Special Resources for Educators
Click on these links for more of the Smithsonian's resources for educators.
The Discovery Theater
www.DiscoveryTheater.org
The theater, celebrating 25 years of live performances for children, offers an online calendar of upcoming shows and links to related teacher resources.
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
www.asia.si.edu/education/teachers.htm
The site includes information on teacher events and group tours at the Freer and Sackler—the two galleries that form the Smithsonian’s national museum of Asian art—as well as online guides to the collections, organized by region.
Horticulture Services Division
http://www.gardens.si.edu/horticulture/gardens/nmnh/butterfly.html
This “Butterfly Garden” section of the Horticulture site will hold special interest for teachers looking for natural science resources.
National Museum of American History, Behring Center
http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/educators/index.cfm
Though closed for renovation until 2008, the museum continues to offer teachers’ manuals and online activities at this site, searchable by grade range.
National Museum of Natural History
www.mnh.si.edu/education
The museum’s education site includes downloadable lesson plans, a field trip planning guide, and standards alignments for IMAX films.
National Museum of the American Indian
Http://www.nmai.si.edu/subpage.cfm?subpage=education&second=pub
Along with information on class visits, teachers will find classroom materials in downloadable PDF form.
National Portrait Gallery
http://www.npg.si.edu/educate2/educate20.htm
The education site of the recently reopened gallery contains information on “re-imagined” offerings for teachers and students. Teachers can register online for such school programs as “America’s Presidents” and “Portraiture Today.”
National Postal Museum
www.postalmuseum.si.edu/educators/4a2_selfguidedtours.html
This “Educator Resources” page includes information on class visits and a downloadable self-guided brochure.
National Science Resources Center
http://www.nsrconline.org/
At this homepage, teachers will find detailed descriptions of the center’s research-based science programs. Go to http://www.science-teachers-academies.si.edu for information on special professional development opportunities at Smithsonian museums and research facilities.
The National Zoo
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/education/onlineresources/default.cfm
Change from NZP: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Education/default.cfm
This welcome page for teachers includes resources both for the classroom and for visits to the zoo: exhibit activity guides, animal fact sheets, animal webcams, a “Homework Helper,” and the award-winning “Conservation Central,” an online habitat program.
Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum
http://www.anacostia.si.edu/
This homepage includes information on workshops and exhibition tours and a link to “On-Line Academy,” an introduction to the collections of this Smithsonian museum of African American history and culture.
Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery
http://americanart.si.edu/education/index.cfm
At this “Schools and Scholars” page, teachers will find information on tours, professional development workshops, free resources, and the “Artful Connections” video visit program.
Smithsonian Business Ventures Group Sales
www.si.edu/group_tours
The site includes information on field trips, IMAX screenings, Smithsonian dining, and museum contacts.
Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies
www.SmithsonianEducation.org
A gateway to education throughout the Smithsonian, the site features free online lesson plans for teachers and “IdeaLabs” for young visitors. The site is organized into Educators, Families, and Students sections.
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
www.folklife.si.edu
Links to online exhibitions, a quarterly newsletter, information on Folklife Festival programs, and an “Educator Resources” section can be reached from this homepage.
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
www.folkways.si.edu
Teachers will find music and spoken-word recordings to enliven American history and world culture lessons.
Smithsonian Global Sound
www.smithsonianglobalsound.org
Thousands of Folkways recordings are searchable by country, culture group, language, and genre. Global Sound also includes free lesson plans, videos, and streaming radio.
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
www.serc.si.edu/education/resources/bluecrab
The center’s online resources for teachers and students include a PDF activity in which the students organize and graph real data about the blue crabs of Chesapeake Bay.
Smithsonian Institution Libraries
www.sil.si.edu/imagegalaxy
This “Galaxy of Images” contains more than 10,000 searchable images from the Smithsonian Libraries’ collections.
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
http://www.sites.si.edu/education/teachers_res2.htm
Online resources here include downloadable curriculum materials and the family and classroom activities that accompany touring exhibitions.
Smithsonian Latino Center
http://latino.si.edu/education
The bilingual resources on the site address Latino contributions to American history and society.
Visitor Information and Associates Reception Center
http://www.si.edu/visit/infocenter/viarc.htm
Listings of programs, performances, and activities in all the museums can be found at this principal contact point for Smithsonian information.
