Meditation and Mindfulness

Meditation helps us build a relationship to a place of inner quietude. Whether you’re a beginner or a skilled practitioner, join us for free online meditation sessions each week led by DC-based meditation teachers on Tuesdays and Fridays. Friday sessions include inspir......More

Meditation helps us build a relationship to a place of inner quietude. Whether you’re a beginner or a skilled practitioner, join us for free online meditation sessions each week led by DC-based meditation teachers on Tuesdays and Fridays. Friday sessions include inspiration from art in the museum collections as well as appearances by special guest teachers and artists. All are welcome! No previous experience is required. Meet our meditation teachers: Aparna Sadananda and Philip Bender. Register and join the sessions here: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpdeuhqjItG9HB6wJ6vIhf5Vk-_Tm-RCtZ Image:  Spring flowers, Kitagawa Sōsetsu (17th century), Japan, Edo period, mid-17th century, one of a pair of handscrolls; ink and color on paper, The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, Freer Gallery of Art, F2020.5.25.1a–b

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Virtual Art Signs: Artful Conversations in ASL

Curious about American art? Join us for a 30-minute virtual conversation about selected works from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection. This program is presented in American Sign Language (ASL) with voice interpretation for hearing participants.   Image c......More

Curious about American art? Join us for a 30-minute virtual conversation about selected works from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection. This program is presented in American Sign Language (ASL) with voice interpretation for hearing participants.   Image credit: Mary Tait, SAAM Education

Conservation Classroom: Exploring Neighborhood Birds

Exploring Neighborhood Birds Learn about some of our neighborhood birds and techniques used to study them, such as bird banding, from a migratory bird ecologist. Grade/Learning Level: 2-6 Standards: 2-PS1-2, 2-LS2-2, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS1-1, 3-LS3-1, 3-LS3-2, 3-LS4-3, 4-LS......More

Exploring Neighborhood Birds Learn about some of our neighborhood birds and techniques used to study them, such as bird banding, from a migratory bird ecologist. Grade/Learning Level: 2-6 Standards: 2-PS1-2, 2-LS2-2, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS1-1, 3-LS3-1, 3-LS3-2, 3-LS4-3, 4-LS1-1 Program Details & Accessibility: Conservation Classroom is a collection of programs that include live virtual programs each month from September through May. These programs are designed for multiple groups of students to join and learn together. We welcome all audiences from individuals and home-schooling families to large groups and schools. Programs are hosted via Zoom in the webinar format. Individual participants’ audio and video will be disabled, but students can actively participate using polls, emoji reactions, Q&A, and chat to hosts. Program includes live captioning, American sign language (ASL) interpretation, and simulcast Spanish translation. The program will be recorded and posted on our website and emailed out to those who have registered approximately 48 hours after the program. ASL TIP: If you would like to see the ASL interpreter, we recommend joining on a computer instead of a phone or tablet so the interpreter will be visible the entire time.   Program Resources: Take your student’s learning further! All programs come with a collection of resources released at the beginning of the month, which can be found on the Zoo’s school programs page at https://nationalzoo.si.edu/education/school-programs The collection includes an “I Wonder…” video which is a great introduction to the monthly program topic, an activity that can be used during the program, an activity to use after the program, and a “Career Connections” video that connects students to a related STEAM career. Note: the program can be enjoyed without accessing the additional resources alone as well.

Pattern and Paradox: The Quilts of Amish Women Lecture with Janneken Smucker

Join Pattern and Paradox contributor and textile historian Janneken Smucker for insights into the history of Amish quilts and the works featured in SAAM’s exhibition, Pattern and Paradox, that were donated to SAAM by Faith and Stephen Brown. Smucker traces the journey o......More

Join Pattern and Paradox contributor and textile historian Janneken Smucker for insights into the history of Amish quilts and the works featured in SAAM’s exhibition, Pattern and Paradox, that were donated to SAAM by Faith and Stephen Brown. Smucker traces the journey of quilts from Amish homes to SAAM, revealing the ways the quilts’ limitless colors and patterns delight the eye and intrigue the mind. She also will discuss the significance behind the prolific creative time period in quilt making, from 1880 to 1950.   Leslie Umberger, curator of folk and self-taught art, will introduce Smucker, assistant professor of history at West Chester University and former SAAM fellow.     This program was generously supported by Mary Anne Goley.  Image Credit:Courtesy the speaker

