The Smithsonian Associates (TSA) offers a stunning variety of educational programs and study tours that open the doors to the Smithsonian's world of opportunity. Established 40 years ago as the membership, cultural, and educational arm of the Smithsonian Institution, The Smithsonian Associates is recognized as the world's largest and most esteemed museum-based continuing education program.

The goal of The Smithsonian Associates is to share the vast intellectual resources of the Smithsonian, which in turn strengthens the bond between the American people and their national museum. To involve the public in the life of the Institution, The Smithsonian Associates creates educational activities that take many forms and occur in many settings--on the National Mall and across the country.

Learners of all ages and backgrounds share the delight of inquiry through participation in panel discussions, performances, lectures, multi-part courses and seminars, film screenings, as well as local and regional study tours.

The Programming offered by The Smithsonian Associates highlights and complements the work done across the Smithsonian Institution through collections and research. Some TSA programs shine a spotlight on a new exhibition or important Smithsonian scholarship. Others examine topics that explore the range and diversity of contemporary cultural and scientific life, but which do not conform to an exhibition mode of display. Through TSA, the Institution can enlarge the ways in which it can further the public's education about contemporary life and scholarship.

Topics range from the latest discoveries in astrophysics to the delights of regional cuisine. Anyone seeking a broad-ranging education, offered by the leaders of contemporary thought, can find programs of interest here. The Smithsonian Associates pays consistent attention to programming that reflects the nation's ethnic and racial diversity, both in subject matter considered and in the speakers selected. Throughout the year a variety of programs showcase African American, Asian, Latino, and American Indian culture through performances, children's theater, lectures, study tours, and seminars.