Earlier this week I visited the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington DC. I often forget about the amazing treasures that the 19 Smithsonian museums, the National Zoo, and 9 research centers hold. Fortunately, now we can explore these diverse collections virtually through the Smithsonian Learning Lab. The Learning Lab includes images, video, audio, text, and learning resources. The Learning Lab is a space for anyone to curate and create collections; you can even annotate or upload your own resources to a collection and share those collections with students or colleagues.
While the Learning Lab’s primary audience is K-12 teachers and students, the content available makes the site worth exploring for your own courses. Many images are scanned at a high resolution, allowing you to zoom in to see details. Creating an account is easy and allows you (or your students) to create your own collections and share them easily.
What can you find in the Learning Lab? Collections from some of the following institutions are represented:
- Archives of American Art
- Astrophysical Observatory
- Conservation Biology Institute
- Environmental Research Center
- Marine Station at Fort Pierce
- Museum Conservation Institute
- Smithsonian Institute Archives
- Smithsonian Libraries
- Tropical Research Institute
- African American History and Culture Museum
- African Art Museum
- Air and Space Museum
- American Art Museum
- American History Museum
- American Indian Museum
- National Zoo
- Natural History Museum
- Postal Museum
- American Indian Museum Heye Center
- Cooper Hewitt
Let us know if you find anything interesting in the comments below. Enjoy!
Engage 
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