American Art Museum

Meditation and Mindfulness

Meditation helps us build a relationship to a place of inner quietude. Whether you’re a beginner or a skilled practitioner, join us for free online meditation sessions each week led by DC-based meditation teachers on Tuesdays and Fridays. Friday sessions include inspir......More

Meditation helps us build a relationship to a place of inner quietude. Whether you’re a beginner or a skilled practitioner, join us for free online meditation sessions each week led by DC-based meditation teachers on Tuesdays and Fridays. Friday sessions include inspiration from art in the museum collections as well as appearances by special guest teachers and artists. All are welcome! No previous experience is required. Meet our meditation teachers: Aparna Sadananda and Philip Bender. Register and join the sessions here: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpdeuhqjItG9HB6wJ6vIhf5Vk-_Tm-RCtZ Image:  Spring flowers, Kitagawa Sōsetsu (17th century), Japan, Edo period, mid-17th century, one of a pair of handscrolls; ink and color on paper, The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, Freer Gallery of Art, F2020.5.25.1a–b

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Meditation and Mindfulness

Meditation helps us build a relationship to a place of inner quietude. Whether you’re a beginner or a skilled practitioner, join us for free online meditation sessions each week led by DC-based meditation teachers on Tuesdays and Fridays. Friday sessions include inspir......More

Meditation helps us build a relationship to a place of inner quietude. Whether you’re a beginner or a skilled practitioner, join us for free online meditation sessions each week led by DC-based meditation teachers on Tuesdays and Fridays. Friday sessions include inspiration from art in the museum collections as well as appearances by special guest teachers and artists. All are welcome! No previous experience is required. Meet our meditation teachers: Aparna Sadananda and Philip Bender. Register and join the sessions here: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpdeuhqjItG9HB6wJ6vIhf5Vk-_Tm-RCtZ Image:  Spring flowers, Kitagawa Sōsetsu (17th century), Japan, Edo period, mid-17th century, one of a pair of handscrolls; ink and color on paper, The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, Freer Gallery of Art, F2020.5.25.1a–b

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ONLINE: “Adventure is Worthwhile”: A Conversation with Pilot Tammie Jo Shults

“Adventure is worthwhile,” Amelia Earhart once said. And that has certainly rung true for U.S. Navy pilot and commercial airline captain Tammie Jo Shults (Ret.). As Shults has faced new challenges as a woman in aviation, she has long held the belief that while adventure......More

“Adventure is worthwhile,” Amelia Earhart once said. And that has certainly rung true for U.S. Navy pilot and commercial airline captain Tammie Jo Shults (Ret.). As Shults has faced new challenges as a woman in aviation, she has long held the belief that while adventure isn’t always without adversity, it has a winsome way of pulling people off the bench in life and back on their feet to face even bigger challenges ahead. Shults became one of the first female fighter pilots in the United States Navy before transitioning to a career with Southwest Airlines. In 2018, she made history when she safely landed Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 safely after it suffered uncontained engine failure.  Join us as Tammie Jo Shults shares why she thinks we are made for adventure and how her career from military aviator to commercial airline pilot has been the adventure of a lifetime. This program will be presented in-person at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA and will be streamed live on YouTube. Registration is required for in person attendance and encouraged for online viewing.

Meditation and Mindfulness

Meditation helps us build a relationship to a place of inner quietude. Whether you’re a beginner or a skilled practitioner, join us for free online meditation sessions each week led by DC-based meditation teachers on Tuesdays and Fridays. Friday sessions include inspir......More

Meditation helps us build a relationship to a place of inner quietude. Whether you’re a beginner or a skilled practitioner, join us for free online meditation sessions each week led by DC-based meditation teachers on Tuesdays and Fridays. Friday sessions include inspiration from art in the museum collections as well as appearances by special guest teachers and artists. All are welcome! No previous experience is required. Meet our meditation teachers: Aparna Sadananda and Philip Bender. Register and join the sessions here: https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpdeuhqjItG9HB6wJ6vIhf5Vk-_Tm-RCtZ Image:  Spring flowers, Kitagawa Sōsetsu (17th century), Japan, Edo period, mid-17th century, one of a pair of handscrolls; ink and color on paper, The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, Freer Gallery of Art, F2020.5.25.1a–b

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