Designed for classroom teachers, SAAM's interactive workshops feature engaging "Monday-ready" activities that provoke deep thinking and invite students to apply content knowledge across the curriculum and in the world. Get certificates of completion for seat hours and join a community of practice that stretches across the US!
In addition to our scheduled workshops, we are able to create customized, interactive digital workshops for in-service days. For more information, send an email to AmericanArtEducation@si.edu.
2024-25 Programs
Join SAAM this summer for two rich learning experiences! We invite teachers of all disciplines to engage with SAAM educators, curators, and artists to learn new ways to enhance student learning through American art. We are offering two professional development days --- one in person and a second online --- that complement each other but can be attended as stand-alone sessions. Attend one or the other, or both! The first session will take place in person in the museum and the second session will take place virtually.
How can art be a tool for exploring power and fostering belonging in the classroom? Join educators and curators from the Smithsonian American Art Museum for a special convening inspired by two exhibitions: Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo, and The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture. We’ll explore the galleries before they open to the public, then model interdisciplinary strategies that build inquiry and critical thinking skills through art, and exchange ideas for classroom application.
This program is geared toward middle and high school teachers.
Your non-refundable registration fee of $25 includes breakfast, lunch, and take-home resources.
Smithsonian American Art Museum | Meet in G Street Lobby
How can art be a tool for exploring power and fostering belonging in the classroom? Join educators and curators from the Smithsonian American Art Museum for a special virtual convening inspired by two exhibitions: Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo, and The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture. The program will feature a keynote with artist Sonya Clark, whose work is featured in The Shape of Power exhibition. Panel discussions and interactive sessions will explore how art has been used throughout American history to both reinforce and disrupt power structures, and as an expression of creative freedom, resilience, and belonging.
This program is geared toward middle and high school teachers.
Free | Registration required.
Self-Paced Courses
Discover how museum objects can help learners explore the challenges and opportunities of living in a democracy and inspire civic action.
Explore how museum objects and works of art can broaden our perspectives, reveal silenced stories, and make relevant connections to our world today.
Educators from four Smithsonian museums will explore connections among their collections and model teaching strategies that participants can implement with their students, whether online or in the classroom.
2022-2023 Workshop Archive
Explore different styles of writing in response to contemporary American art. Leave with a digital set of evocative artworks, three distinct classroom activities, and practical teaching strategies for your classroom.
This online webinar is part of “Cultivating Learning”, a series hosted by the Smithsonian’s Office of Educational Technology.
Free
How might we extend our thinking about the past by exploring sources from the present?
“The American West” has always been a place of multiple stories, experiences, and cultures. Examine works from this traveling exhibition to consider how the telling of history can be expanded through modern and contemporary art.
Online program. A Zoom link and a list of suggested materials will be sent to registered participants 24–48 hours in advance of the workshop.
Free | Registration required via Eventbrite
How can artwork help us exercise our interpersonal skills?
People are all different. Our bodies, families, beliefs, abilities, and experiences vary, sometimes making communication difficult. Artwork can often communicate what we do not have the words for across cultures and differences. In this virtual workshop, practice multiple approaches and gain new resources for building mutual understanding and connecting with others.
Online program. A Zoom link and a list of suggested materials will be sent to registered participants 24–48 hours in advance of the workshop.
Join a rich conversation with aerospace engineer Janelle Wellons and horticulturist Abra Lee, as they reflect on artist Alma Thomas’s legacy as a STEAM trailblazer. Wellons shares insights on how visual images and inquiry can unlock the mysteries of the cosmos, while Lee unearths the histories of Black gardeners. Together, these reflections provide an in-depth understanding of Thomas’s cultural impact and the ways in which her work continues to inspire adults and students alike.
2021-2022 Workshop Archive
Develop strategies for identifying artworks that can help build and extend student comprehension of texts.
How do artists convey complex interconnections clearly and compellingly?
How can photographs challenge students to gauge what has changed and what has stayed the same?
What lessons can artists teach students, our future global leaders, about inspiring action?
Some artists are also veterans. How might their artworks give us and our students a way to feel loss and also connection? Presented with the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).
Join museum educators and art conservators from the Smithsonian American Art Museum for a "behind the scenes" look at the trailblazing artist Alma Thomas and the unique way she created her exuberant abstract paintings.
This online workshop was part of the Smithsonian’s First Annual Educator’s Day.
Past Programs
A Woman’s Place Is in the Curriculum: Women’s History through American Art and Portraiture
Learn how American art and portraiture can bring diverse women’s stories into your classroom.
2020-2021 Archived Workshop Recordings
Look into our archive to find even more interactive, web-based workshops.
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