NCSS Annual Conference – Chicago, IL
The 2026 NCSS Annual Conference celebrates what you already know: social studies education matters every single day!
#NCSS2026 will reaffirm its essential role in preparing informed citizens, strengthening democracy, and helping students make sense of the world. Leave Chicago with practical strategies, renewed inspiration, and a professional network to carry you through the entire year.
Chicago is a metropolitan classroom in every sense, blending history, culture, and lived experience into powerful opportunities for place-based learning and civic inquiry. From world-class museums and immersive experiences along the Riverwalk and Navy Pier to spaces like Millennium Park and the city’s historic neighborhoods, educators can engage directly with the stories, perspectives, and resources that bring social studies to life.
More than a conference destination, Chicago is a living laboratory where educators discover fresh ideas, authentic resources, and meaningful connections that extend learning far beyond the session room and into moments of insight that will resonate and transform engagement in communities and classrooms, celebrating Social Studies 365.
We’ve done the work for you. Use the resources below to get administrative approval, learn more about what #NCSS2026 has to offer, and spread excitement for December’s conference.