Youth Programs | Smithsonian Institution

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The Smithsonian offers fun and challenging (and sometimes mind-blowing!) experiences for K-12 kids interested in science, nature, technology, art , design, history, culture, or all of the above. These programs build confidence and skills of self-expression, communication, leadership, and provide college and career preparation, in extraordinary museum environments.

students holding a bone

Natural History Investigations

Explore the world of natural history science in a fun and interactive way in these after school programs! Learn from museum scientists and educators, gain natural history science and tech skills, and visit exclusive behind-the-scenes areas of the museum.
Grades 9-12

student

Youth Engagement through Science (YES!) Internship Program

YES! is a 12-week career immersion and science communication program for Washington, D.C., region high school students. Gain practical experience through a hands-on internship with Smithsonian science staff, take exclusive behind-the-scenes tours and field trips, attend creative studio workshops, participate in a college preparatory program and create a community outreach project about their science experience.
Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors

science students

Youth Engagement through Science Genome Internship Program

Youth Engagement through Science (YES!) is a career immersion and science communication internship for rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors from high schools in the Washington, D.C., region. Working side-by-side with Smithsonian science staff and researchers, the YES! program familiarizes local youth with science resources, and can help them achieve the goal of attending college.
Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors

fun teen group photo in the Kogod Courtyard

Teen Council: National Portrait Gallery

Teen Museum Council is an intensive year-long program for D.C. Metro area teens who would like a role making teen programs at the Portrait Gallery! Throughout the academic year, TMC members work on a variety of activities for other DC-area teens, such as creating a teen art exhibition, organizing a teen night out, collaborating on social media projects, initiating a video project, or offering a special teen-led tour of the Portrait Gallery. Come help us make history!
Ages 14-18

A diverse group of students

Cooper Hewitt Design Scholars

Get a head start on a future in design! Teens in New York City can apply to be a DesignPrep Scholar, a free program that features hands-on workshops with professional designers, design studio visits, and college tours.
Rising High School Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors

group of 2013 ambassadors

Young Ambassadors Program

The Young Ambassadors Program (YAP) is a national program for graduating high school seniors, fostering the next generation of Latino leaders in the arts, sciences, and humanities via the Smithsonian Institution and its resources. Students with an interest in and commitment to the arts, sciences, and humanities as it pertains to Latino communities and cultures are selected to travel to Washington, D.C., for a week-long seminar at the Smithsonian.
Graduating high school seniors

youth volunteers

Q?Crew Teen Volunteer Program

Are you interested in science? Do you like talking to people? Are you a teen? If you answered “yes” to these questions, you might be a good fit for the all-teen volunteer squad—the Q?Crew Program at the National Museum of Natural History.
Grades 9-11

teen explainer

Explainers Program

The NASM Explainers Program hires high school and college students to help visitors better understand the Museum’s collection, making person-to-person connections with our iconic artifacts and stories about the science and technology that make innovation possible. Explainers work at either the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., or at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.
16 years and older

Workshops

ARTLAB+

ARTLAB+

The Hirshhorn‘s ARTLAB+ is a radically inclusive digital arts program for teens, providing a safe space to develop creative professional skills and new communities of young artists. Join production teams and workshops, hangout, explore, tinker. Choose projects using professional video and photo gear, music and recording equipment, video games and graphic design resources. A staff of artist mentors serves teens after school, year round.
Ages 13-19

Camps

YTAs with kids

Smithsonian Summer Camp Youth Teaching Assistants

The Youth Teaching Assistant (YTA) Program for Smithsonian Summer Camp provides an extraordinary way for teens to get involved with the Smithsonian while earning community service credits. YTAs are introduced to the world of teaching while supporting Summer Camp instructors. YTAs befriend, help, and act as role models to young campers. A wide range of programs offer YTAs the opportunity to experience and learn about new subject areas or increase and share their understanding of a more familiar subject such as art, science, or theater. This volunteer position is available on a weekly basis June-August when Summer Camp is in session. Smithsonian Summer Camp takes place on the National Mall in the S. Dillon Ripley Center, unless otherwise stated.
Ages 15 and older

smiling young campers

Smithsonian Summer Camp

There's no more exciting place to spend the summer than Summer Camp at the Smithsonian. Where else can campers blast into space or take center stage, create a masterpiece or invent a fantasy world, relive history or learn to shape the future of the planet? The rich and exciting world of the Smithsonian Summer Camp program offers plenty of great fun and experiences that spark the imagination!
Entering Kindergarten through 9th grade

young designers

Design Camp: Cooper Hewitt

Is your child a designer, tinkerer, or creative thinker? Cooper Hewitt Design Camp (NYC) offers kids week-long immersion in the latest advances in design, with the opportunity for each child to solve real-life design challenges with guest designers who share problem-solving strategies. Campers receive special access to the museum’s special exhibitions and permanent collections.
Ages 7-12

Travel

students making pasta

Smithsonian Student Travel

Curious to explore more and dive deeper into your passions? Expand your horizons with Smithsonian Student Travel! Developed for students completing 8^th through 12^th grade, our immersive programs provide opportunities to explore an interest along-side a community of peers, get inspired by unique experiences, and gain the tools necessary to help impact our future. A Smithsonian Student Travel Expert will accompany a portion of each trip to share their knowledge, insights, and passion about the regions and the trip themes.
Completing grades 8-12

Upcoming Teen Events

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