The Smithsonian Science Education Center has developed the following STEM resources to support “Distance Learning” needs for students in grades K-8. We designed this site for everyone—students, teachers, and caregivers. It includes standards-aligned educational games, simulations, videos, eBooks, and hands-on lessons that require simple materials found at home. Some resources require technology. Others can be printed out and used in low-tech environments. This multi-modal approach is designed to support equity and access learning goals. To learn more about "Learning Science at Home" read this recent article from our Director.
The Next Steps Institute (NSI) offers advanced leadership development training to teams and individuals dedicated to making lasting, systemic change in their science education system.
Previous pathway topics:
Previous presenters have included:
Learn more about NSI:
The leadership development programs offered by the Professional Services division are a unique feature of the Smithsonian Science Education Center’s (SSEC) work. Leadership development serves education leaders across all levels of a school system including school and district-level administrators, teacher leaders, government officials, parents, community organizations, local businesses, and more.
Every school system’s context is unique. Consequently, leadership development at the SSEC provides leaders with the time and framework to construct a plan for their own school system.
SSEAT Academies provide teachers with an opportunity to take part in a week-long professional development course behind-the-scenes at Smithsonian museums and other world class research facilities throughout the greater Washington, DC area.
The Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) offers opportunities for educators, administrators, and other stakeholders aspiring to transform science and STEM education. In addition to curriculum and digital media resources, the SSEC offers professional development that supports educators to implement authentic STEM experiences within the classroom.
Professional development resources are available both digitally and in person and cover a variety of topics from delving into student understanding to increasing science content knowledge in educators.
Growing Up Green: Lifelong Learning
April 24, 2020 | 2:20 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Carol O'Donnell, Organizer – Director, Smithsonian Science Education Center
Lauren Ward, Moderator – Earth Science Video Producer, NASA
Jeff Martin – Founder and CEO, Tribal Planet
Gillian Hinde – EY Global Corporate Responsibility Leader
Justin Shaifer – Executive Director, Fascinate Inc.
Faye Christoforo – Co-Director of Campus Coordination, PLAN
This Deep Dive will focus on the Smithsonian Science Education Center’s Science for Global Goals project, community research guides helping young people, ages 8-19, engage in issues for sustainable development. This project attempts to empower the next generation of decision makers capable of making the right choices about the complex socio-scientific issues facing human society, blending together previous practices in Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE), Social Studies Education (SSE), Global Citizenship Education (GCE), and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
The British are coming
A century ago, the jungles of India were teeming with 45,000 tigers. The Indian people and tigers lived together in harmony, at least for the most part. Tiger hunts took place but were not common. This all changed when the British arrived in India, bringing with them their love of hunting. Tiger hunting became a royal sport soon after.
One maharaja was reported to have killed 1,200 tigers. Image: National Museum of Asian Art, accession number S1990.73.
COVID-19 has taken over world headlines since it first emerged in December of 2019. As the disease spread into a pandemic, scientists have scrambled to learn as much about it as quickly as possible. An early bright spot in the overwhelmingly negative news about COVID-19 was that it was believed pets could not get or carry the virus. However, recently a tiger at the Bronx Zoo tested positive for COVID-19, which opened the questions: Can I infect my pet or another animal? And can an infected animal infect me?
What is a virus?
COVID-19 is the name of the disease caused by the virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A virus is any of a large group of microscopic infectious agents. Viruses are composed of genetic material, RNA or DNA, surrounded by a protein coat called a capsid. The capsid keeps the genetic material safe. Some viruses also have greasy coat called an envelope. A virus is a parasite and needs a cell to replicate. Like some animal species, viruses are grouped into families and types with other genetically related viruses. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that usually use cells in the respiratory tract of a human or non-human animal to replicate. They often cause mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses.
Corona means “crown” in Latin. Corona viruses are named for the spikes on their surface that look like the points on a crown. NIAID-RM
On April 24, 2020 from 3:00-4:00 pm EDT, staff from the Smithsonian Science Education Center, American University, and BSCS Science Learning will virtually present and discuss free resources that science educators can use to make their online science class interesting and interactive in a webinar entitled Setting Up and Maintaining an Online Science Classroom for Success.
May 5, 2020
The Global Classroom’s inaugural class focused on how COVID-19 is affecting the physical and mental well being of children. The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been a source of huge anxiety for children worldwide and this was a unique opportunity for children from all four corners of the globe to put their questions to the experts in charge of the global response to this public health crisis, and discuss coping mechanisms with inspirational role models. Children from more than 150,000 schools across 193 countries took part in discussions with an inspirational guest line-up that included Director General of the WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom; Executive Director of UNICEF, Henrietta Fore; HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed of the House of Saud; and Global Ambassador for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Samuel Eto’o. The Smithsonian Science Education Center also supported with student-friendly activities and hands-on experiments to learn about the science of COVID-19.
May 19, 2020
Do your children seem to have endless questions about everyday life? Do the WHY questions have you stumped? Encouraging curiosity is good for your child's development. The National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) spoke with Dr. Carol O’Donnell, Director of the Smithsonian Science Education Center, about how parents can support their budding scientists. In this blog, "Raising Curious Kids," Dr. O’Donnell discusses how families can find science in the world around them, and she shares fun activities parents can do at home this summer!
May 21, 2020
The Smithsonian Science Education Center, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP)—a partnership of 140 national academies of science, engineering and medicine—has developed “COVID-19! How can I protect myself and others?,” a new rapid-response guide for youth ages 8–17. The guide, which is based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, aims to help young people understand the science and social science of COVID-19 as well as help them take actions to keep themselves, their families and communities safe.