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Dear Friend,

Last week, thousands of you voted for your favorite Smithsonian stories of 2025—thank you!

You shared your favorite ground-breaking discoveries, cutting-edge projects, unforgettable exhibitions, and heart-warming animal stories of 2025 and then put the top picks from each category to one final vote!

Your Smithsonian Story of the Year is...

Making Women’s History Discoverable

The Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum launched the Discoverability Lab, using big data and machine learning to surface overlooked stories of women in science, art, and culture. This project ensures that women’s contributions are visible and celebrated in the digital age.

And the common thread uniting this—and all of the year's incredible achievements—is just as extraordinary as the achievements themselves: YOU.

Your support made extraordinary accomplishments possible in 2025. Will you ensure 2026 is another year of discovering and sharing knowledge far and wide by locking in your tax-deductible gift now?

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This year, Smithsonian supporters like you helped achieve:

Groundbreaking Discoveries—You made it possible for Smithsonian scientists to fill a critical gap in the fossil record with the unearthing of a pterosaur’s fossilized jawbone, and decoding the migration routes and feeding habits of blue whales in the Galapagos.
Cutting-Edge Projects—Your support enabled the Smithsonian to launch programs like STARS, which brings telescopes, teacher trainings, and live observations to rural schools, and the Smithsonian Women’s American History Museum’s Discoverability Lab, which leverages machine learning to bring women’s history from the margins into the mainstream.
Unforgettable Exhibitions—Thanks to supporters like you, art and history abounded at the Smithsonian, with new exhibitions including Smithsonian American Art Museum’s State Fairs: Growing American Craft, and Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s Gunboat Philadelphia Preservation Project.
Heartwarming Moments—You helped celebrate the arrival of two giant pandas from China, and the birth of four black-footed ferret kits, five lesser tenrec babies, a red panda cub, and more!

Every one of these remarkable moments is a testament to what your support accomplishes at the Smithsonian. That's why the Smithsonian National Board has created a Year-End Challenge goal of $300,000—to keep the Smithsonian at the forefront of scientific advancement, artistic achievement, and educational excellence into 2026 and beyond.

Donate Now »

Smithsonian supporters are some of the most passionate and intrepid defenders of knowledge around. Make a tax-deductible Challenge gift to your Smithsonian to fuel even more innovation, inspiration, and exploration in 2026.

You are what makes the Smithsonian extraordinary. Thank you for believing in the power of knowledge.

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