Smithsonian Associates

08/28/2026

🎤 Calling all singers! If you love memorable music from the stage and screen, now's the perfect time to join the Smithsonian Chorus. 🎶

This fall, sing beloved hits by Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber and more.

View the full song selection and register: https://s.si.edu/LegendsofSong

08/27/2026

What causes these colorful curtains of light and where can you see them? Join us on Monday, Aug. 31 for a journey into the science behind nature’s most spectacular light show. Discover the magic of auroras. ✨

Humans have watched displays of the Northern Lights in awe for centuries. Some cultures thought these colorful curtains of light arose as sparks created by the tail of an Arctic fox or from epic battles in the night sky. Sky & Telescope senior editor J. Kelly Beatty explores the fanciful explana...

08/25/2026

Discover the fascinating history of how we learned to fly! ✈Curators and historians from the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution will trace the history of flight from humanity’s earliest aspirations for aerial transit, to 12 breathtaking seconds at Kitty Hawk, to the advances that came with global combat, to how jet engines and digital technology are opening a new future for aviation.

📅 Thursdays, September 3–24

�Explore the full series in our August program guide:

Smithsonian Associates monthly program guide. Smithsonian Associates is the largest museum-based education program in the world, offering more than 1,000 individual programs each year to excite the le

08/24/2026

Journey to the edge of the Sahara without leaving your desk during our lunchtime lecture this week exploring the fascinating world of Roman North Africa! 🌍

Archaeologist and historian Darius Arya will explore how the region fed Rome, connected continents, and fused African, Punic, Greek, and Roman worlds into one of the empire’s most successful provinces.

Roman North Africa was a central force in the empire. From Morocco to Libya, Rome built on Phoenician, Punic, Numidian, and Libyan foundations. In Algeria, Timgad shows Rome’s strict military planning along the desert frontier. Tunisia’s Carthage became a major Roman capital and agricult...

08/21/2026

🎶 50 Seasons. 400+ Years of Music. One extraordinary series. Celebrate 50 seasons of the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society! ✨

From the music of the early 1600s to the sounds of the 21st century, the 2026–2027 season brings acclaimed masterpieces and undeservedly obscure gems by frequently overlooked composers—all performed on some of the world’s most treasured instruments.

The series begins mid-September in the intimate Nicholas and Eugenia Taubman Hall of Music at the National Museum of American History.

Smithsonian Associates has been educating and entertaining audiences for more than 60 Years.

08/20/2026

Join us at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian for a free performance and conversation exploring the spiritual power of ringing. 🔔

As the third program in a dynamic 5-part series on sound and music in American religious traditions, this event explores how bells, chimes, and jingles can connect us to the divine—and even to heal—as we celebrate faith in harmony.

Register: s.si.edu/Ringing

08/19/2026

🍂 This fall, make time for creativity. Whether you’re picking up a brush for the first time, sharpening your drawing skills, exploring photography, or ready to dive into a new medium, we have a class for you.

View Studio Arts classes: s.si.edu/StudioArts

📸: Carter Umhau

08/17/2026

🍷🇳🇿 Explore the wines of New Zealand with sommelier Erik Segelbaum this Friday!

Discover how New Zealand’s oceanic climate and intense ultraviolet radiation shape its unique terroirs—and taste some of the country’s most exciting wines along the way. Your registration includes a curated personal wine-tasting kit.

Spend a Friday evening expanding your knowledge of the world of wine as you sip along with sommelier Erik Segelbaum in a summer series of delectable adventures. He takes you on an exploration of wines from New Zealand. This immersive program includes a curated personal tasting kit to enhance the exp...

08/14/2026

🍂 What if your next fall getaway took you somewhere unexpected?

This October, we’re stepping beyond the usual New York itinerary to discover two of the city’s most extraordinary landscapes: Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn and Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

Stroll through winding paths beneath fall foliage, elaborate mausoleums, and hear the stories of the remarkable people buried here. And the experience doesn’t stop at the cemetery gates...

An evening program at Morbid Anatomy Library
Dinner featuring local Brooklyn food
An overnight stay at the Nu Hotel
A second day exploring the remarkable Woodlawn Cemetery
Expert guidance from New York-based writer and “Grave” author Allison C. Meier

Join us October 4-5 for this two-day journey into history, nature, and the fascinating stories written in stone. Tour departs from downtown DC.

Register: https://s.si.edu/SacredStones

08/12/2026

Take a trip to Mount Desert Island—no packing required! Join historian Ralph Nurnberger on Sept. 2 as he reveals the fascinating history and beauty behind Acadia’s iconic landscape.

Thoughts of Mount Desert Island off the coast of Downeast Maine often conjure up rugged granite cliffs rising above the Atlantic, fishing boats in rocky harbors, and the sweeping landscapes of Acadia National Park. But beyond these familiar images, it is a place where dramatic scenery and human hist...