Education Resources

Join educator Ann Caspari for another original story time. In this story, three friends learn about the International Space Station and decide to help celebrate its 20th anniversary by creating their own space station.

Join educator Ann Caspari for an original story time and art activity. Listen to a story about three friends who want to build a home on the moon. Then, follow along to build a rocket out of a cardboard tube. 

What is a home? What is a habitat? Explore these ideas, then meet a specific bird and the place it calls home!This resource Includes:

1. What humans and animals need in a home to survive
2. Examples of different kinds of homes and habitats
3. Extension activities about other kinds of homes and habitats

Discover what basic needs all humans and animals require to be happy and healthy.This resource includes:

1. Lesson Plan: "At Home with My Family"
2. Habitat Play
3. Basic Needs Song

Learn to identify colors while engaging with the beauty of nature in this hands-on activity! Just like humans, animal friends need to eat, including pollinators, who find their food inside of flowers. Pollinators are drawn to some colors more than others, and this helps them decide which flowers to visit when they get hungry. In this activity, help six pollinator friends find some of their favorite flowers so they can eat and help new flowers grow!

Did you know there are 15 known colors of male peacocks and female peahens? In this video, search for all the different colors and patterns in the spectacular Peacock Room at the National Museum of Asian Art! With the help of Pinky Jackalope and Smithsonian educator Brigitte, see if you can find blue, green, gold, and purple colors in a real peacock feather before searching for these colors in the painted peacocks on the walls and ceiling.

Take a Hue Hike with Pinky at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and Smithsonian Gardens. Discover the colorful nature that surrounds you, whether in a forest or even in a city!

Discover colorful objects across the Smithsonian with Pinky Jackalope and Nick the Music Man! This video resource follows Pinky and Nick's journey as they discover a new colorful object from eight different museums, research centers, and the National Zoo. From a red airplane at the National Air and Space Museum to a purple amethyst at the National Museum of Natural History, there is so much to explore at the Smithsonian!

In this lesson, students will practice making and sharing observations of different minerals, classify and sort minerals, and create their own rainbow inspired by colors and textures found in nature!