The museum offers reserved live, interactive online learning programs on a daily basis, except for federal holidays. All programs are subject to scheduling availability. Programs can be customized to last from twenty minutes to one hour and will be hosted live in an encrypted, password-secure meeting on the Zoom platform. Teachers and program coordinators may make specific requests regarding program length, platform, and interaction options.
Choose from the following program topics or design your own program. Each program is tailored to meet grade-level and curricular needs. Several weeks before the scheduled program date, a virtual museum educator will contact the program coordinator to request a virtual meeting to discuss the group, online learning needs, and the logistics for the interactive learning program.
Grades Pre-K–2 | Grades 3–5 | Grades 6–12 | Customize a Program
Grades Pre-K–2
Cherry Blossom Festival
Available March 13–April 28, 2023
What is it about cherry trees, or sakura, that makes them so beloved? During this virtual field trip, students will explore hanami, the traditional Japanese custom of “flower viewing.” Through paintings, woodblock prints, and other art forms, students will discover Japanese symbols, values, and traditions associated with blooming cherry trees. Students may write poetry; learn Japanese characters; or “jump into” a work of art and imagine what they might hear, feel, see, and smell.
Animals and Nature in the Arts of Asia
Why do people create works of art to express their relationship with nature? Through storytelling, movement, and close looking at flowers, plants, and creatures (both real and imagined!), students will discover ways in which artists express important ideas and feelings about the natural world. Students may “jump into” works of art and imagine what they might hear, feel, see, and smell; draw their own creature; and move and roar like a dragon.
Visit this website to view works of art students may examine with docents during the program:
Learning Lab: Animals and Nature in the Arts of Asia
Artful Movement
How do the acts of participating in conversations about art and engaging in movement promote social and emotional learning skills? Students will pair breath, stillness, and movement exercises to recreate a work of art, to explore the senses, and to discover mind-body connections. Through close-looking activities, students will describe, analyze, and connect with a work of art. This program was developed in partnership with the mindfulness education nonprofit Create Calm.
Grades 3–5
Cherry Blossom Festival
Available March 13–April 28, 2023
What is it about cherry trees, or sakura, that makes them so beloved? During this virtual field trip, students will explore hanami, the traditional Japanese custom of “flower viewing.” Through paintings, woodblock prints, and other art forms, students will discover Japanese symbols, values, and traditions associated with blooming cherry trees. Students may write poetry; learn Japanese characters; or “jump into” a work of art and imagine what they might hear, feel, see, and smell.
Artful Movement
How do the acts of participating in conversations about art and engaging in movement promote social and emotional learning skills? Students will pair breath, stillness, and movement exercises to recreate a work of art, to explore the senses, and to discover mind-body connections. Through close-looking activities, students will describe, analyze, and connect with a work of art. This program was developed in partnership with the mindfulness education nonprofit Create Calm.
Eat and Celebrate
How does art help us understand the lives of people from different times, places, and cultures? Students will investigate scenes and objects of daily life in works of art across Asia to discover what people in the past valued and how they celebrated through food and rituals. Through the objects they examine, students will compare daily life in the past to how they live today.
Visit this website to view works of art students may examine with docents during the program:
Learning Lab: Eat and Celebrate
Symbols in the Arts of Asia
How are art and fashion used to communicate concepts such as values, identity, and power? Students will identify and interpret designs and objects across Asia that reveal cultural associations and societal values. Students may conclude the program by drawing a symbol that reflects their identity or one of their personal values.
Visit this website to view works of art that students may examine with docents during the program:
Learning Lab: Symbols in the Arts of Asia
Grades 6–12
Arts of Devotion
How does art preserve and communicate beliefs? Students will examine works of art from the major religious traditions and philosophies that originated in Asia to learn religious stories and devotional practices central to each. Students will learn to identify symbols and designs in artworks that communicate the values of these belief systems and faith traditions. Teachers may request a focus on one or a combination of the following topics: Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Daoism, or Confucianism. Teachers may indicate which belief systems and/or faith traditions they would like their students to discuss in the “additional information” section of the tour request form.
Visit this website to view works of art that students may examine with docents during the program:
Learning Lab: Arts of Devotion
Eat and Celebrate
How does art help us understand the lives of people from different times, places, and cultures? Students will investigate scenes and objects of daily life in works of art across Asia to discover what people in the past valued and how they celebrated through food and rituals. Through the objects they examine, students will compare daily life in the past to how they live today.
Visit this website to view works of art students may examine with docents during the program:
Learning Lab: Eat and Celebrate
Symbols in the Arts of Asia
How are art and fashion used to communicate concepts such as values, identity, and power? Students will identify and interpret designs and objects across Asia that reveal cultural associations and societal values. Students may conclude the program by drawing a symbol that reflects their identity or one of their personal values.
Visit this website to view works of art that students may examine with docents during the program:
Learning Lab: Symbols in the Arts of Asia
Customize a Program
Do you have a virtual field trip concept in mind you do not see advertised here? Do you teach a language immersion class? Select the topic for your program or the works of art of your choice. Please be sure to indicate your topic and other ideas in the “additional information” section of the tour request form. Our virtual museum educator and docents will work with you to refine your ideas and offer suggestions. Subject to availability, we offer tours in the following languages: Hindi, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin.
Scheduling a Virtual Field Trip
- Choose a topic, day, and time that work for your group.
- Submit a request at least four weeks in advance using the online form.
- Submitting a form does not guarantee a reservation.
- A virtual museum educator will follow up to request a phone call, a virtual meeting, or an email for more information. Please respond promptly to the email.
Things to Know
- Requests are handled on a first come, first served basis and depend on availability
- Please indicate any special needs as “additional information” on the request form. Subject to availability, we can provide:
- virtual field trips in some foreign languages (please specify)
- sign language interpreters
- Please call the tour scheduler immediately at 202.633.1012 or email AsiaTours@si.edu to report cancellations and/or changes
- To encourage engagement, we request that cameras be turned on for the duration of the virtual field trip
- To encourage participation, we request that teachers call on students to respond to questions and direct students to walk over to the microphone to share their answers