Education Resources

First, watch meerkats at the National Zoo celebrate their birthday with a special train and treats. Next, learn about meerkat characteristics before creating your own meerkat puppet that can pop in and out of its own tunnel!

During our virtual field trip, we made a big announcement about some small creatures: the litter of four cheetah cubs that were born at the Zoo in November 2025. The National Zoo is inviting you and your classrooms to vote on the name for one of the baby cheetahs! Meet the cheetahs, find out how to vote, and discover lots of fun cheetah activities for your classrooms.

When you ride on an airplane, what sounds do you hear? What makes those sounds? How can we learn about space through music? Find out through activities created by the National Air and Space Museum!

In this lesson plan from the National Museum of American History, young learners explore what sound is, how it can be amplified, and what tool we can use when hearing is difficult. Through NMAH collection objects, music videos, suggested read-alouds, and hands-on activities, learners also discover how sound creates music—and how music creates sound.

Everyone loves celebrating their birthday with a special treat, including the kunekune pigs at the National Zoo! Help our pigs celebrate turning one year old by making them a birthday cake using their favorite foods.

With the National Portrait Gallery, discover this portrait of George Washington Carver, and use your five senses to learn about his job as a scientist, inventor, and teacher.

Launch into space fully protected and ready to explore your new surroundings with a custom-made astronaut helmet brought to you by the National Air and Space Museum!

Pretend to be a seal swimming in the water by making and wearing your own seal mask brought to you by the National Zoo!

Discover what rain and clouds look like and feel like! How do these two things go together? This resource is created and provided by the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center.