The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History has announced a $13 million gift from Coralyn Wright Whitney in support of its Q?rius science education center.

The largest education gift in the museum's history will ensure that Q?rius (pronounced "curious") is open, staffed, and equipped to offer classes in the D.C. area and around the country seven days a week. The gift also will endow educational programming at the center, which boasts more than six thousand physical and digital objects, research-grade scientific equipment, and authentic science-learning experiences.

Whitney received an MS in statistics from Florida State University in 1975 and a Ph.D. in biostatistics from the University of Washington in 1990. After retiring from academia, she pursued a childhood passion for rock hunting and earned graduate gemologist and accredited jewelry degrees from the Gemological Institute of America. In 2009, she donated the 17-carat color-changing Whitney Alexandrite to the National Gem Collection and also established the Coralyn Wright Whitney Endowment to support research and activities related to the collection. Whitney and her husband have been members of the Smithsonian Gemstone Collectors committee since it was established in 2011.

"We thank Dr. Whitney for her extraordinary gift, which reflects her own enthusiasm for learning and commitment to education," said Kirk Johnson, Sant Director of the museum. "The young people who visit Q?rius represent the next generation of scientists, and by supporting science education, this donation will give our young visitors the tools they need to address the key challenges of the future."