The Smithsonian Institution is a museum and research complex of 19 museums and galleries and the National Zoological Park, as well as research facilities.
| Anacostia Community Museum |
| Arts and Industries Building* |
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
(New York City) |
| Freer Gallery of Art |
| Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden |
| National Air and Space Museum |
National Air and Space Museum's Steven F.
Udvar-Hazy Center (Chantilly, Va.) |
National Museum of African American
History and Culture** |
| National Museum of African Art |
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| National Museum of American History* |
| National Museum of the American Indian |
National Museum of the American Indian's
George Gustav Heye Center
(New York City) |
| National Museum of Natural History |
| National Portrait Gallery |
| National Postal Museum |
| Renwick Gallery |
| Arthur M. Sackler Gallery |
| Smithsonian American Art Museum |
| Smithsonian Institution Building ("Castle") |
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* The Arts and Industries Building and the National Museum of American History are closed for renovation. The National Museum of American History will reopen Nov. 21.
** The National Museum of African American History and Culture is scheduled to open in 2015 on a National Mall site opposite the National Museum of American History.
Budget—The Smithsonian’s current federal appropriation is approximately $682 million. The Institution is about 70 percent federally funded. In addition, the Smithsonian has trust funds, which include both contributions from private sources (corporations, foundations and individuals) and revenues from Smithsonian Enterprises (stores, restaurants, Imax theaters, gift catalog, etc.).
Visitors—There were more than 24 million visitors to the museums and the National Zoo in 2007. Admission to all Smithsonian museums in Washington is free. The museums are open seven days a week. (The Smithsonian is closed on Christmas Day.) A visitor’s center is located in the “Castle.”
Smithsonian Collections—The total number of objects, works of art and specimens at the Smithsonian is estimated at nearly 137 million, including more than 126 million specimens and artifacts at the National Museum of Natural History.
Smithsonian Affiliations—Through a program of long-term loan of collections of artifacts, the Smithsonian shares its vast collections and expertise with museum-goers around the country. There are more than 150 affiliates in 39 states, Panama and Puerto Rico.
Traveling Exhibitions—The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) organizes exhibitions and circulates them to museums around the country. In 2007, SITES traveled 50 exhibitions to more than 400 venues in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Guam and Canada.
Research Facilities—These include Archives of American Art, National Zoo’s Conservation and Research Center, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Marine Station at Fort Pierce, Fla.
History—Established with funds from James Smithson (1765-1829), a British scientist who left his estate to the United States to found “at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”
Web site—www.smithsonian.org
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