Smithsonian Institution · Washington, DC
The only early childhood program housed within the Smithsonian Institution. A full-day, year-round school in the heart of Washington, DC, where children from eight weeks through five years grow 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 things in the real world. Not simulations. Not worksheets. Real art. Real specimens. Real history.
Housed inside the National Museum of Natural History, just steps from the Mall and the federal core, 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 scientists, and its stories are the curriculum.
38
Years at the Smithsonian
8 wks
Youngest learners we serve
19
Smithsonian museums & galleries
7:30–6:00
Full-day school hours
What We Offer
Ages 8 weeks – 5 years
Infants · Toddlers · Preschool
Full-day, year-round care and learning for children from eight weeks through pre-kindergarten. Small class sizes, experienced educators, and a Smithsonian-embedded curriculum that raises confident, curious children.
Explore the SchoolAges 12–24 months
Toddlers · Part-Time Enrichment
A part-time enrichment program (SEE) designed specifically for toddlers and their caregivers. Meets in the galleries of the Smithsonian for sessions that blend play, exploration, and early learning.
Learn About SEEJune – August
PreK 3s · Kindergarteners
Two summer programs, PreK 3s Summer and K Summer Camp, bring the Smithsonian alive for children during the summer months with themed, inquiry-driven weeks of discovery.
See Summer ProgramsOpen to All Families
Infants · Families
Families Together and Infant Investigators offer SEEC-designed learning experiences open to the broader community, 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
When the Smithsonian Institution opened its doors to SEEC in 1988, it created something that has never existed anywhere else in the world: a fully licensed early childhood program embedded within one of humanity's greatest collections of knowledge.
SEEC children don't visit the museums occasionally, they learn in them every day. They know the curators by name. They develop relationships with objects and ideas that most adults never experience. This is the SEEC difference.
Read Our StoryPhotography coming soon
Smithsonian Institution
See SEEC in Action
These films, produced by the Smithsonian Institution, capture what makes SEEC unlike anywhere else.
From the SEEC Community
November 11, 2024
SEEC educators presented at the NAEYC Annual Conference in Anaheim, bringing our Smithsonian-rooted approach to early childhood classrooms across the country.
October 14, 2024
Step inside a typical Tuesday at SEEC and see how our educators bring the Smithsonian's extraordinary collections into every part of the school day.
September 2, 2024
Our Infant Investigators family workshop series is back this fall, and it's changing how parents think about their baby's first year of learning.
Ready to Learn More?
Schedule a tour, apply for enrollment, or support SEEC's mission.