The quiet rural town where former Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough was raised holds a treasury of family memories. Learn how his journey of research through the Smithsonian’s collections uncovered an even bigger story about his beloved South Georgia: one that encompasses more than 15,000 years of natural history.

Thursday, June 20, 2019 - 6:45 p.m.

Family Program: (Ages 8 to 14) Go on an interactive exploration of the Natural History Museum and participate in hands-on crafts projects and games. Then roll out your sleeping bag and dream away in the darkened halls of one of the world’s most famous museums!

June 21 - 22, 2019, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Tangier Island is a community inextricably connected to the Chesapeake Bay. Join naturalist Keith Tomlinson as he leads a day devoted to discovering the island’s unique charms and attractions—on both land and water.

Sunday, June 23, 2019 - 6:45 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

During six seasons on AMC, Walter White, the antihero of “Breaking Bad” practiced a lot of ad-hoc chemistry. But how much of it was actually scientific? Join the show’s science advisor, chemistry professor Donna Nelson, and scientist Marius Stan, who appeared as an actor, to learn how the series mixed fictional storylines with professionally accurate facts.

Tuesday, June 25, 2019 - 6:45 p.m.

Washington, D.C., was the first municipality to be recognized a leading sustainable city by the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Cities initiative. Spend a day with Bill Keene, a lecturer in history, urban studies, and architecture, for a close-up look at several sites—from the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant to an elementary-school garden—that play a role in creating a greener nation’s capital.

Friday, June 28, 2019 - 9:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.

Family Program: (Ages 8 to 14) Go on an interactive exploration of the Natural History Museum and participate in hands-on crafts projects and games. Then roll out your sleeping bag and dream away in the darkened halls of one of the world’s most famous museums!

June 28 - 29, 2019, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m.

On this guided behind-the-scenes tour, take a rare look at some of the treasures of the largest and most diverse museum library system in the world as you step into the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History.

Monday, July 8, 2019 - 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

One of North America’s most awe-inspiring natural wonders is the perfect destination for a visit that includes all the don’t-miss attractions of Niagara Falls—and a memorable dinner in one of Ontario’s most historic and charming towns.

Depart: Thursday, July 11, 2019 - 7:00 a.m.
Return: Saturday, July 13, 2019 - 8:30 p.m.

Family Program: (Ages 8 to 14) Go on an interactive exploration of the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. Then roll out your sleeping bag and dream away in the halls of one of the world’s most famous museums!

July 13 - 14, 2019, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Tangier Island is a community inextricably connected to the Chesapeake Bay. Join naturalist Keith Tomlinson as he leads a day devoted to discovering the island’s unique charms and attractions—on both land and water.

Sunday, July 14, 2019 - 6:45 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

On this guided behind-the-scenes tour, take a rare look at some of the treasures of the largest and most diverse museum library system in the world as you step into the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History.

Wednesday, July 17, 2019 - 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

On this guided behind-the-scenes tour, take a rare look at some of the treasures of the largest and most diverse museum library system in the world as you step into the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History.

Wednesday, July 17, 2019 - 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Drawing from his book, Emperors of the Deep, documentarian, conservationist, and author William McKeever dispels our common misconceptions about sharks and describes them as evolutionary marvels vital to maintaining the health of the world’s oceans and, ultimately, the planet.

Friday, July 19, 2019 - 6:45 p.m.

Family Program: (Ages 8 to 14) Go on an interactive exploration of the Natural History Museum and participate in hands-on crafts projects and games. Then roll out your sleeping bag and dream away in the darkened halls of one of the world’s most famous museums!

July 19 - 20, 2019, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Staten Island is a destination often overlooked by visitors—and fellow New Yorkers. On a 2-day excursion, arts journalist Richard Selden uncovers an array of cultural, historical, and architectural attractions that prove that this island the size of Bermuda deserves to shake off its underdog reputation.

Depart: Sunday, July 21, 2019 - 8:00 a.m.
Return: Monday, July 22, 2019 - 9:00 p.m.

