Smithsonian Associates

March 16, 2020

To our members and patrons:

By now, we are all aware of the current health emergency gripping our country and the world. In response to this crisis, the Smithsonian Institution followed the recommendation of the CDC and took the necessary steps to contain the spread of COVID-19 by canceling large gatherings and postponing public programs until later in 2020.

At Smithsonian Associates, as always, our number-one priority now is the health and well-being of all our patrons. To that end, we have put on hold all public programs currently scheduled through May 3. We are busily working on rescheduling as many of the programs during this period as possible, but there will be some programs where a new date cannot be secured.

We ask for your patience and understanding as we try to answer your questions regarding programs. We hope to have a better understanding which programs will be rescheduled, and which will be cancelled by April 1. If you think that you will not be joining us later this year and request a refund, please contact our customer service department via email or phone. Please keep in mind that if you request a refund and a program is rescheduled, you will not receive a notice of the new date. We also would like to thank our patrons who decided to accept a credit for a future program and those who cancelled and asked us to keep their registration fee as a donation.

In the meantime, while we are all trying to make sense of these challenging times, we will keep in touch and share news of some exciting programs we have planned for you in the months ahead, as well as dig into our digital archives and share programs that you might have missed.

We look forward to seeing you again soon!

Smithsonian Associates Staff