Programs

Cleopatra would have been a social media star if she lived today. Known for charisma, she was more renowned for her intellect and her ruthless determination to rule. She embraced both Caesar and Mark Antony as protectors and lovers when the need arose and murdered siblings to gain power. Historian Barry Strauss highlights Cleopatra’s complex role as an absolute ruler at a crucial moment when Romans and Egyptians fought for domination.

Art played a pivotal role during the dawn of European natural history in the 16th and 17th centuries. Advancements in scientific technology, trade, and colonial expansion allowed naturalists to study previously unknown and overlooked insects, animals, and other beestjes: “little beasts” in Dutch. Curators of the National Gallery of Art’s exhibition “Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World,” share an exhibition overview and a closer look at the artists and ideas that it highlights. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Hill is rich in political and architectural history. Carolyn Muraskin, founder of DC Design Tours, leads a tour of the iconic neighborhood. Hear stories about the original city plan by Pierre Charles L’Enfant, the tumultuous construction of the U.S. Capitol, the rise of the magnificent Beaux Arts Library of Congress, and the backstory of the imposing Supreme Court building. And learn about the influence of prolific designers like Thomas Jefferson, Robert Mills, Frederick Law Olmsted, and Daniel Burnham.

Death is the one thing all humans throughout history have in common, and yet it is still a mystery. Robert Garland, a professor emeritus of classics, explores the death-related beliefs and practices of a range of ancient cultures and traditions, including Egyptian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Etruscan, Greek, Roman, early Christian, and Islamic. Garland puts himself in the sandals of ancient peoples and imagines how they sought—in ways that turn out to be remarkably similar to ours—to assist the dead on their journey to the next world and to understand life’s greatest mystery.

There's a reason that the native grape varieties of the Rhône Valley are propagated throughout the world. These hardy warm-climate grapes are becoming even more important as climate change causes winemakers to rethink the wines they produce. Sample some of the most prolific Rhône varieties from countries near and far with the help of sommelier Erik Segelbaum.

Shakespeare’s Sonnets offer a remarkable example of his poetic genius and the revolutionary use of language that also marks his legendary work as the author of such plays as Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear. Literature professor Joseph Luzzi takes a close look at the sonnets’ poetic elements, themes, and techniques. He also compares Shakespeare the sonnet writer to other illustrious practitioners of the form, including John Milton and Francis Petrarch.

Parents must bring campers to the assigned Before-Camp room in the Ripley Center to sign in daily. At 9 a.m., campers will be brought up to Drop-off and then to their camps.

Note there is no camp on Thursday, June 19, 2025.

Do you see a pattern here? Campers search for designs in art, architecture, and nature as they explore a variety of traditional and modern printmaking techniques in and around the museums on the National Mall. They express their creativity while experimenting with color, lines, quirky patterns, and whimsical images on potato prints, monoprints, gyotaku (Japanese fish printing), collagraphs, and screen prints (on paper, T-shirts, and bags) to demonstrate that printmaking is indeed a versatile-and fun-art.

Through the eyes of artists, under the scientific microscope, and through the lens of culture, campers explore the gardens surrounding the Smithsonian museums, on the National Mall, and within the U.S. Botanic Garden. They discover the Smithsonian’s Victory, Butterfly, and Rose Gardens. Campers design a garden, create a terrarium, investigate wriggly critters, and plant and harvest vegetables. The week rounds out with a trip to discover a secret garden in the shadow of the Capitol.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a dragonfly! Have you ever wondered how things fly? And why birds and insects can, but people can’t? Campers visit the Air and Space Museum, Udvar-Hazy Center, and the National Zoo to discover the science behind flight. They learn about the Wright Brothers, Amelia Earhart, Bessie Coleman, and Charles Lindbergh and their historic flights. They also build wings, paper airplanes, helicopters, and kites and create their own flying prototype.