Assistance in Reimagining the Smithsonian Learning Lab
Closed Pre-Solicitation Posted
- Solicitation number
- 033
- Agency
- Smithsonian Institution
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- NAICS code
- 541611 Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
- PSC
- R699 Support- Administrative: Other
- Place of performance
- District of Columbia 20024, United States
- Points of contact
-
- Tom Dempsey dempseyt@si.edu (202) 633-7259
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Smithsonian Institution is seeking a creative and strategic thought-partner to assist in reimagining the Smithsonian Learning Lab, a digital educational platform currently serving 600,000+ annual users. The Organization's Office of Educational Technology is requesting information (RFI) to gather external expertise and perspectives on modernizing the platform to support the Smithsonian's strategic goal of reaching every classroom across the nation—approximately 4 million teachers and 49 million PreK-12 students. Key objectives include making the platform a one-stop, transdisciplinary learning resource that is accessible, discoverable, and usable for PreK-12 educators, while addressing the current challenge that the platform's 6+ million objects and 50,000 user-created collections create search and navigation barriers. The Smithsonian is still evaluating critical implementation details, including whether Learning Lab 2.0 will be an evolution of or complete replacement of the existing platform, feature prioritization, content migration strategy, budget parameters, technical architecture preferences, and formal timeline. Responses to this RFI must be submitted by 2 PM on January 30, 2026, via email to the designated Smithsonian contact, though this RFI does not constitute a commitment to issue a subsequent Request for Proposal.
This RFI is unclassified as a set-aside contract. Current platform management is handled by Navigation North (hosting) and an existing contractor managing day-to-day operations, though the Smithsonian's long-term vision involves direct internal hosting and management. The Smithsonian has not established specific budget ranges, technical platform preferences, or formal timelines at this pre-solicitation stage, and no award value information has been disclosed. The platform currently contains over 6 million museum objects, primary resources, artifacts, and digital media, with the potential scope of the reimagining effort being comparable to the original Learning Lab 1.0 initiative. The organization is conducting stakeholder engagement through teacher work groups and recently collaborated with 38 educators to develop content migration criteria. The Smithsonian anticipates pursuing a phased rollout approach and is exploring potential AI-enabled features, though the specific products, services required, and procurement terms will be clarified in a future RFP contingent upon RFI response review.
Notice text
2 versions
Update #2 · Latest ·
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ATTACHED
This is a request for information (“RFI”) only and does not constitute a request for proposals or a commitment, implied or otherwise, that the Smithsonian will issue a solicitation for this project.
The Smithsonian seeks out a creative and strategic thought-partner in reimagining Learning Lab. Learning Lab has an annual reach of 600,000+ users. However, from 2016 to 2025, the digital landscape has changed. The Smithsonian has set a goal to reach every classroom in the nation, which would entail connecting with nearly 4 million teachers, who then connect with over 49 million PreK-12 students. Learning Lab is one of the Smithsonian’s primary tools for this endeavor. Learning Lab was initially conceived as a place that would have “everything under the sun,” with over 6 million museum objects, primary resources, artifacts, and digital media, along with over 50,000 collections of user-created and curated content. However, this online platform is also a challenge as the sheer volume creates barriers and friction points in efficiently and effectively searching for, locating, and incorporating content quickly into instructional strategies.
To make the Smithsonian’s digital educational resources accessible, discoverable, usable, and meaningful for teachers, the Office of Educational Technology is embarking on a significant examination and rethink of the Smithsonian’s Learning Lab platform. The goals are to increase usage of Smithsonian digital learning assets, meet the current needs of PreK-12 teachers, and ultimately reach every classroom across the Nation with the rich and robust content that the Smithsonian has to offer.
Project Goals:
The revamp of the Learning Lab platform supports the Smithsonian’s ability to reach every PreK-12 classroom in the Nation, a core initiative in the Smithsonian’s Strategic Plan. The goals for the new platform include:
- To be a one-stop, easy-to-use learning platform that is uniquely transdisciplinary, readily accessible, and indispensable to a wide range of teachers by making Smithsonian content easily discoverable to support utilization and incorporation into instruction.
- To provide tools and scaffolding for educators working in a range of disciplines across the country to effectively teach with objects and to seamlessly incorporate authentic learning experiences into their curriculum on a regular basis.
