Smithsonian Institution · Washington, DC
The only early childhood school in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution. A full-day, year-round school in the heart of Washington, DC, where children from eight weeks old 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 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 scientists, and its stories are the curriculum.
38
Years 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 in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution. 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.
Infants learn in groups of eight and toddlers in groups of nine, so every child is deeply known. Experienced educators create 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 38 years. That experience shapes every classroom, every lesson, and every museum visit.
What We Offer
Ages 8 weeks–5 years
Infants · Toddlers · Preschool
A full-day, year-round 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 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 to August
PreK 3s · Rising Kindergartners
Two summer programs, PreK 3s Summer and K Summer Camp for rising kindergartners, bring the Smithsonian alive 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, 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 demonstration school in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution: 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).
SEEC children don't visit the museums occasionally. They learn in them every day. They know the curators by name, and they build relationships with objects and ideas that most adults never experience. This is the SEEC difference.
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 the SEEC Community
July 9, 2026
A practical checklist for evaluating infant child care in downtown Washington, DC: OSSE licensing, group sizes, safe sleep, security, and commute.
June 30, 2026
From museum security at drop-off to gallery time and a hot lunch: a walk through a typical preschool morning at SEEC in Washington, DC.
June 15, 2026
Objects, galleries, and inquiry: how museum-based early learning works, and why SEEC built an entire preschool around it at the Smithsonian.
Ready to Learn More?
Schedule a tour, apply for enrollment, or support SEEC's mission.
