Welcome to Smithsonian Associates In-Person Programs

Enjoy a three-course lunch specially designed for Smithsonian Associates at Alta Strada in Fairfax, Virginia’s Mosaic District. Executive chef Matt Smith introduces the menu of handmade pastas and other authentic classics and guides participants through a tortellini-folding lesson before the meal.

One of the top theater festivals in the world, the Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, helps shape the future of American theater. Each summer since 1991, the festival has produced bold, new plays spotlighting daring and diverse stories. Washington, D.C., area theater aficionado Lynn O’Connell leads a visit to the festival.

Stretch your creative muscles and deepen your observational skills at the National Gallery of Art. Create a drawn-treasure map as you visually explore time, space, and place in the museum's West Wing sculpture galleries.

Learn the foundational skills needed to create a naturalistic painting from a draped (clothed) live model while exploring the expressive nature of the model’s pose and wardrobe in harmony with the surrounding space.

Investigate new techniques as you have fun creating papers for collage and other art projects. Take home a glorious collection of one-of-a-kind papers accented by acrylic, inks, stamps, and other printmaking materials.

In-person Program: 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! Geared for children ages 8 to 14 years old, accompanied by an adult.

Travel to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond with historian Justin M. Jacobs for an awe-inspiring look at Japan’s exquisitely crafted samurai armor from one of the largest collections in the world. More than 140 works from the collection of Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller offer a glimpse of samurai history with a focus on the flourishing culture of the Edo period. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Great shoots start with great locations—and Washington offers plenty of unbeatable visual inspiration. Learn to capture this vibrant city and sharpen your way of thinking about shooting outdoors as you deploy a minimal amount of equipment and a lot of fresh perspective.

In this two-session course, visit and photograph Washington National Cathedral—with architectural features ranging from gargoyles to stunning stained glass windows—then review your images with the instructor. During the critique, learn composition techniques and strategies

Born into slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland, young Araminta Ross faced adversity from an early age. These hardships transformed “Minty” into Harriet Tubman, the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad, and her childhood knowledge of the geography of the Eastern Shore played a key role in her success in ferrying more than 70 people to freedom by 1860. Historian Anthony Cohen uncovers the saga of Tubman’s life by exploring significant sites in the region where she was raised—and that shaped her dreams of freedom and equality.