Feb

Nominations close Feb. 9 for the 2024 Smithsonian Education Awards

Education has always been at the core of the Smithsonian’s mission of “the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” The annual Smithsonian Education Awards honor outstanding staff achievements by Smithsonian educators, who open the doors to invite lifelong learners, students, families, communities, fellows, interns, and educators everywhere to discover our extraordinary programming, resources, collections, and research. The awards recognize creativity, excellence, and commitment to serving the nation through distance learning, educational programming, digital media, publications, and exhibitions. The program is generously supported by the Smithsonian Women’s Committee and was endowed in honor of its 40th anniversary of service to the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian Office of the Under Secretary for Education (OUSE) manages the program, and an external committee of national education leaders makes the award selections.

Group shot of 2023 Education Award winnners with Secretary Bunch and Monique Chism

2023 Smithsonian Education Award Recipients included: Andrea Kim Neighbors of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage’s “Masters of Tradition: A Cultural Journey Across America,” and the Smithsonian Affiliations and Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s “Earth Optimism Youth Action and Leadership” program.

Join Under Secretary for Education Dr. Monique Chism and the education community in recognizing and honoring impactful programs and inspiring leaders in education from across the Smithsonian.

The 2024 awards include the following categories:

The Smithsonian Education Achievement Award honors an individual’s consistent and outstanding performance in education.
The One Smithsonian Education Award recognizes an outstanding education project team that celebrates the spirit of pan-institutional internal teamwork, engagement with our nationwide PreK-12 knowledge partners, or multi-unit collaboration.
The Smithsonian Education Innovations and Access Award recognizes an outstanding digital education team project that makes the Smithsonian’s creative and interactive content equitable, improving outcomes for PreK-12 learners, educators, and families nationwide.

The $5,000 cash awards are open to all Smithsonian employees and may be used to participate in national conferences (to make presentations or serve on committees), purchase professional journals or publications, make site visits to observe other programs, register in continuing education or university coursework, or develop new education initiatives.

All active Smithsonian staff members are eligible for nominations. The guidelines are available at https://s.si.edu/EdAwardsGuidelines. Nominations (self-nominations are welcome!) are due by Friday, February 9, 2024, 5:00 pm EST by filling out the form here: https://s.si.edu/CelebrateEdu. We will honor the Nominees and Awardees at the 2024 Smithsonian Education Awards during an in-person ceremony and reception on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, so please save the date.

If you have questions, do not hesitate to get in touch with Tracie Spinale, TSpinale@si.edu.