Smithsonian Associates — Local services in Washington

One of my earliest memories is a behind the scenes tour of the Smithsonian natural history museum at age 5. Still love the museums, but the Resident Associates programs are an amazing way to add a new dimension to life-long learning, beyond reading books or watching videos.

The pandemic has made far more events accessible to us, as all content has moved to Zoom, and I hope the SA leadership will recognize the value of continuing to offer virtual programming beyond the pandemic time.

As for content, we've enjoyed everything from a lecture on Mongolian history we attended a few months prior to our trip to Mongolia to beginning drawing, to a lecture on the history of American food culture since 1850.

My mom is 75 and disabled, but still curious about the world and wanting to learn, and she loves loves loves these events - it gives her new things to learn and piques her curiosity about the world, and also gives her things to talk about with family and friends that enrich her social life.

I've noted the lack of cultural diversity especially in the history/literature-related programming, and would like to see more Asian history and arts content. For me the issue of content diversity is separate from the value the content that they produce and the quality of it, which so far has been nothing but outstanding. Engagement is what motivates change, so I hope as membership grows and diversity expands, so will their...

My husband and I have been members of the Smithsonian Associates for quite a few years now. We almost always enjoy the programs and trips, although a few have been duds. Tonight's program was celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Sound of Music. You can attend programs without being a member, but members get discounts on all of the programs. Many of the lectures are at the Ripley Center (where the African and Asian art museums are). The lecturers are experts in...

I've attended many of the Smithsonian Associates programs over the years. They are always informative and engaging. One of my favorite programs featured an astronomer who. along with his team, examines the sky in famous paintings and could tell you the day in history that the paintings were composed. It was an excellent melding of arts...