All upcoming Daytime programs

Celebrate Michelangelo’s 551st birthday by exploring the making of one of history’s most brilliant artistic minds. Born on March 6, 1475, Michelangelo Buonarroti lived nearly 89 years, witnessing Renaissance Florence, the discovery of the New World, the Reformation, and the reigns of 13 popes. He transformed Western art through sculpture, painting, architecture, and poetry. Though many believed his talent miraculous, Michelangelo studied with discipline, learning from masters and experimenting with styles. Art historian Elaine Ruffolo traces the journey of young Michelangelo from Lorenzo il Magnifico’s household to his masterpiece, the “David.” (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Insects surged to ecological dominance by evolving larvae—grubs, maggots, and caterpillars—with extraordinary survival strategies and life cycle advantages. Wildlife documentary filmmaker Steve Nicholls explores their remarkable origins and the ingenious ways these vulnerable young thrive, from impersonating predators to forming intricate social networks.

Beethoven never made it to the United States, but hundreds of important musicians and composers did. From early touring megastars like Adelina Patti and Paderewski to successful later refugee émigrés such as Rachmaninoff and Kurt Weill, America has long welcomed great artists. In a four-session series filled with musical excerpts, speaker and concert pianist Rachel Franklin explores the siren call of America to musicians.

Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for a course of three online workshops that explore essential elements of writing and styles through close looking, word-sketching, and imaginative response to prompts. The sessions spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by A Sunburst Restrained by María Berrío.

Found in every region of the globe, embroidery is one of the world’s most widely shared forms of creative expression—and one of the most varied. Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, director of the Textile Research Centre in Leiden, the Netherlands, and author of The Atlas of World Embroidery: A Global Exploration of Heritage and Styles, guides audiences through this rich tapestry, exploring the materials, tools, designs, and symbolic meanings of embroidery, as well as the communities and individual makers who sustain these traditions. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Between 350 and 750, western Europe underwent a profound transformation. The Roman empire, which had dominated the ancient world for more than half a millennium, collapsed. The last Western Roman emperor was deposed in 476, while new peoples competed with the Roman population and with each other. In a 4-part series, historian David Gwynn traces the entangled stories of the Goths, Huns, Franks, and Anglo-Saxons, who interacted in different ways with the Roman empire and its legacy and together shaped the history of Christian Europe and Western civilization. This session focuses on the Huns.

For more than 70 years, the adventures of James Bond have thrilled readers and left them wondering if any of his escapades are actually possible. Kathryn Harkup, a former chemist, investigates 007’s exploits and the weapons, technologies, and tactics of his foes. During the process, she assesses the practicalities of building a volcano-based lair and whether being covered in gold paint really would kill you.

Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for a course of three online workshops that explore essential elements of writing and styles through close looking, word-sketching, and imaginative response to prompts. The sessions spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by The Green Door by Lois Mailou Jones.

Claude Monet created his enchanting Water Lilies series with the intention to provide an “asylum of peaceful meditation.” However, the calm and beauty of these luminous works belie the personal loss, turmoil, frustration, and anguish Monet endured in the last 15 years of his life. Author Ross King explores how, despite these travails, Monet turned to his art once again—and continued until his death in 1926. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Between 350 and 750, western Europe underwent a profound transformation. The Roman empire, which had dominated the ancient world for more than half a millennium, collapsed. The last Western Roman emperor was deposed in 476, while new peoples competed with the Roman population and with each other. In a 4-part series, historian David Gwynn traces the entangled stories of the Goths, Huns, Franks, and Anglo-Saxons, who interacted in different ways with the Roman empire and its legacy and together shaped the history of Christian Europe and Western civilization. This session focuses on the Franks.