2021 Summer Adventure Dates

Smithsonian Virtual Adventures will be offered between June 21 and August 27, 2021.

Adventures are scheduled on Eastern Standard time (ET) and are presented in English only.

Ages

Smithsonian Virtual Adventures are designed for children who will be entering Kindergarten through 11th grade in the upcoming fall. Children should be registered based on their grade level in the 2021-22 school year and can only participate in programs designated for that grade range.

Purchase an Adventure as a Gift

Looking for a great gift for a child in your life? A Smithsonian Associates gift certificate can open adventures in learning all year long.

Here’s how to do it: Purchase a gift certificate for the child’s parent or legal guardian, who can then use it when they register online for the Virtual Adventure of their choice (gift certificates are applied at checkout). This keeps the registration under the adult’s account, which will ensure they receive the receipt for tax purposes, welcome letter, Zoom links, and other relevant information. The adult will also be able to login into their online portal and access their child’s Adventure and daily handouts. Please note: Smithsonian Associates memberships are not transferable. If the gift certificate recipient is not a member, they will not have access to the member prices or early registration. Consider adding the Associates’ $50 basic membership to the gift certificate to allow access to the member prices and early registration.

2021 Virtual Adventures and Prices

Kindergarten and Grade 1

SEEC educators lead interactive experiences that explore objects and artworks in the Smithsonian’s collections through play, art-making, and experimentation. Please note: these programs are developed for children entering Kindergarten or Grade 1.

Grades 2 to 5

Each week, participants take a deep dive into the Smithsonian's collections for two hours of live online interaction with a team of experienced instructors.

Smithsonian Masterclasses for Grades 6 to 11

Week-long focused studio courses for teens to develop specialized skills and create personal projects inspired by Smithsonian collections.

Soldiers and Dioramas for Grades 6 to 11

Three-day sessions, each day including four hours of live online instruction: two focused on history and two of facilitated diorama construction. A diorama kit is included in the cost of the program and will be mailed to participants. Other materials to be provided by participants are listed on individual program pages.

Registration Deadline

Registration will close for each Virtual Adventure two weeks prior to the start date.

How to Register

Digital Platform

Live online sessions are hosted through Zoom with official Smithsonian accounts. These sessions are structured as “Meetings,” allowing for increased interaction among the participants and instructors and a more engaging adventure for all. For more information about how Smithsonian Virtual Adventures is securing the Zoom platform for your child, see the section below entitled "Online Safety."

Getting Started with Zoom

Online Safety

Zoom's Privacy Policy is designed to reflect Zoom's compliance with the requirements of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and other applicable laws.

The Smithsonian has licensed the education version of Zoom which has had many default settings updated to make meetings more secure. Additionally, the Smithsonian's Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) has reviewed and updated additional default settings based on best practices developed by Zoom and others.

For the Smithsonian Virtual Adventures, and per best practices guidance from OCIO, unique meeting links and passwords will be generated for each week-long adventure. A waiting room will be enabled with every daily session. Names of those in the waiting room will be compared to a list of the names of children registered for the program, and only those who are on the roster will be admitted into the live session. Private chat activity will be disabled within the meeting and participant screen sharing, annotation, and recording will be disabled by default. If the “breakout room” function is used, each breakout room will have an adult in attendance. Further information about Zoom meeting settings will be provided.

Each session's landing page is self-contained, only accessible to registered participants behind your unique Smithsonian Associates login, and contains only pre-approved content.

Prior to registering your adventurers, please review the Terms of Service, Privacy Statement, and the Smithsonian Kids Online Privacy Statement.

Preparing for an Online Session

• Download the Zoom application onto your device. You will not need to be an authenticated user of Zoom in order to participate in the sessions. You can download the application from their website .
• IMPORTANT: Update your Zoom Client. Keep your Zoom client updated to the latest version to enjoy the best viewing experience. You may also be required to update your Zoom client before you can join your session.
• Be prepared with a fully charged device (ideally a computer) with a webcam and secure internet access.
• Collect materials as specified in the Welcome Letter.

The waiting room for the Zoom meeting will be open 5 minutes prior to the start of the scheduled session. Set your Zoom name to the first name and last initial of the child (ex. John S.). This must match the name used to register the child, as only those who are on the official roster for the session will be admitted from the waiting room into the live session.

Materials

All Adventures will have specific supply lists, which will be accessible about 2 weeks prior to the start of each Adventure on its event page and through the Web Portal. The supply list will also be in your Welcome Email, which you will receive 1 week prior to the start of your Adventure..Please have all materials gathered prior to the start of the first session.

Note: The only Adventures that include a mailed kit are Soldiers & Dioramas. The cost of this kit is included in the price, however, other materials will need to be provided by participants and are listed on individual program pages.

Welcome Letter

About a week prior to your session beginning, a welcome letter will be emailed to you at the email address provided at registration. This letter will include:

1. Smithsonian Virtual Adventures 101 Reminders
2. Notes about your upcoming adventure, including more details about the live sessions and a suggested materials list
3. Smithsonian Virtual Adventures Digital Decorum document
4. The direct Zoom link, Meeting ID and Passcode

If you do not receive this email before your session, please email summercamp@si.edu.

Expectations of Adventurers

We expect all children to demonstrate Digital Decorum throughout their time with us. Digital Decorum includes acting with respect towards others, following instructions from instructors and staff, and other appropriate behaviors.

Please review these expectations and other notes in Adventures 101 with your child prior to their session. If you have any questions or need clarification about these guidelines, please email summercamp@si.edu.

When do we call you?

There are times when it is necessary to call you or your alternate emergency contact. These include, but are not limited to:

• When a child is being overly disruptive to the session.
• When a child exhibits unsafe behaviors.
• When a child is verbally hurtful to instructors, staff, or fellow attendees.
• When a child cannot adhere to Digital Decorum or expectations after repeated verbal warnings and conversation with staff.