WASHINGTON – Each year more than 6.5 million schoolchildren visit the Smithsonian Institution. Now, with the launch of the new “Smithsonian Kids: Collecting” Web site, millions more will be able to experience the Smithsonian’s one-of-a-kind collections online.
The site address is kids.si.edu/collecting.
“Smithsonian Kids: Collecting” helps children explore Smithsonian treasures – from the Hope Diamond to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s stamp sketches to a Jefferson Indian Peace medal.
The site encourages kids to start their own collections and gives them the tools and information they need.
They get the chance to learn from the experts: museum curators. Through video streaming technology, they also see and hear other kids sharing their passion for collecting.
Just for kids. “This is the first Smithsonian collecting site designed just for kids,” said Stephanie Norby, director of the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies.
“Collecting helps build thinking skills, stimulates the imagination, and teaches children about the world around them.”
The Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies used the latest technology to make the site an interactive experience for children.
The site currently highlights three types of collections: Coins, stamps and rocks. The objects were chosen from the National Museum of American History, Behring Center; the National Postal Museum; and the National Museum of Natural History.
Throughout the next year, the Center for Education will continue to add Smithsonian collections to the site.
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