Classroom Lessons
A library of free curriculum-based lessons, designed for the classroom—regardless of where that classroom may be!
Education at the Kennedy Center
Kennedy Center Education
Arts education as a mechanism for change.
At the Kennedy Center, we strive to engage and uplift all learners through quality arts education—in ways that spark curiosity, build empathy, and embolden citizen artistry.
Building the Future
of Arts Education
Professional development for educators. Summer intensives for young artists. Teaching artist-guided activities for families. Performances for young audiences. Classroom lesson plans. Arts-focused digital media.
Kennedy Center Education offers a wide array of resources and experiences that inspire, excite, and empower students and young artists, plus the tools and connections to help educators incorporate the arts into classrooms of all types.
Our digital teaching and learning priorities include:
Digital Learning Resources
A robust collection of articles, videos, and podcasts that allow students of all ages to explore and learn about the arts online.
Online Professional Development
Our growing catalog of online professional development courses for educators.
Teaching Artists Present
A collection of video-based arts activities designed for young students, developed by Kennedy Center-curated teaching artists.
Moonshot Studio
The Moonshot Studio has reopened! Check the schedule and reserve a time to come in! Also, check out our [email protected] learning activities that can be done anywhere, presented by our Moonshot Studio resident artists.
Virtual "Field Trips"
Free family-friendly performance videos, along with supporting educational content to help guide learning.
Explore our resources and sign up below to be informed of new and upcoming programs!
Explore our Programs & Resources
Discover the Magic Performances & Programs
Theater, music, and dance performances belong in the hearts and minds of learners of all ages and abilities—we invite you to be a part of the wonder that our performances and arts education programs inspire.
Uplift the Classroom Resources for Educators
Professional development programs, workshops, evidence-based resources, replicable best practices—and more—all inside.
Nurture Talent Opportunities for Artists
Labs, class series, workshops, internships and competitions are a few of the opportunities to explore.
Evolve & Grow Research, Networks, & Conferences
How do we ensure we’re best engaging students? Through research, analysis and ongoing national collaboration on best practices.
2022 Performances for School Groups!
2022 Performances for School Groups!
- Virtual Field Trips for school groups are available on the Performances for School Groups page.
- Limited in-person school performances for February through May 2022 will be announced in early January.
Please email [email protected] with any questions or complete the form below to join our mailing list and receive information on upcoming programs and performances from Kennedy Center Education.
[email protected] Highlights
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Renée Fleming Presents Healing Breath
In this video series, Renée Fleming and special guests Christine Baranski, Jamie Barton, Angel Blue, Lawrence Brownlee, Kristin Chenoweth, Kurt Elling, Denyce Graves, Angelique Kidjo, Audra McDonald, Kelli O'Hara, Vanessa Williams, Stacie Aamon, Tom Sweitzer, and Indre Viskontas demonstrate simple exercises for singers that develop and strengthen the muscles involved in healthy breathing.
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[email protected] Activity In Your Face: Portrait Photography
A portrait is an image, usually of a person. A portrait tells the viewer a story about the person in the image by the choices the portrait’s creator makes. In this media activity, we’ll explore the impact of those choices, focusing on the subject, setting, and story of your portrait.
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Interactive Experience Perfect Pitch
Take the field and learn the looks, sounds, history, and notable players of orchestral instruments from four eras—baroque, classical, romantic and modern. Next, use the interactive audio mixer to choose your players and hear them perform together. Finally, test your musical knowledge with a fun baseball-style quiz.
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Education Artist-In-Residence The Mo Willems Residency
Check out our most recent as well as past projects with Mo!
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Behind the Scenes What I Do
How do artists make decisions about what audiences see and hear on stage? What I Do explores the behind the scenes decisions through eyes of the artists who make them.
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Brain Breaks Art Under a Minute
In the fall of 2020, Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences put out a call to young artists, ages 16-25, to create short-form videos designed for viewers younger than themselves. We think of them as “brain breaks” – they are moments to interact and shift our thinking, to move or change our perspective.
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Curated Collection Remote Teaching & Learning Resources
This carefully curated collection is intended to provide educators, caregivers, and learners with ideas and strategies for addressing the needs of students who may be studying and learning online. We update these regularly.
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Using the online pre-visit story tool GetToKnowTheKC.org
In collaboration with special educators, experts, parents, and community representatives, The Kennedy Center presents a tool designed to meet the needs of and to be accessible to individuals of all ages with varying disabilities.
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We acknowledge that the Kennedy Center is standing on the traditional land of the Nacotchtank and Piscataway peoples past and present, and honor with gratitude the land itself and the people who have been the stewards of this land throughout the generations.
Kennedy Center Education
Generous support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by the U.S. Department of Education.
Gifts and grants to educational programs at the Kennedy Center are provided by A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation; Annenberg Foundation; the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Bank of America; Bender Foundation, Inc.; Carter and Melissa Cafritz Trust; Carnegie Corporation of New York; DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities; Estée Lauder; Exelon; Flocabulary; Harman Family Foundation; The Hearst Foundations; the Herb Alpert Foundation; the Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation; William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust; the Kimsey Endowment; The King-White Family Foundation and Dr. J. Douglas White; Laird Norton Family Foundation; Little Kids Rock; Lois and Richard England Family Foundation; Dr. Gary Mather and Ms. Christina Co Mather; Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation; The Morningstar Foundation; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation;
Music Theatre International; Myra and Leura Younker Endowment Fund; the National Endowment for the Arts; Newman’s Own Foundation; Nordstrom; Park Foundation, Inc.; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; The Irene Pollin Audience Development and Community Engagement Initiatives; Prince Charitable Trusts; Soundtrap; The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust; Rosemary Kennedy Education Fund; The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates; UnitedHealth Group; The Victory Foundation; The Volgenau Foundation; Volkswagen Group of America; Dennis & Phyllis Washington; and Wells Fargo. Additional support is provided by the National Committee for the Performing Arts.
The content of these programs may have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education but does not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the federal government.