PBS Adds Curated Smithsonian Content to Free LearningMedia

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 02/09/21

The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and the Smithsonian have begun collaborating to bring curated Smithsonian content directly to K-12 educators through the free online education site, PBS LearningMedia. New content is expected to be added to the collection on a regular basis.

The collection will focus on three main areas:

  • Interdisciplinary resources that connect content from across the Smithsonian's many museums and research centers, to encourage teachers and students to explore new ideas by connecting concepts across subjects;

  • Classroom-ready content on contemporary issues of local and global importance; and

  • Signature Smithsonian collections and programs, including virtual tours and highly-popular programs, such as the National Air and Space Museum's STEM in 30 series.

All of the resources are aligned to Common Core and national and state standards and made available in a number of formats: documents, videos and interactives. Lesson plans are also posted. Teachers can browse content and filter by standards, grade level, subject and special collections.

PBS Adds Curated Smithsonian Content to Free LearningMedia

"Education has the power to transform young lives, particularly in communities that have been traditionally underserved, underfunded and left out of the conversation," said Lonnie Bunch, secretary of the Smithsonian, in a statement. "We are proud to work with PBS on this endeavor to provide free Smithsonian resources to pre-K-12 educators, helping them in their efforts to launch a lifetime of achievement for their students."

Smithsonian resources for teaching and learning are available on the PBS LearningMedia website.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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