Step 1. Inquire
Reach out to our enrollment team by email. We will answer your initial questions about programs, availability, and what makes SEEC unique.
Full-Time School · Ages 8 weeks–5 years
Where every day is a
discovery.
A full-day, year-round school for children from eight weeks old through pre-kindergarten. Smithsonian-rooted learning, low child-to-teacher ratios, and hours built around the rhythm of a working family.
The Program
Full-time, year-round education.
SEEC's Full-Time School is a year-round program serving children from eight weeks old through pre-kindergarten. Children are grouped in age-appropriate classrooms and move through the program as they grow, building relationships with educators and peers that deepen over years, not months.
The Smithsonian campus is woven into the school day as a matter of course, not as an occasional treat. Children visit the galleries regularly, engaging with collections in ways that are developmentally appropriate and carefully planned by SEEC educators in collaboration with Smithsonian curatorial staff.
Small class sizes and low child-to-teacher ratios ensure that every child is seen, heard, and supported. SEEC educators are experienced early childhood professionals who pursue ongoing learning as a core part of their practice.
For DC families balancing work and family life, the SEEC school day is built to fit, not fight, real life. Full-day, year-round, with hours that comfortably bracket the workday and a Mall-side location that is easy to reach from the Hill, downtown offices, and surrounding neighborhoods.
"Our son has been at SEEC since he was eight weeks old. Watching him lead us through the Air and Space Museum, explaining what he knows, is one of the proudest moments of our lives as parents."
Full-Time School Family
Enrolled since infancy
Age Groups
Classrooms for every stage.
Infants
8 weeks–12 months
Our infant rooms are designed for the youngest learners. Warm, responsive, and rich with sensory experience. Primary caregiving ensures consistency and deep attachment.
Cottontails (2–6 months) · Ducklings (6–12 months) · groups of 8
Young Toddlers
12–24 months
A time of rapid development in language, mobility, and social understanding. Young toddlers at SEEC begin exploring the galleries in small groups.
Toucans (12–18 months) · Dragonflies (18–24 months) · groups of 9
Preschool
2–5 years
From age two, children move into mixed-age preschool classrooms, where a rich, integrated curriculum with deep Smithsonian connections builds independence and prepares children for kindergarten and beyond.
Mixed-age preschool classrooms from age two
Every classroom is led by a lead teacher holding a bachelor's or master's degree, supported by associate teachers with credentials ranging from the CDA through master's degrees.
Staffing meets or exceeds DC OSSE licensing ratios at every age: at minimum, one teacher for every four infants, one for every six one-year-olds, and one for every eight two-year-olds.
A Typical Day
Structure that serves
curiosity.
A SEEC school day has a clear, predictable structure: arrival, exploration, gallery time, snack, outdoor play, lunch, rest, and afternoon inquiry. Within that structure is tremendous flexibility. Educators follow children's interests, extend emerging ideas, and revisit questions that matter.
The Smithsonian is never far away. On any given morning, a class might visit the bones of a blue whale, observe a live butterfly emerging from a chrysalis, or study the texture of a 4-billion-year-old meteorite. These are not extraordinary days at SEEC. They are ordinary ones.
School Day Rhythm
- 7:30 am Doors open · arrival & morning exploration
- 9:00 am Morning meeting & intention setting
- 9:30 am Gallery investigation or studio time
- 11:00 am Outdoor play
- 11:30 am Lunch
- 12:30 pm Rest / quiet time
- 2:00 pm Afternoon inquiry & project work
- 3:30 pm Snack & read-aloud
- 4:00 pm Free choice & dismissal begins
- 6:00 pm School closes
The Fours Year
Ready for kindergarten.
The final year at SEEC is built to send children into kindergarten confident and capable. In the Bears classroom, our fours weave literacy, math, science, social studies, and art into extended investigations of the world around them, with the Smithsonian's collections as their everyday evidence.
Learning regularly leaves the classroom for museums, gardens, and markets, where children observe, ask questions, and apply what they know. This integrated approach mirrors what children will meet in many kindergarten classrooms, so they arrive already at home in it.
Early literacy
Weekly letter studies, vocabulary building, read-alouds, and storytelling develop speaking, listening, and comprehension.
Foundational math
Children count, sort, measure, compare quantities, recognize patterns, and explore geometry through hands-on work.
Scientific thinking
Observation, prediction, and experimentation with plants, animals, and the physical properties of objects build lasting habits of inquiry.
Social-emotional growth
Collaboration, communication, turn-taking, and shared decision-making run through every classroom investigation.
Independence
Children follow multi-step directions, plan their work, organize materials, take on classroom responsibilities, and see projects through.
Motor skills and creativity
Writing, drawing, building, cutting, movement games, music, and engineering challenges strengthen growing hands and minds.
How It Works
Your path to enrollment.
From first inquiry to first day, here is what to expect. Some steps are flexible and can happen in the order that works best for your family.
Step 2. Receive an information packet
We will send you detailed information about our programs, daily schedules, and the Smithsonian museum-based curriculum, so you can review everything at your own pace.
In Any Order
Explore and apply.
These three steps can happen in any order. You are welcome to submit your application at any point, including before touring.
- Optional
Request a Tour
Visit our classrooms inside the National Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of American History. See our teachers in action and experience the environment firsthand.
Tours available by appointment.
- Optional
Attend an Open House
Join a family open house to meet current families, ask questions, and get a deeper look at our curriculum and community. Open houses are held throughout the enrollment season.
