Distance Learning

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian Science How

Bring a Smithsonian Scientist into your classroom with Smithsonian Science How! Preview our formats by watching a program from our video archives.

Video Webinars

Connect your students to Smithsonian science experts with Smithsonian Science How, a weekly series of free live, interactive webinars. Hosted by Smithsonian educators, this series will connect your students to authentic science, discoveries, and collections while inviting them to participate in live polls and ask and answer questions throughout.

Thematically aligned with NMNH Digital School Programs, the webinars serve as excellent extension activities. Each webinar will be aligned with core content from the Animal Adaptions, Insect Survival, or Reefs Unleashed school programs, but is an independent experience.

Optimized for students in Grades 3-5, but open to everyone
Scientists take your questions
45 minutes long, followed by an extended Q&A for 15 minutes
Aligned with national science standards
Aligned with the museum’s Digital School Programs
Real-time captioning

Schedule

Here is what we have planned so far for the 2021-2022 school year. There are more programs to come; we will publish the details once they have been set.

Upcoming Programs

Thursday, October 28, 2021, from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. EDT:
Explore Field Science at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya with Paleoanthropologist Dr. Briana Pobiner

A woman in a wide-brimmed hiking hat and hiking clothes, kneeling in a grassy field, leaning over a white object. — Paleoanthropologist Briana Pobiner working at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. Image by Kris Kovarovic.

Join paleoanthropologist Dr. Briana Pobiner for a virtual field trip to her field site in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya. She’ll share images from this active field site to walk students through what kind of evidence her team is looking for and how it’s discovered, introduce the students to the team of experts that make discoveries possible, and illustrate what it’s like to live, sleep, and eat while doing field work.

Dr. Pobiner studies the evolution of human diets. Her field work in Ol Pejeta Conservancy helps her team discover evidence that scientists study to reveal how bones can help them reconstruct ancient habitats and what predators were active in those habitats.

This program aligns with the Human Origins digital school program for students in grades 6-12.
The primary goals of this webinar are to help students find value in studying the natural world, build their interest and personal connections to science, and learn about science careers.
The webinar will be approximately 45 minutes with interactive polls and Q&A, followed by a 15-minute Q&A.
This program will be presented via Zoom video webinar. A link to join the webinar will be emailed to registrants and published on this page before the program. Register

Montage of two images: Stephanie Bush wearing a life jacket and holding a bucket with a small octopus inside; a small yellow octopus with a fin next to its eye. — Stephanie Bush, left, and the "adorabilis" or flapjack octopus, right. Photo credits, left to right: Kyra Schlining 2015, OET/NOAA.

Previous Programs in 2021

January 6: Insect Adaptations, Featuring Residents of the Insect Zoo with Chris Mooney
January 13: Clouded Leopard Virtual Tour with Juan Rodriguez from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
January 22: Virtual Tour of the National Zoo’s Coral Lab with Thomas Wippenbeck
January 27: Reptile Discovery Center Virtual Tour with Kyle Miller from the National Zoo
February 3: Beetle Adaptations for Survival with Floyd Shockley
February 10: Adaptations of Acorn Woodpeckers with Sahas Barve
March 3: What Mars Reveals about Life in Our Universe with L. Miché Aaron, Mariah Baker, and Cari Corrigan
March 31: Handing It to the Mammals: What Anatomy Reveals About Animal Adaptations with Zoologist Andrea Eller
April 7: The Beetle's Special Adaptation for Survival: Elytra with Floyd Shockley and Katie Derloshon
April 21: Sea Lions at the National Zoo (video unavailable; visit the American Trail page at the Zoo's website to learn more about sea lions)
May 19: Tracking Coral Health in the Caribbean Sea with Marine Biologist Leah Harper
May 26: Cicadas and the Brood X Emergence with Entomologist Floyd Shockley
June 9: The Teamwork That Made the Most 'Adorabilis' Deep Sea Discovery with Biologist Stephanie Bush

Video Archives

We've produced 52 Smithsonian Science How webcasts over the last seven years. They feature Smithsonian experts, are aligned with standards, and cover specific topics in the disciplines of Earth Science, Life Science, Paleontology, and Social Studies. Since March 2020, we have also produced many Smithsonian Science How video webinars; these recordings are also linked from the Video Archives page.
Browse the video archives.

Ask Science How

Send our Science How team a note if you have any questions or comments you'd like to share with us!
Ask Science How

Smithsonian Distance Learning

See all the digital education resources from Smithsonian, including Learning Lab, resources for District of Columbia Public Schools, national resources, and more.

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