Smithsonian Learning Lab - Explore and Discover Amazing Digital Resources

Refresh and renew. Spring is a great time to learn & explore something new!
April 7th, 2023

If you’ve followed my blog over the last several years, you might remember that I occasionally create challenges for myself to explore, learn, and share what I discover. Last December, I challenged myself to explore 24 Days of Teaching and Learning Resources

My challenge for April is to explore something new each day and share what I discover. Hopefully, I won't let you or myself down!

Today I am exploring Smithsonian's Learning Lab. The lab is designed to help educators bring Smithsonian's incredible digital resources to classrooms. 

What is the Smithsonian Learning Lab?

"The Lab is a free, interactive platform for discovering millions of authentic digital resources, creating content with online tools, and sharing in the Smithsonian's expansive community of knowledge and learning." (Learn more

I am just starting to explore the lab, but so far I am amazed! Here are a few highlights of what I've discovered.

  • Take advantage of the built-in screen tips as you explore the website. These can be turned off once you learn about the interface.
  • There are 3 main sections that can be explored as you scroll through the home page. 
    • Discover - This is the explore and search section. You can search by topic and save resources and collections. If you are looking for primary sources that included images, text, and video this is where to start.
    • Create - If you want to organize resources and share them with students on the site, this is the place. You can create a collection on your own, or copy/modify existing collections. Educators can also upload their own resources to the collections they create. 
    • Share - Creators can share resources and collections.
  • You can start exploring right away. When you are ready to bring some of the resources to your classroom, get started with the Getting Started Guide
There is a lot happening on the site, so be sure to take advantage of tips for each section. 



I will be continuing my exploration of the site and have something ready to share with my students soon. 


Visit the blog tomorrow for something new or follow along in this document.

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