Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center

Welcome to the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (SEEC)! Here we offer a rich learning environment for children, parents, and teachers in our community while at the same time sharing our innovative practices with professionals in schools and museums across the country.

At SEEC the community is a vital part of our everyday lives. Our teachers explore learning as it occurs at the intersection of museum education and early learning best practices on a daily basis. Over the past 24 years, educators at the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center have engaged students in meaningful museum experiences based upon educational strategies and techniques that work effectively for children under 6 years of age.

As an organization, SEEC is a leader in the field of museum-based education and influences practice within museums and schools. Our educators apply best practices recognized in the early childhood field and enrich the children’s learning through an object-based approach to teaching, sharing the rich stories associated with these objects in ways that make the curriculum deeper and richer. Museum educators within the program build on the practice established within the SEEC model, serving as content experts on the museums and blending theory and practice as a basis for outside consulting and professional development.