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Holiday Gift Guide

Giant panda cub on Nov. 9, 2020 during a keeper exam.

We Save Species — And So Can You

Giving gifts is for the birds ... and the cheetahs and the giant pandas! By purchasing a present from the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Holiday Gift Guide, you help our animal keepers and scientists study and save species.

Proceeds from these products support research, help refurbish our animals' habitats, and provide toys that enable animals to express their natural behaviors through play. On behalf of the animals we care for and protect: thank you!

Gifts That Give Back

adopt a giant panda package featuring a card set, plush, and carrier box

Adopt A Species

Are you looking for the perfect gift for an animal lover? Symbolically adopt an animal. You'll receive a package with an adorable plush, a photo-filled, five-card set and more. Adopt today! With 13 unique packages — from sloths to flamingos and Komodo dragons — there's an animal for everyone on your list.

Give a Gift to the Animals

Some of our animals' favorite toys are ones that roll, wobble and are just fun to pounce on or chase. These items are built to be hearty, but over time they wear down after so many teeth and claw marks. Help us replenish some of our animals’ worn-but-well-loved toys! Make a donation to the Enrichment Trunk.

A combination of three photos of cheetah cubs interacting with enrichment items in their yard. In the first image, a cub plays with water. In the second, two cubs play with a ball. In the third, a cub climbs on a cone structure.

Books and Toys

Left: a veterinarian doll set with scrubs, X-rays, a stethoscope, polar bear, clipboard and animal anatomy chart. Right: a biologist doll set with a lab coat, bug catching nets, safety goggles, a pipette, tweezers, a magnifying glass and a bacterium chart

For Future Scientists

Calling all budding biologists and curious conservationists! The Smithsonian has partnered with Sophia’s to create a series of STEM play sets for 18” dolls.

Which animals, great and small, will your Zoo veterinarian doll care for? Will your Zoo biologist doll save butterflies and frogs from extinction? Each set includes clothing and accessories to help foster a child's curiosity.

Pandas for Preschoolers

Attention, little panda fans! Smithsonian Kids’ fun and educational board books teach readers ages 0 to 3 all about the beloved, bamboo-munching bears.

In "I Am A Panda," wiggle the finger puppet as a giant panda goes about its day eating, exploring and climbing. And, in "Panda," learn all about their habitat, favorite foods and caring for cubs.

Two board books about giant pandas. The book on the left is called "I Am a Panda" and features a cartoon panda holding bamboo. The book on the right features an illustration of a giant panda eating bamboo.
On the left is a board book titled "I Am a Tiger" featuring a cartoon tiger in a forest. On the right is a board book featuring an illustration of an orangutan adult and infant.

More Wild Stories About Animals

Develop curiosity, language and reading skills while exploring the wonder of wildlife!

In "I Am A Tiger," wiggle the finger puppet as a Sumatran tiger and her cubs play, hunt and splash in a stream. And, in "Orangutans," learn all about these intelligent and curious great apes that call the forest home.

The cover of a book featuring an Abyssinian ground hornbill. The book is called "Karl's New Beak: 3-D printing builds a bird a better life, by Lela Nargi"

Karl's New Beak

Karl is an Abyssinian ground hornbill with a special challenge. His lower bill broke and made eating difficult. Could an old bird skeleton and a 3-D printer help him? Follow the adventure in "Karl's New Beak!"

The cover of Smithsonian's "Zoology: The Secret World of Animals" book

Expand Your Animal IQ

Explore the extraordinary majesty of the animal kingdom up close in "Smithsonian Zoology." Dramatic photography and crystal-clear illustrations illuminate the fascinating stories behind animal adaptations.

The front cover of Smithsonian's "The Animal Book: A Visual Encyclopedia of Life on Earth"

For Nature Admirers

Take a trip around the world with curious creatures, from waddling penguins to leaping frogs, in "The Animal Book."

Clothing and Accessories

Shop in Style

Adore alpacas? Treasure tigers? Love lions? Wear your admiration for animals on your sleeve with these (and dozens more) stylish tees from Smithsonian Store.

A gray T-shirt with an alpaca, a red T-shirt with a tiger and the text "Smithsonian's Zoo Washington, D.C." and a yellow T-shirt with a lion and the text "Smithsonian's Zoo Washington, D.C."
Two tote bags with leopard print ribbons and a sun hat

Animal-inspired Accessories

Make a fashion statement and help save species! Celebrate clouded leopard cubs Jilian and Paitoon with a bag that sports their namesake clouded pattern.