In 2026, the United States turns 250 years old, and as the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, the Smithsonian is ideally positioned to contextualize our nation’s complex history with all its challenges and opportunities. It is in this spirit that the Smithsonian proudly launches Democracy in Dialogue, a unique cultural storytelling project bringing together teachers and students from diverse communities to engage in discovery, dialogue, and reflection.
To this end, centering local stories within a broader national narrative illuminates the indispensability of the human voice, in all its variety, in ensuring a robust democracy. A core component of Democracy in Dialogue is the virtual exchange. Never has the need been greater, perhaps, in giving teachers and their students opportunities to form authentic partnerships around the stories emanating from their respective communities, stories that feature needs and solutions, that capture perseverance and resilience, and that celebrate transformation. Indeed, we know that students benefit from the opportunity to interact with their peers from different settings. Their curiosity is piqued and their awareness expanded. We also know that teachers grow their practices in powerful ways when they collaboratively design and try out interactive instructional methods, grounded in inquiry. These important processes, all emerging from this exchange model, help to build essential civic dispositions, where communication, collaboration, and perspective-taking are held at the center.
