Frequently Asked Questions

  • This year’s Summit will feature four different session types for participants.  
  • On Tuesday, July 16, all sessions will be livestreamed virtually, so that participants can join us from wherever they are in the world. These sessions are 50-minutes long and include two keynote plenary sessions, as well as 4 concurrent sessions across 4 themes hourly. Please note: the archived recordings of these sessions will be made available a few weeks after the Summit. 
  • On Wednesday, July 17, sessions will take place in-person at our host venue, the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture—an iconic space in the heart of Washington, D.C. and home to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery of the Archives of American Art. Plenary keynotes and the reception speakers will be livestreamed virtually; however, the 60-minute workshop sessions throughout the day will be exclusively available to in-person attendees. Be sure to join us for an exceptional evening networking reception in the Kogod Courtyard! 
  • On Thursday, July 18, sessions will take place in-person in groups of 25 or less at Smithsonian spaces across Washington, D.C. offering exhibition tours, behind-the-scenes experiences, and a chance to dive deep into content with Smithsonian educators. Please note: because space is limited in these sessions, you’ll want to pre-register as soon as possible.  
  • Finally, several sessions will be released on-demand at the Summit as pre-recorded premieres, offering participants a chance to tune in to these sessions right away.  

The Summit is offered free of cost. However, please remember that registration for in-person events is limited. If you are no longer able to attend a session, please modify your registration to release your space.

A complimentary selection of boxed lunch options and a drink will be available to all registered Summit participants on Wednesday, July 17. Additionally, the museum’s Courtyard Cafe is open from 11:30am - 5:30pm, offering a featured selection of baked goods as well as sandwiches, salads, desserts and beverages for purchase. If you prefer to leave the museum for lunch, the host venue is surrounded by eateries and sit-down restaurants of the Gallery Place/Chinatown and Penn Quarter neighborhoods.

Summit sessions are best suited for educators at all levels: museum, PreK-12, higher education, school administrators and policymakers, researchers and academics, media specialists, and librarians; non-profit organizations working in education, advocacy groups focused on diversity and inclusion. 

  • Anacostia Community Museum  
  • Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum  
  • Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation 
  • National Museum of African American History and Culture
  • National Museum of American History  
  • National Museum of Asian Art 
  • National Museum of Natural History  
  • National Museum of the American Indian 
  • National Portrait Gallery 
  • National Postal Museum 
  • Our Shared Future: Reckoning with our Racial Past 
  • Smithsonian American Art Museum  
  • Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center (NMNH) 
  • Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center 
  • Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage 
  • Smithsonian Environmental Research Center 
  • Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service | Smithsonian Affiliations 
  • Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology 
  • Smithsonian Office of the Under Secretary for Education 
  • Smithsonian Science Education Center 
  • Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute 
  • Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

The Aerospace Corporation; Afterschool Alliance; Alliance for Public Waldorf Education; Chinese American Museum, Los Angeles; College of Education and Human Development, Temple University; Community School for Creative Education, California; Council for Chief State School Officers; D.C. Public Schools, Washington, D.C.; East Jordan Public Schools, Michigan; EnCompass Four Corners School, California; Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia; International Society for Technology in Education; Japanese American National Museum; Johnson & Johnson, Kentucky Humanities Council; LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes; Montgomery College; National Council for the Social Studies; National Council of Teachers of English; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Old Dominion University; Prince George's County Public Schools, Maryland; Rockingham County Schools, North Carolina; Round Rock ISD, Texas; School of Art & Design, University of New South Wales, Sydney; WEVOLVE; World Wildlife Fund; and YURI Education Project. 

ASL interpretation will be available for keynote sessions and for those requesting ASL accommodations. All virtual sessions will feature closed-captioning.

 Professional development certificates will be emailed to registered attendees following the 2024 Smithsonian National Education Summit.

Registrants will receive a confirmation email which includes their registration information, along with a link to view their personalized My Agenda page. Additionally, the confirmation page also includes a link to add your selected sessions to your calendar of choice.

Each registrant’s confirmation email includes their registration information, along with a link to modify or cancel their registration. Your My Agenda page will also include a link to modify your session selections.

Links to online sessions will be available for registered participants in their My Agenda page.

Yes, upon completing registration, you will see a button on your screen that reads “Add to Calendar”. This will prompt you to choose your preferred calendaring platform and will then add your selected sessions to your chosen calendar. The My Agenda page will also include a link to add sessions to your calendar.

There are several hotels in the downtown area to choose from. Two options include:

Complimentary valet service is available at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture on G Street beginning at 5pm.

The Summit is offered free of charge to participating educators, and philanthropy helps make this one-of-a-kind event possible. Please contact us via email at SmithsonianEducation@si.edu to learn more about sponsorship opportunities and promotional opportunities.

Please email SmithsonianEducation@si.edu with any additional questions about registration, programming, and logistics.  

Register Now!