With their large incisors and nearly hairless bodies, naked mole-rats lack panda adorableness or even mouse-like whimsy. But they possess unique traits that make them more than worthy of a second look.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019 - 6:45 p.m.

Family Program: (Ages 8 to 14) Go on an interactive exploration of the Natural History Museum and participate in hands-on crafts projects and games. Then roll out your sleeping bag and dream away in the darkened halls of one of the world’s most famous museums!

July 26 - 27, 2019, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Rich in history and beauty, the Great Falls of the Potomac is the most magnificent natural landmark in the D.C. metropolitan area. Rise early and enjoy a memorable hiking experience in the great outdoors with naturalist Keith Tomlinson.

Sunday, July 28, 2019 - 6:15 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Family Program: (Ages 8 to 14) Go on an interactive exploration of the Natural History Museum and participate in hands-on crafts projects and games. Then roll out your sleeping bag and dream away in the darkened halls of one of the world’s most famous museums!

August 2 - 3, 2019, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Rich in history and beauty, the Great Falls of the Potomac is the most magnificent natural landmark in the D.C. metropolitan area. Rise early and enjoy a memorable hiking experience in the great outdoors with naturalist Keith Tomlinson.

Saturday, August 3, 2019 - 6:15 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Family Program: (Ages 8 to 14) Go on an interactive exploration of the Natural History Museum and participate in hands-on crafts projects and games. Then roll out your sleeping bag and dream away in the darkened halls of one of the world’s most famous museums!

August 9 - 10, 2019, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Rich in history and beauty, the Great Falls of the Potomac is the most magnificent natural landmark in the D.C. metropolitan area. Rise early and enjoy a memorable hiking experience in the great outdoors with naturalist Keith Tomlinson.

Sunday, August 11, 2019 - 6:15 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Think that the esoteric, abstract realm of quantum physics has no relevance to our daily lives? Physics professor and author Chad Orzel wakes us up to the fact that even the routines by which we start our day—involving everything from making toast to checking our phone—provide scientific evidence of the connection between our quotidian world and the quantum world.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019 - 6:45 p.m.

Who knew that beneath our feet is evidence of magma chambers, giant sharks, Himalayan-sized and Washington native Callan Bentley leads a fascinating exploration of the Mid-Atlantic region that examines an extraordinary history spanning more than a billion years of geologic time.

Saturday, August 17, 2019 - 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Family Program: (Ages 8 to 14) Go on an interactive exploration of the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. Then roll out your sleeping bag and dream away in the halls of one of the world’s most famous museums!

August 17 - 18, 2019, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m.

There’s far more to Thomas Edison’s story than the light bulb and the phonograph. Paul Israel, director and general editor of the Edison Papers at Rutgers University, offers a portrait of an American genius who transformed the concept of invention and played a key role in developing some of the most important technologies of the modern era.

Friday, September 6, 2019 - 6:45 p.m.

The rugged landscape of western North Dakota was the setting against which Theodore Roosevelt transformed himself from an asthmatic 24-year-old into a robust outdoorsman—and a passionate lifelong conservationist. Experience that corner of the West—filled with dramatic vistas, vividly colored canyons, and wandering herds of wild bison—on an extraordinary tour that brings you into the heart of Roosevelt’s Badlands and the national park that bears his name.

Depart from Bismarck, ND: Sunday, September 15, 2019 - 6:00 p.m.
Return to Bismarck, ND: Thursday, September 19, 2019 - 1:00 p.m.

Explore the man-made wonders of the C&O Canal, as well as natural beauty of spring along the Potomac River, guided by writer and local historian Garrett Peck. Highlights include the Monocacy Aqueduct, the canal town of Williamsport, the Paw Paw Tunnel, and an overnight stay in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, site of America’s first spa.

Depart: Sunday, October 20, 2019 - 8:30 a.m.
Return: Monday, October 21, 2019 - 6:30 p.m.