This post was written by Monica Valentine, an Educational Programs Specialist in the Informal Learning Office.
Our experiential gallery for children, families, and student groups—The Source: Creative Research Studio—is opening in 2026. As part of preparation for launching programs in the the new learning center, we announced an opportunity last year for local schools to participate in a pilot program to test and refine our offerings for student groups in grades 3-12. Last year staff facilitated 17 pilot workshop sessions with hundreds of public and private school students from across the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. We also hosted out-of-town tour groups and classes from Ohio, New Jersey, and Maine.
To build The Source, we’ve collaborated with a Youth Advisory Council, teachers and education specialists, and collections specialists from across the Library to select primary sources from the Library’s collection to make hands-on reproductions of. Our pilot school programs use some of these primary sources in interactive experiences designed and developed to appeal to student interest and satisfy educators’ learning goals. Some topics that students explore in programs include early film, historic maps and posters, the Civil Rights Movement, and more. Our student workshops provide the opportunity to:
- Explore the Library’s collections through primary source analysis
- Participate in a creative hands-on activity
- Have a guided experience in the library’s historic Thomas Jefferson Building
How did we do in our year of piloting? As part of our evaluation as we refine these programs for full launch, educators were asked to describe our workshops in three words or phrases. Some of the words they used included engaging, creative, educational, inspiring, powerful, historical, accessible, child-centered, and community-building.
Educators were also encouraged to evaluate our facilitation, the quality of presentation materials such as primary sources, handouts, and museum objects, length of workshop and other program elements. Feedback from educators and students has been encouraging! When asked, over 85% of participating educators shared satisfaction with the presenter’s facilitation, quality of presentation materials, and how the program aligned with their curriculum.
When prompted to share why they would recommend our workshops to others one teacher responded: “Our students are as addicted to their phones and video games as the average American child. They generally think history is boring. And yet, the workshop presented history as meaningful, impactful, and created by young people. Those elements really resonated with them and kept their attention during the entire visit. This was one of the rare times during indoor instruction where their phones could not compete with the educational material being offered.”
If you’d like to meet our facilitators in person and learn more about our workshops, there will be some opportunities for local teachers to do so this fall. Look for us at Tapas for Teachers, a free event sponsored by Ford’s Theater and the DC History Center on Thursday, September 25th from 5:00-7:00pm. The event will take place in the new Frances and Craig Lindner Center for Culture and Leadership located at 512 10th Street NW, directly across the street from Ford’s Theatre. Visit https://fords.org/event/tapas-for-teachers/ for more information and to register.
On October 11, we’ll be at The Open Door: Skill-Building Day at the Library of Congress. This event is a hands-on day of experiential learning hosted by Library staff in the Veterans History Project, D.C. humanities institutions and veteran-focused organizations. Users will learn how to collect, preserve, and share community voices through two oral history workshops, as well as attend a humanities resource fair focused on local developmental opportunities and resources. Visitors can sign up for oral history workshops at 10:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m., and attend a resource fair between 12:00-2:00 p.m. where our facilitators will be tabling with other Library partners.
We are thrilled to be extending our pilot workshop program through this upcoming Fall. If you have a group of 10-55 students in grades 3-12 and would like to visit the Library of Congress in-person, we invite you to become part of our test audience, free of charge. Please send an email to [email protected] with information about your group and we’ll share program options and available dates.