Adrienne Arsht Community-Based Resilience Solutions Initiative is a Smithsonian-wide effort with leadership based at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, which connects the multidisciplinary art and science done at the Smithsonian with key partners across the globe, by focusing on the cross-cutting theme: adaptation as a pathway to resilience for people and nature. This center will zoom in on tropical systems and the people depending on them.
Living Lab: Researchers will study natural resilience—like how tropical rainforests adapt—to inspire real-world solutions.
Nature-Based Solutions: Test and develop methods for more sustainable fishing and restoring rainforests.
Education: Create bilingual tools to help policymakers and communities make better decisions.
Kaleidoscope of Resilience: Kaleidoscope: Patterns of Resilience, a website and interactive tour experience developed by the Smithsonian’s Office of Digital Transformation highlights stories from across the Smithsonian exploring the concept of resilience through the Smithsonian’s collections and research. Showcasing 15 stories of resilience to start, with more to be added each month, the narratives demonstrate the ability of people and nature to respond and adapt to external stressors. The stories and objects highlighted celebrate various ways of understanding resilience just as a kaleidoscope highlights the beauty within each fractal. Together, our lived experiences and connection to our environment create a colorful, mosaic-like portrait of what it means to react, respond, and adapt to change.
Smithsonian Resilience Fund: A grant program that aims to spark innovation across all Smithsonian museums and centers.
Business leader and philanthropist Adrienne Arsht’s generous donation kicked off a transformative program for climate resilience at the Smithsonian. Learn more about the Initiative.