On Earth Day, passionate people from around the world come together to show support for protecting our environment. What started in schools and communities across the US is now a worldwide event dedicated to driving positive change for people and the environment. Many Smithsonian museums, including the Anacostia Community Museum (ACM) and their Center for Environmental Justice, host Earth Month festivities every year, and also hold environmental programming year-round. Click below for events.

The first Earth Day was held April 22, 1970. Organized by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, this inaugural event sparked a movement to raise environmental awareness in the United States that continues over half a century later. Stamps and buttons were one way those passionate about our environment could show their support in 1970. During the very first Earth Day, the National Museum of Natural History hosted public “Think-in” sessions and acted as a media hub on the National Mall.

In 1972, the National Zoo—now the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute—welcomed its first giant pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, from China. The arrival of giant pandas drew millions of fans from around the world to the Zoo, but more importantly, it launched a decades-long collaboration with Chinese scientists to better understand and save this rare and vulnerable species. Armed with this knowledge, the National Zoo has become a leader in giant panda conservation.

The National Zoo's Conservation and Research Center was established in 1975 on 3,100 acres in Front Royal, VA, to encourage development of all aspects of animal sciences. Today, experts at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute tackle some of our most complex conservation challenges by applying and sharing what they learn about animal behavior and reproduction, ecology, genetics, migration, and conservation sustainability. Wildlife biologists from around the world train at the CRC.

In 1980, ecologists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute established a forest research site on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. They pioneered long-term tree-census techniques now used throughout the tropics, seeding a vast network of tropical forest research sites known as ForestGEO. The network recognizes the importance of collaborating with local institutions to strengthen science capacity in an era of rapidly changing landscapes and climate to understand and predict forest dynamics.

In the 1980s the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute developed the basis for breeding animals in human care to preserve maximum genetic diversity. During the '80s and '90s scientists began reintroducing animals born at the National Zoo and SCBI to the wild. In 2016 they worked with the government of Chad to return the extinct-in-the-wild scimitar-horned oryx to the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim, a former stronghold of the species and one of the largest terrestrial protected areas in the world.

In 1987, scientists created the Global Change Research Wetland at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, MD, with experiments designed to predict what the future holds for coastal wetland ecosystems coping with accelerated sea-level rise. Today, the wetland includes experiments on pollution, invasive species, rising temperatures, and sea-level rise. SERC, located on the largest block of preserved wetland on the Western shore of the Chesapeake, also hosts hikers and kayakers.

The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center is dedicated to understanding, conserving, and championing the grand phenomenon of bird migration. Founded in 1991, and located at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, SMBC scientists seek to clarify why migratory bird populations are declining—before the situation becomes desperate. The Center raises awareness about migratory birds and the need to protect diverse habitats across the Western Hemisphere. They also champion Bird Friendly Coffee and Cocoa.

In 2008, the National Museum of Natural History, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), opened the Sant Ocean Hall—the only exhibition in the nation devoted to a global view of the ocean. The Sant Ocean Hall contains more than 600 specimens, as well as life-sized models like Phoenix, a real North Atlantic right whale who scientists have been tracking since her birth in 1987. The exhibition inspires visitors to learn how to better protect our oceans.

In 2018, the National Museum of African American History and Culture was the first museum on the National Mall to receive Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. LEED provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings. This lets us share a world-class collection and stories integral to the development of US culture in a breathtaking building, while softening its environmental impact.

In January of 2024, the Smithsonian’s Life On A Sustainable Planet program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) convened leaders from across society—government, tribal communities, science, NGOs, philanthropy, and industry—to amplify the crucial role of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes biodiversity in the well-being of human communities and economies, and to bring attention to the bold steps and pledges needed to protect these ecosystems.

Since 1972 we've studied coral reef dynamics at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize. With 23 Museums open or in development; 8 Research Centers across the Western Hemisphere; and innumerable science and conservation projects embracing the globe from the Antarctic in the South to Greenland in the North, and Alaska in the West to New Zealand in the East; the Smithsonian remains uniquely positioned to spread the Earth Day message while producing the research necessary to breathe life into the Earth Day spirit.