Learners of all ages and backgrounds share the delight of inquiry through participation in panel discussions, performances, lectures, multi-part courses and seminars, film screenings, and national and international study tours. The Programming offered by The Smithsonian Associates highlights and complements the work done across the Smithsonian Institution through collections and research. Some TSA programs shine a spotlight on a new exhibition or important Smithsonian scholarship. Others examine topics that explore the range and diversity of contemporary cultural and scientific life, but which do not conform to an exhibition mode of display. Through The Smithsonian Associates, the Institution can enlarge the ways in which it can further the public's education about contemporary life and scholarship.
Topics range from the latest discoveries in astrophysics to the delights of regional cuisine.
Anyone seeking a broad-ranging education, offered by the leaders of contemporary thought, can find programs of interest here. The Smithsonian Associates pays consistent attention to programming that reflects the nation's ethnic and racial diversity, both in subject matter considered and in the speakers selected. Throughout the year a variety of programs showcase African American, Asian, Latino, and American Indian culture through performances, children's theater, lectures, study tours, and seminars.