- To work in harmony with the learning tools and platforms that educators are already using and expand our reach through platform integration and partnerships.
Target Audience:
- Primary audience: PreK-12 teachers
- The primary user of the revamped Learning Lab will be PK12 teachers. As we develop a content strategy and use it to develop new wire frames/a prototype for the new site, we will test it with teachers to understand how they navigate, if it is intuitive, and if it gives them the results they are looking for. (See Appendix 1 for user persona about how a teacher might engage with the new Learning Lab).
- Secondary audience: PK12 student
- Students will engage with the site through supplemental materials (quizzes, assessments, etc) teachers can send to students, that align with what they are teaching.
Needs We Are Trying To Meet:
- Educators are stressed and time strapped. They need reliable “ready-to-go” teaching resources that they can both find and access quickly and easily deliver to students without additional time to prepare and create.
- Educators need to find teaching content that aligns with their content and instructional standards.
- Educators need to find resources according to the grade level and subject they teach.
SEE ATTACHED FULL RFI FOR ALL DETAILS AND INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO RESPOND
Update #1 ·
This is a request for information (“RFI”) only and does not constitute a request for proposals or a commitment, implied or otherwise, that the Smithsonian will issue a solicitation for this project.
The Smithsonian seeks out a creative and strategic thought-partner in reimagining Learning Lab. Learning Lab has an annual reach of 600,000+ users. However, from 2016 to 2025, the digital landscape has changed. The Smithsonian has set a goal to reach every classroom in the nation, which would entail connecting with nearly 4 million teachers, who then connect with over 49 million PreK-12 students. Learning Lab is one of the Smithsonian’s primary tools for this endeavor. Learning Lab was initially conceived as a place that would have “everything under the sun,” with over 6 million museum objects, primary resources, artifacts, and digital media, along with over 50,000 collections of user-created and curated content. However, this online platform is also a challenge as the sheer volume creates barriers and friction points in efficiently and effectively searching for, locating, and incorporating content quickly into instructional strategies.
To make the Smithsonian’s digital educational resources accessible, discoverable, usable, and meaningful for teachers, the Office of Educational Technology is embarking on a significant examination and rethink of the Smithsonian’s Learning Lab platform. The goals are to increase usage of Smithsonian digital learning assets, meet the current needs of PreK-12 teachers, and ultimately reach every classroom across the Nation with the rich and robust content that the Smithsonian has to offer.
Project Goals:
The revamp of the Learning Lab platform supports the Smithsonian’s ability to reach every PreK-12 classroom in the Nation, a core initiative in the Smithsonian’s Strategic Plan. The goals for the new platform include:
- To be a one-stop, easy-to-use learning platform that is uniquely transdisciplinary, readily accessible, and indispensable to a wide range of teachers by making Smithsonian content easily discoverable to support utilization and incorporation into instruction.
- To provide tools and scaffolding for educators working in a range of disciplines across the country to effectively teach with objects and to seamlessly incorporate authentic learning experiences into their curriculum on a regular basis.
- To work in harmony with the learning tools and platforms that educators are already using and expand our reach through platform integration and partnerships.
Target Audience:
- Primary audience: PreK-12 teachers
- The primary user of the revamped Learning Lab will be PK12 teachers. As we develop a content strategy and use it to develop new wire frames/a prototype for the new site, we will test it with teachers to understand how they navigate, if it is intuitive, and if it gives them the results they are looking for. (See Appendix 1 for user persona about how a teacher might engage with the new Learning Lab).
- Secondary audience: PK12 student
- Students will engage with the site through supplemental materials (quizzes, assessments, etc) teachers can send to students, that align with what they are teaching.
Needs We Are Trying To Meet:
- Educators are stressed and time strapped. They need reliable “ready-to-go” teaching resources that they can both find and access quickly and easily deliver to students without additional time to prepare and create.
- Educators need to find teaching content that aligns with their content and instructional standards.
- Educators need to find resources according to the grade level and subject they teach.
SEE ATTACHED FULL RFI FOR ALL DETAILS AND INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO RESPOND
Attachments
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| RFI questions 3.pdf | ||
| RFI questions 2.pdf | ||
| RFI questions.pdf | ||
| RFI_Learning Lab.pdf |
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