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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 day bus 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 overnight 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 walking and on-site tours have included:

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

All upcoming Study Tours

Programs 1 to 5 of 15
Sunday, June 22, 2025 - 7:30 a.m., to Monday, June 23, 2025 - 9:00 p.m. ET
In-Person Overnight Tour

Virginia holds a unique place in American history as the birthplace of eight presidents, the site of several of their residences, and home to a host of family links to the White House. Historian Gregg Clemmer leads a two-day tour of Virginia’s presidential past, exploring both well-known landmarks such as James Madison’s Montpelier and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and privately owned sites that reveal the deep connections between the state and the nation’s leaders.


Friday, July 11, 2025 - 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET

Spend the morning behind the scenes with curators at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, uncovering two of the museum’s collections that showcase the wonders of flora and fauna: the United States National Herbarium and the entomology collection. At the herbarium, explore how specimens are crucial in advancing research in taxonomy, ecology, and conservation. Then discover the importance of insect diversity and its impact on ecosystems.


Thursday, July 17, 2025 - 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET

Despite being one of the most documented artists of the 20th century, Frida Kahlo remains an elusive figure, clouded by a mythology that was partly of her own making. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts exhibition “Frida: Behind the Myth” explores the defining moments of Kahlo’s life as depicted through self-portraits plus prints and photographs of her. The day also includes a visit with the Latin Ballet of Virginia. Arts journalist Richard Selden leads the tour.


Thursday, July 17, 2025 - 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET

Spend a summer evening sailing on the Potomac, taking in Washington, D.C.’s architectural icons and history from a new perspective. Cast off from Georgetown with your architecture guide from DC Design Tours and professional crew from Capitol River Cruises. As you cruise south on the Potomac, soak in sunset views of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and Georgetown waterfront, then sail past Theodore Roosevelt Island, under Arlington Memorial Bridge, and along the National Mall and Tidal Basin.


Friday, July 18, 2025 - 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET

Spend the morning behind the scenes with curators at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, uncovering two of the museum’s collections that showcase the wonders of flora and fauna: the United States National Herbarium and the entomology collection. At the herbarium, explore how specimens are crucial in advancing research in taxonomy, ecology, and conservation. Then discover the importance of insect diversity and its impact on ecosystems.