See upcoming open house dates - Apply Anytime
Submit Your Application
Submit your enrollment application through our online portal. We confirm receipt within a few business days, and post-lottery applications are reviewed on a rolling basis as space becomes available.
Apply via secure portal (opens in new tab)
Step 3. Enrollment confirmation
Once your application is accepted, we will ask you to confirm the space with a registration fee and an enrollment deposit. Your child's spot is officially held once both are received.
You will then receive a welcome packet with enrollment forms, health documentation requirements, and details about your child's classroom placement.
Step 4. Welcome and orientation
Before your child's start date, we will schedule a family orientation and a transition visit so your child can meet their teachers and begin to feel at home in their new museum classroom.
Your Smithsonian journey begins.
Enrollment
Ready to apply?
Enrollment is managed through our online application portal. Applications received by April 1 are entered into the annual lottery, and applications received after that are reviewed on a rolling basis. Because spaces are limited, we encourage families to begin the application early, and we are always happy to walk you through the process in person.
Questions about availability, tuition, or what age group might be the right fit? Bring them to a tour, or email seecinfo@si.edu and we'll respond within two business days.
What's Included
- Full-day, year-round program
- Open 7:30 am to 6:00 pm
- Lunch program included
- Smithsonian gallery access, every day
- Low child-to-teacher ratios
Current Availability
Updated July 2026
- All age groups Spots available now
Financial Aid
Financial aid is available for qualifying families. Reach out to learn more about eligibility and the application process.
Military Families
SEEC accepts Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN), making us an approved option for eligible military families.
Accreditation
SEEC is in the process of pursuing renewal of NAEYC accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Licensed by OSSE
Licensed by the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE).
Safety & Security
Protected by the same team that guards the Smithsonian.
SEEC families and children are protected by the same fully staffed security team that guards the Smithsonian itself. That protection is woven into the ordinary day: at the door, in the galleries, and on every excursion.
At every entrance
Every museum entrance uses advanced screening, including metal detectors. Entry to SEEC spaces requires a programmed badge or a staff escort.
In the galleries and beyond
Every class carries two Smithsonian OPS security radios on museum excursions. Evacuation and shelter-in-place plans are coordinated with Smithsonian security, which dispatches officers to accompany SEEC children.
In every classroom
Staff complete background checks and CPR and first-aid certification as required for DC licensure. All SEEC teachers are mandated reporters under DC law.
In the infant rooms
SEEC is a nut-free center. Infants sleep in individual labeled cribs following safe-sleep practice, shoes come off or get covered at the infant room door, and families sign children in and out every day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers, straight from the SEEC family manual.
The questions prospective families ask us most. If yours isn't here, bring it to a tour or email us anytime.
SEEC serves children from eight weeks old through five years. Infants learn in the Cottontails and Ducklings groups, and young toddlers in the Toucans and Dragonflies groups. From age two, children move into mixed-age preschool classrooms and grow with the program until they leave for kindergarten.
Families submit an enrollment application along with a non-refundable, sliding-scale application fee based on family income. Applications are sorted into three lists by employment status: Smithsonian employees, federal employees, and the general public. Applications received by April 1 are entered into the annual enrollment lottery for the coming school year. Children are selected through a random number lottery, and families not selected are placed on the waiting list for the remainder of the year. Once selected, families confirm the space with a registration fee and enrollment deposit.
Yes. Siblings of currently enrolled SEEC children of Smithsonian employees receive priority status at the time of application. If no opening is immediately available, siblings are placed on a separate Sibling Waiting List.
Families enter through a staff entrance and pass through the same screening the museums use, including metal detectors. Parents show a SEEC badge or photo ID, and strollers are screened along with everything else. It quickly becomes a familiar part of the daily routine.
Yes. SEEC provides a hot catered lunch and snacks every day, included in tuition. Whole milk is offered to children over 12 months at morning snack and lunch. Families and educators work together to transition infants from baby food to the catered lunch program. Special diets for medical, religious, or cultural reasons are accommodated, with families providing appropriate alternatives.
Yes. Financial aid is available for qualifying families. SEEC also accepts Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) for eligible military families. Email seecinfo@si.edu to learn about eligibility and the application process.
SEEC follows American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines. Children stay home when they have a fever over 100°F (armpit) or 101°F (oral) accompanied by behavioral changes, any fever in infants under four months, vomiting two or more times in 24 hours, persistent diarrhea, or rash with fever. If symptoms develop during the school day, families are asked to pick up within one hour of notification.
SEEC closes whenever the Smithsonian Institution closes for inclement weather, and families are notified by 6:30 a.m. via email. In the event of a federal furlough lasting more than one week, families may suspend their tuition payment plan for the duration of the closure. If federal salaries are paid retroactively, tuition is owed in full and due within two weeks of reopening.
Yes. SEEC welcomes children with diverse needs and supports their growth through personalized interactions and collaboration with families and outside experts. Children age three and up are screened for developmental milestones at the start of the school year, with vision screenings in the preschool year and hearing screenings in the fours year. All screenings are done with parent or guardian permission.
The fours year integrates literacy, math, science, social studies, and art into extended, museum-based investigations while building the independence and executive functioning that kindergarten asks of children. See Ready for kindergarten for a closer look at the curriculum.
Have a question we didn't cover? Email seecinfo@si.edu and we'll respond within two business days.
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