Education and Access

The world’s largest museum, education, and research complex is a laboratory for learning and innovation.

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Education and Access

The Smithsonian’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Education and Access, shares the depth and breadth of the institution’s extraordinary collections and research with learners of all ages and educators everywhere. Our more than 300 educators and 200 Affiliate organizations bring Smithsonian knowledge, compelling stories, exhibitions and artifacts and inquiry-based lessons to more than 8 million learners across the globe each year.

All facets of the Smithsonian – 19 museums, 14 education and research centers and the National Zoo – are committed to reaching communities near and far. Through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Education and Access we connect with diverse audiences, including under-resourced communities and underserved individuals, to enrich programs, curriculum and exhibitions. We invite dialogue and exchange to inspire communities of learners to think critically about complex global challenges.

Smithsonian Affiliations share the Institution’s resources with Americans in their own communities by developing collaborative partnerships with museums, cultural and educational organizations. Together, we bring the Smithsonian, in all of its breadth and scope, to local communities and create lasting experiences that broaden perspectives on science, history, world cultures and the arts. There are more than 180 Smithsonian Affiliates in more than 40 states, Puerto Rico and Panama.

The Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access produces the Smithsonian Learning Lab an engaging digital destination for the discovery, creation, and sharing of new ideas and knowledge and supports development of critical, lifelong skills. It offers free digital access to more than a million Smithsonian artworks, artifacts, specimens, and recordings; thousands of standards-aligned teaching materials; and hundreds of model learning collections the Smithsonian has created for the K-12 classroom. SCLDA collaborates through partnerships with educational organizations, libraries, school districts and universities to engage various audiences in using the Lab through formal training and special projects.

The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service serves as the Institution’s ambassador and emissary through traveling and virtual exhibits that bring knowledge, discovery, and experiences to people across America and beyond. Wherever SITES goes, it stimulates conversations: between the national and local, between the expected and unexpected. SITES’ presence changes lives, institutions, and communities.

The Smithsonian Science Education Center transforms K–12 teaching and learning of science for all students in the United States and around the world. This unique organization develops exemplary science instructional materials for classrooms; builds awareness for science education among educational leaders; helps develop science education leadership for groups from school districts and states; and conducts programs that support the professional growth of teachers.

The Smithsonian Associates offer unparalleled access to the Smithsonian's world of knowledge through innovative, engaging programming that promotes learning, enrichment, and creativity for people of all ages. The largest museum-based educational program in the world, The Smithsonian Associates annually offers more than 750 seminars, performances, lectures, studio art classes, and local and regional study tours. Performances at Discovery Theater and more than 80 educationally focused summer camps are among the programs that foster the joys of learning for young people and their families.