All upcoming Daytime programs

Backyard birding offers a simple, rewarding way to connect with nature. With a window, balcony, or small outdoor space, says naturalist Matt Felperin, you can observe a surprising variety of birds in their routines. From the flash of color as a cardinal lands on a feeder to the familiar call of a chickadee in a nearby tree, these everyday encounters reveal the richness of the natural world outside your door.

Discover the power of reflective writing guided by teaching artist and museum educator, Mary Hall Surface. Inspired by works of art by Hudson River landscape painter Jasper Francis Cropsey and poetry by Mary Oliver, explore the lessons that the season of autumn offers when we slow down, look closely, and reflect. Designed for writers of all levels, the workshop invites participants to look outward at paintings and poetry and to look inward through writing.

In the 19th century, European artists looked to North Africa for exotic inspiration and new artistic experience. Eugène Delacroix spent six months in Morocco, filling sketchbooks that helped shape Orientalism. His example inspired Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky, Gabriele Münter, Paul Klee, and August Macke. In a four-session series, art historian Joseph Paul Cassar examines how travel to North Africa reshaped their artistic ideas. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence is one of the world’s great museums and an early model of the modern gallery. Even before its 1765 opening, visitors could request access. Housed in Giorgio Vasari’s 1559 building for the Medici, it now displays masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Art historian Elaine Ruffolo leads a two-part virtual exploration of its history, architecture, and Renaissance art. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Founded after the First Crusade to protect pilgrims, the Templar Order evolved into a powerful religious-military order, major landholder, and influential financial force. Its history reveals tensions between faith and violence, poverty and wealth, secrecy and authority. Medieval historian Jochen Schenk of the University of Glasgow traces its rise, dramatic suppression in the early-14th century, and transformation into a legend, exploring why it became influential, vulnerable, and enduring.

Artists in America during and after the Second World War grappled with the war from many perspectives. The Nazi “Degenerate Art” exhibition and the purge of modernists drove major European artists to the United States, helping shift the artistic center to New York. Art historian Matthew Palczynski examines this transatlantic transformation and how Americans responded, from Japanese internment camp depictions to Edward Hopper and his nighttime scenes. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Discover the dramatic story of Benito Mussolini with journalist Adam Tanner, tracing the rise of Italy’s fascist dictator, his consolidation of power, reconciliation with the Vatican, overseas empire in Africa, and ties to Adolf Hitler. Tanner examines Mussolini’s cult of personality and the lasting imprint of fascist architecture across Italy, revealing both the regime’s ambitions and its darker consequences.

From inventing beloved characters to crafting fantastical worlds to creating television for the whole family, Jim Henson’s creative genius was unparalleled. The Jim Henson Company Archives Director Karen Falk and biographer Brian Jay Jones explore six extraordinary objects donated by Henson’s family to the National Museum of American History. Each offers a unique window into Henson’s creativity, artistic evolution, and long-lasting cultural impact. Guided by Ryan Lintelman, entertainment curator in the Smithsonian’s Division of Culture and the Arts, the discussion weaves together biography, behind-the-scenes insights, and historical context.

Winston Churchill’s political career began when Queen Victoria was on the throne and ended during the reign of Elizabeth II. His experience over half a century at the forefront of British politics made him an indispensable adviser upon the accession of the young queen—whom he first met as a 2-year-old princess. Katherine Carter, curator of Churchill’s country home at Chartwell, shares the history of this remarkable friendship.

Throughout Christian history, followers of Christ have sought to define his message and the correct faith in God and the Trinity. Yet the search for orthodoxy (“right belief”) has been inseparable from the condemnation of heresy (“wrong belief”). Historian David Gwynn explores the debates about what was orthodoxy and what was heresy and their importance for understanding the historical evolution of Christianity from the original disciples and the apostle Paul to the Christian Roman empire and beyond.