Storytime: Moonbear’s Shadow

Join us and educators from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum to explore and play with light and shadow! We’ll tour the galleries and hunt for shadows in several artworks, read the story Moonbear’s Shadow by Frank Asch aloud, and explore making our own works using light and shadow.

Meet in the Museum Lobby.


Do this at home! Brighten up the darkness with this colorful and playful Mini Art Lesson exploring light. Instructions here.

A flashlight is shone through a multicolored container.


ABOUT STORYTIME

Join Hirshhorn Kids on Wednesdays for a one-of-a-kind storytime experience! Each week offers a fun and fresh theme for our youngest artists and their adults. Get a fun and hands-on introduction to a new artwork each week, and participate in a joyful read-aloud filled with music, stories, and movement. Then, stay and play while your little artist creates. No reservations or tickets required. Nursing caregivers are welcome. Stroller parking is available in the Hirshhorn Lobby. If there are access services or accommodations that can make your experience more inclusive (e.g., ASL interpretation, live captioning, etc.), please contact hmsgeducation@si.edu; 1–2 week’s advance notice is recommended but not required. For a group of ten or more, please contact mcgettigant@si.edu to reserve a program in advance.

Storytime: My Voice

Activate your voice with us at this week’s Storytime. Take a close look at Childhood Calling by Jessica Diamond, listen to a read-aloud of Mi Voz by José Fragoso, then stay to create an artwork that amplifies your own voice! 

Meet in the Museum Lobby.


Do this at home! What makes you who you are? Grab some paper, small objects, and scissors—and get ready to explore identity and create a collage self-portrait! Instructions here. 

Three black and white photos printed onto regular printer paper sit fanned out on a wooden surface.


ABOUT STORYTIME

Join Hirshhorn Kids on Wednesdays for a one-of-a-kind storytime experience! Each week offers a fun and fresh theme for our youngest artists and their adults. Get a fun and hands-on introduction to a new artwork each week, and participate in a joyful read-aloud filled with music, stories, and movement. Then, stay and play while your little artist creates. No reservations or tickets required. Nursing caregivers are welcome. Stroller parking is available in the Hirshhorn Lobby. If there are access services or accommodations that can make your experience more inclusive (e.g., ASL interpretation, live captioning, etc.), please contact hmsgeducation@si.edu; 1–2 week’s advance notice is recommended but not required. For a group of ten or more, please contact mcgettigant@si.edu to reserve a program in advance.

Storytime: Express Yourself!

Join us for an exploration of how we express who we are. We will look closely at Your Oceanic Feeling by Olafur Eliasson, read Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love, and participate in our own playful art-making.

Meet in the Museum Lobby.


Do this at home! Create a complementary colors suncatcher inspired by our 2019 exhibition, Pat Steir: Color Wheel. Instructions here. 

Paper with red and blue paint lays on top of a newspaper. A brush is laid across the paper.


ABOUT STORYTIME

Join Hirshhorn Kids on Wednesdays for a one-of-a-kind storytime experience! Each week offers a fun and fresh theme for our youngest artists and their adults. Get a fun and hands-on introduction to a new artwork each week, and participate in a joyful read-aloud filled with music, stories, and movement. Then, stay and play while your little artist creates. No reservations or tickets required. Nursing caregivers are welcome. Stroller parking is available in the Hirshhorn Lobby. If there are access services or accommodations that can make your experience more inclusive (e.g., ASL interpretation, live captioning, etc.), please contact hmsgeducation@si.edu; 1–2 week’s advance notice is recommended but not required. For a group of ten or more, please contact mcgettigant@si.edu to reserve a program in advance.

Storytime: Color of Love!

Dive into the world of Simone Leigh’s art! Join us to explore Overburdened with Significance by Simone Leigh, read The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Rafael López, and make our own one-of-a-kind artworks inspired by the things that make you special!

Meet in the Museum Lobby.


Do this at home! Make your own abstract sculpture inspired by Barbara Hepworth. Instructions here.

A grey, organic sculpture made of clay and resembling a pelvis sits on a flat brown surface, a white background behind it.


ABOUT STORYTIME

Join Hirshhorn Kids on Wednesdays for a one-of-a-kind storytime experience! Each week offers a fun and fresh theme for our youngest artists and their adults. Get a fun and hands-on introduction to a new artwork each week, and participate in a joyful read-aloud filled with music, stories, and movement. Then, stay and play while your little artist creates. No reservations or tickets required. Nursing caregivers are welcome. Stroller parking is available in the Hirshhorn Lobby. If there are access services or accommodations that can make your experience more inclusive (e.g., ASL interpretation, live captioning, etc.), please contact hmsgeducation@si.edu; 1–2 week’s advance notice is recommended but not required. For a group of ten or more, please contact mcgettigant@si.edu to reserve a program in advance.

Storytime: Mix It Up!

What’s your favorite color? Join us to explore color mixing at this week’s Storytime. We’ll read Mix It Up by Hervé Tullet, look closely at Jessica Diamond: Wheel Of Life, and create collaboratively with colorful art-making and play! 

Meet in the Museum Lobby.


Do this at home! Painting with a budding artist? Keep it wonderfully simple—and get maximum results—by using a limited color palette In this Mini Art Lesson where we explore color mixing. Instructions here. 

Three white pieces of paper have been laid out over newspaper. Each contain a color scale consisting of six horizontal lines of color, experimenting with mixing yellow, red and blue paint.


ABOUT STORYTIME

Join Hirshhorn Kids on Wednesdays for a one-of-a-kind storytime experience! Each week offers a fun and fresh theme for our youngest artists and their adults. Get a fun and hands-on introduction to a new artwork each week, and participate in a joyful read-aloud filled with music, stories, and movement. Then, stay and play while your little artist creates. No reservations or tickets required. Nursing caregivers are welcome. Stroller parking is available in the Hirshhorn Lobby. If there are access services or accommodations that can make your experience more inclusive (e.g., ASL interpretation, live captioning, etc.), please contact hmsgeducation@si.edu; 1–2 week’s advance notice is recommended but not required. For a group of ten or more, please contact mcgettigant@si.edu to reserve a program in advance.

Storytime: Mouse Paint

Mix it up at this week’s Storytime exploring color mixing. We’ll look closely at Mark Bradford’s Pickett’s Charge, read the story Mouse Paint by Ellen Walsh, and play with colorful, transparent materials to mix our own colors.

Meet in the Museum Lobby.


Do this at home! Explore color through your senses! Only a small amount of set-up is required for prolonged play. Instructions here. 

Birds eye view of the inside of a plastic bin containing six verticle rows of colored rice that make up a rainbow.


ABOUT STORYTIME

Join Hirshhorn Kids on Wednesdays for a one-of-a-kind storytime experience! Each week offers a fun and fresh theme for our youngest artists and their adults. Get a fun and hands-on introduction to a new artwork each week, and participate in a joyful read-aloud filled with music, stories, and movement. Then, stay and play while your little artist creates. No reservations or tickets required. Nursing caregivers are welcome. Stroller parking is available in the Hirshhorn Lobby. If there are access services or accommodations that can make your experience more inclusive (e.g., ASL interpretation, live captioning, etc.), please contact hmsgeducation@si.edu; 1–2 week’s advance notice is recommended but not required. For a group of ten or more, please contact mcgettigant@si.edu to reserve a program in advance.