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Study Tours

Study Tours

Smithsonian Associates Study Tours takes the educational intent of our fabulous programming outside the classroom and on the road!

About our tours

Each tour is led by one of our Study Leaders with expertise in the subject matter along with a Smithsonian Representative to handle all the logistics and comforts of the group. The study leader imparts knowledge both formally and informally throughout the tour, with methods that can include a background lecture, handout materials, narrating site visits, and stimulating social engagement with all participants during the course of the tour.

Tour types

Study tours include day bus trips, multi-day and overnight tours, and shorter neighborhood walks or visits to specific sites. We offer over 70 study tours each year, and we hope you will join us!

Select a tour type to learn more:

Day bus tours visit destinations as close as Capitol Hill and as far as New York City or Maryland's Eastern Shore. Topics for these tours are wide-ranging and cover subjects such as military history, art, architecture, railroading, horticulture, gastronomy, and literature.

Popular tours have included:

  • Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater
  • John Wilkes Booth's Escape Route
  • Western Maryland Scenic Railroad
  • Sultana Cruise & Historic Chestertown
  • The Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Overnight tours give Study Leaders the opportunity to take a group a greater distance from Washington, DC. Study Leaders spend more time with participants and explore the subject in greater detail. The majority of these tours depart from Washington, DC, however for some tours the group meets at the destination.

Popular tours have included:

  • Best of Brooklyn, New York
  • Berkshires Summer Sampler
  • Exploring Frank Lloyd Wright in Chicago
  • Corning Museum of Glass
  • West Virginia Railroad Spectacular

Walking and on-site tours last two to three hours. Participants meet directly at the tour destination and spend time with the Study Leader exploring that particular subject or neighborhood.

Popular tours have included:

  • Inside Smithsonian Libraries
  • Architecture on the National Mall
  • Dupont Circle and Embassy Row
  • Sunrise Hike at Great Falls
  • Roosevelt Island Walks

Resources

Meet your Study Leaders

All upcoming Study Tours

Programs 1 to 5 of 10
Autumn Splendor in Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve
Friday, ​October 25, 2024 - ​8:00 a.m. ​to 7:30 p.m. ET​
In-Person Tour
Register

Spend an autumn day exploring the scenic 93,000-acre Agricultural Reserve in Maryland’s Montgomery County, designed as a means to preserve farmland and rural space. Melanie Choukas-Bradley, a longtime resident of the reserve, serves as guide and introduces some of her favorite places in this close-in slice of paradise at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain.

The Battle of Second Manassas
Saturday, ​October 26, 2024 - ​8:00 a.m. ​to 5:30 p.m. ET​
In-Person Tour
Register

In the summer of 1862, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee devised a strategy to defeat the two Federal armies that he and his Army of Northern Virginia faced in Virginia. His plan led to a return to Bull Run and the Battle of Second Manassas. Civil War tour guide Marc Thompson leads a full-day tour of sites associated with the battle.

Alexandria at War
Friday, ​November 1, 2024 - ​10:00 a.m. ​to 12:30 p.m. ET​
In-Person Tour
Register

Alexandria, Virginia, a port city with deep roots in pre-Revolutionary America, was a heavily divided and conflicted city during the Civil War, and the memories of the war still resonate today. Journalist Chuck Raasch guides you on a tour that touches on those memories.

Alexandria at War
Sunday, ​November 3, 2024 - ​10:00 a.m. ​to 12:30 p.m. ET​
In-Person Tour
Register

Alexandria, Virginia, a port city with deep roots in pre-Revolutionary America, was a heavily divided and conflicted city during the Civil War, and the memories of the war still resonate today. Journalist Chuck Raasch guides you on a tour that touches on those memories.

Alexandria at War
Sunday, ​November 3, 2024 - ​1:30 p.m. ​to 4:00 p.m. ET​
In-Person Tour
Register

Alexandria, Virginia, a port city with deep roots in pre-Revolutionary America, was a heavily divided and conflicted city during the Civil War, and the memories of the war still resonate today. Journalist Chuck Raasch guides you on a tour that touches on those memories.