Inside the Smithsonian Museums · Washington, DC
The only early childhood school located inside Smithsonian museums. A full-day, year-round school in the heart of Washington, DC, where children from eight weeks old through five years are surrounded by one of the world's greatest collections of art, science, and history.
Our Belief
Since 1988, SEEC has operated on a simple conviction: children learn best when they engage directly with real art, real specimens, and real history, not with simulations and worksheets.
With classrooms inside the National Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of American History, both on the National Mall, SEEC educators bring children into the galleries not for occasional field trips but as a daily practice. The museum is the classroom; its objects, its research, and its stories are the curriculum.
1988
Founded at the Smithsonian
8 wks
Youngest learners we serve
2
National museum campuses
7:30–6:00
Full-day school hours
Why SEEC
SEEC is the only early childhood school located inside Smithsonian museums. Children learn surrounded by world-class art, science, history, and nature.
Every day is grounded in direct observation and hands-on investigation. Children are treated as capable thinkers who build their own understanding of the world.
Children learn in small groups with consistent, familiar educators, so every child is deeply known. The result is a warm, responsive environment from the very first day.
From Families Together workshops to Infant Investigators sessions, SEEC builds lasting relationships with families, inside and outside the classroom.
SEEC shares its museum-based teaching with early childhood educators across the country through workshops, institutes, and conference presentations.
SEEC has taught, studied, and refined museum-based learning for nearly 40 years. That experience shapes every classroom, every lesson, and every museum visit.
What We Offer
Ages 8 weeks–5 years
Infants · Toddlers · Preschool
Full time · Weekdays 7:30 am–6:00 pm · Year round
A school for children from eight weeks old through pre-kindergarten. Small class sizes, experienced educators, and a curriculum taught in the Smithsonian museums raise confident, curious children.
Explore the SchoolAges 18–36 months
Toddlers · Part-Time Enrichment
Part time · Monday & Tuesday mornings · Caregiver attends
An enrichment program (SEE) designed specifically for toddlers and their caregivers. Sessions in the galleries of the Smithsonian blend play, exploration, and early learning.
Learn About SEETwo Summer Programs
PreK 3s · Rising K & 1st Graders
Day camp · Weekdays · Mid-June to late August
Two summer programs, PreK 3s Summer and K Summer Camp, bring the Smithsonian alive with themed, inquiry-driven weeks of discovery.
See Summer ProgramsOpen to All Families
Infants · Families
Single sessions · School-year mornings · All families welcome
Families Together and Infant Investigators offer SEEC-designed learning experiences to the broader community, with no enrollment required. Connect, explore, and grow together.
View Workshops"My daughter doesn't just go to school; she goes to the Smithsonian. Watching her describe a dinosaur fossil she touched with her own hands changed how I think about what early learning can be."
Parent, Full-Time School
SEEC Family since 2021
A Setting Unlike Any Other
Founded in 1988, SEEC is a museum-based early childhood school: the first early childhood school to make a national museum its everyday classroom. SEEC is licensed by the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE).
Read Our StoryThe museum is the classroom.
See SEEC in Action
Watch SEEC teachers and children at work as museum galleries become everyday classrooms.
From Our Educators
Classroom stories, museum-based learning ideas, and a look inside our days, written by SEEC educators on our blog.
Ready to Learn More?
Schedule a tour, apply for enrollment, or support SEEC's mission.
