Smithsonian Announces Museum-Inspired Gifts for the Holidays

Smithsonian’s online store, SmithsonianStore.com, offers a curated holiday gift guide that includes hundreds of gifts inspired by the Smithsonian museums and National Zoo. With the holiday season here, the online store is a one-stop-shop for gifts, including exclusive jewelry, home decor, best-selling books and educational toys. All proceeds support the Smithsonian and its mission to ‘increase and diffuse knowledge’ around the world. Additional support to specific Smithsonian museums can be made through donations at checkout on the online store.

The holiday guide invites customers to give thoughtfully this season, with gift ideas for animal lovers, history buffs, space enthusiasts, STEM experts and more. Best-selling and notable gifts include, but are not limited to:

• Meet the Pandas—The National Zoo’s gift collection includes shirts, mugs, bags and other souvenirs featuring the Zoo’s animals as well as an assortment of items inspired by the newest giant pandas, Bao Li and Qing Ba. Hand-drawn pajama sets made of 100% soft Peruvian Pima cotton are also available.
• Gifts for Home Chefs—The New Native Kitchen cookbook from the National Museum of the American Indian offers Indigenous recipes, and Julia Child’s Kitchen features Child’s recipe-testing lab, which is on display in the National Museum of American History. A bold Polka Dot Salad and Server Set gets its inspiration from the shapes, patterns and colors in the Hirshhorn Museum.
• STEM Activity Kits—The best-selling activity kits include the Smithsonian Planetarium Projector, which brings the marvel of the night sky into any room, and the Smithsonian Motor-Works Kit, which creates a working, battery-powered four-cylinder engine.
• Bestselling Smithsonian Map by Map Series—The History of North America Map by Map is the latest book in the Map by Map series. This visual journey through North America’s past through engaging, detailed maps is a thoughtful gift for history buffs.
• New Pins Collection—Seasonal pins include the Nutcracker Pin, the Golden Christmas Tree Pin and a Polar Bear Mama and Cub Pin.
• Holiday Ornaments—The ornament collection includes many exclusive Smithsonian keepsake ornaments such as the National Museum of Natural History T. Rex Ornament, the National Air and Space Museum Wright Flyer Ornament and the Smithsonian Castle Ornament.
• Handmade Holiday Cards—Many of the holiday cards are exclusive to the Smithsonian, such as the hand-drawn Merry Berries Holiday Cards—perfect for gardeners and nature lovers.
• Space Gifts—Gifts for space enthusiasts include beginner-friendly telescopes, such as the Travel Scope 60 DX Portable Telescope with Smartphone Adapter and the StarSense Explorer LT 80AZ Smartphone App-Enabled Refractor Telescope; both are inspired by the work of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Kids will love learning about space with the Smithsonian Kids Space Tablet from the National Air and Space Museum.
• Tuskegee Collection—The “Spirit of Tuskegee” plane is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and it inspired the Tuskegee Collection featuring Tuskegee t-shirts and other items such as a Tuskegee “Red Tails” Airmen backpack.
• Exclusive Apparel—Items are inspired by each museum’s mission, including Yukatas from the National Museum of Asian Art and pajamas featuring motifs of iconic museum objects and themes such as space exploration and natural history.

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SI-379-2024