as docents are available. Please check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Gallery spotlight talks take place throughout the day. Docents offer a 15-minute overview of an exhibition or briefly discuss a favorite museum object. Look for the "Docent on Duty" signs posted outside the exhibition entrances.
Docents stationed at carts help visitors get their hands on history and learn about the museum's collections. Carts are located throughout the museum, and you can check either Welcome Desk for today’s schedule.
Year-Round:
Available most days between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Notes:
Programs are subject to docent availability; last-minute cancellations may occur.
Venue: American History Museum. Event Location: Multiple floors. Cost: Free. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, February 15, 2026, 10:15 AM – 3:15 PM.
Art Studio
One-Time Events
Calling all artists! Join the Portrait Gallery for a free, drop-in art program, where creativity knows no bounds. Every weekend, visitors of all ages are invited to explore a different artistic medium while drawing inspiration from the Portrait Gallery’s collections and exhibitions. On select weekends, learn from a featured guest artist, who will lead specialized workshops and share their expertise. To stay informed about upcoming guest artist workshops, please check the Portrait Gallery’s Eventbrite page.
Venue: Portrait Gallery. Event Location: Education Center, E151. Cost: Free. No Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-art-studio-tickets-1112707681629?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-share-source=organizer-profile&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile.
Sunday, February 15, 2026, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Resurrection
Films
Watch the Trailer
With his senses-ravishing third feature, visionary director Bi Gan (Kaili Blues, Long Day’s Journey into Night) takes his deepest plunge yet into the realm of pure cinematic dreamscape.
In a world where humans have forsaken dreams in exchange for immortality, a dreaming monster (Jackson Yee) embarks on a shape-shifting odyssey. Through illusion, beauty, and terror, the journey takes him across the twentieth century and to the end of time. The film’s five dazzlingly imagined chapters unfold in varying styles that encompass everything from silent-cinema expressionism to film noir to a delirious vampire love story shot in one of Bi’s signature long takes. Resurrection is a work of breathtaking imagination in which cinema is the ultimate portal to the unconscious mind. Description adapted from Janus Films.
Director: Bi Gan. Countries: China, France. Released: 2025. Length: 160 min. Format: DCP. Language: Mandarin with English subtitles. Image courtesy of Janus Films.
Venue: Asian Art Museum, West Building. Building: West Building. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://icymi.eventive.org/films. Accessibility: Captioning. Assisted listening devices. Wheelchair accessible.
Sunday, February 15, 2026, 2:00 PM – 4:45 PM.
Spanish-Language Walk-In Tours
One-Time Events
Join a volunteer docent for a lively tour of the National Portrait Gallery in Spanish.
Event Location: F Street Lobby. Cost: Free. Registration Encouraged. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-gallery-spanish-language-docent-tours-tickets-1530971289339?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-share-source=organizer-profile&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile.
Sunday, February 15, 2026, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
For more info visit www.eventbrite.com. Botanical Gardens of the World
Resident Associate Program
Indulge in a colorful midwinter escape as horticultural expert Keith Tomlinson leads a series of virtual visits that highlight the beauty of notable botanical gardens in settings as varied as Singapore, the Arizona desert, and the American Midwest. In vibrant visuals he explores how each garden has taken a unique approach to design and interpretation as they celebrate plant collections, conservation, education, and the distinctive environments and landscapes in which they bloom. This session focuses on the Boyce Thompson Arboretum and the Desert Botanical Garden in Arizona.
Event Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Online Link: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265696?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223. Cost: Click here to view prices. Get Tickets/Register: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/265696?utm_source=SI-Trumba-Calendar&utm_medium=SIWeb&utm_campaign=2025FY-Trumba-SA-ev&utm_content=SA-Trumba-event&promo=276223.
Sunday, February 15, 2026, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM.