The splendor of springtime in Washington is world-renowned, owing largely to Japanese flowering cherry trees encircling the Tidal Basin for over a century. Yet blossoms are only one aspect of the city’s vibrant seasons. Smithsonian Associates tour guide, naturalist, and nature author Melanie Choukas-Bradley leads a virtual journey through seasonal transformations with beautiful photos of notable Washington-area landscapes highlighting birds, amphibians, and reflections on nature from George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Frederick Douglass, and Rachel Carson.
Indulge in a colorful midwinter escape as horticultural expert Keith Tomlinson leads a series of virtual visits that highlight the beauty of notable botanical gardens in settings as varied as Singapore, the Arizona desert, and the American Midwest. In vibrant visuals he explores how each garden has taken a unique approach to design and interpretation as they celebrate plant collections, conservation, education, and the distinctive environments and landscapes in which they bloom. This session focuses on the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.
The three voyages of Captain James Cook from 1768 to 1779 were filled with high drama, tragedy, intrigue, and humor. Historian Justin M. Jacobs places Cook and his world in historical context, highlights his substantive connections with the Polynesian world, and examines his search for the “Great Southern Continent” and Northwest Passage.
World’s fairs have long served as global showcases for innovation, culture, and progress. In a 3-part series, art historian Jennie Hirsh delves into the pivotal exhibitions held in St. Louis in 1904, San Francisco and San Diego in 1915, and Paris in 1925, examining how these landmark events showcased each era’s groundbreaking achievements in technology, culture, science, art, and architecture. This session focuses on the St. Louis 1904 World's Fair.
Florence’s Hospital of the Innocents, founded in 1445, was Europe’s first orphanage for abandoned children. Designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, the institution known as the Innocenti became a haven for more than 400,000 children across five centuries. Joseph Luzzi, a professor of literature at Bard College, explores how the Innocenti revolutionized our understanding of childhood through its breakthroughs in childcare and childhood education.
During the first several centuries of the first millennium, the Syrian desert oasis of Palmyra was a crucial link in an overland trade network that stretched from Rome to India. The profits of this trade were invested in stunning monuments and works of art that fused Western and Eastern sensibilities. Historian Justin M. Jacobs explores the history of UNESCO World Heritage Site Palmyra, its monuments and sculptures, and its fate during the Syrian civil war.
Originally part of the residence of the Medici dynasty, the Palatine Gallery encompasses the entire second floor of the Pitti Palace in Florence, Italy. Its collection includes the largest concentration of paintings by Raphael in the world, as well as works by Titian, Tintoretto, Caravaggio and Rubens. Italian Renaissance art expert Rocky Ruggiero discusses some of these magnificent pieces of art. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Move beyond the introductory level woven strip, and its design limitations, while adding new off-loom stitches to your library of bead weaving techniques. Students learn to create three flat shapes, each in two different ways.
