Smithsonian Institution

File:Washington, D.C., April 1865 34773v.jpg

File:Smithsonian Building NR.jpg" (built, 1847) on the National Mall: the institution's earliest building remains its headquarters.|alt=]]

In many ways, the origin of the Smithsonian Institution can be traced to a group of Washington citizens who, being "impressed with the importance of forming an association for promoting useful knowledge," met on June 28, 1816, to establish the Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences. Officers were elected in October 1816, and the organization was granted a charter by Congress on April 20, 1818 (this charter expired in 1838). Benjamin Latrobe, who was architect for the US Capitol after the War of 1812, and William Thornton, the architect who designed the Octagon House and Tudor Place, would serve as officers. Other prominent members, who numbered from 30 to 70 during the institute's existence, included John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, Judge William Cranch, and James Hoban. Honorary members included James Madison, James Monroe, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and the Marquis de Lafayette. Operating expenses were covered from the $5 yearly dues collected from each member.

The institute proposed a number of undertakings. These included the study of plant life and the creation of a botanical garden on the National Mall, an examination of the country's mineral production, improvement in the management and care of livestock, and the writing of a topographical and statistical history of the United States. Reports were to be published periodically to share this knowledge with the greater public, but due to a lack of funds, this initially did not occur. The institute first met in Blodget's Hotel, later in the Treasury Department and City Hall, before being assigned a permanent home in 1824 in the Capitol building.

Beginning in 1825, weekly sittings were arranged during sessions of Congress for the reading of scientific and literary productions, but this was continued for only a short time, as the number attending declined rapidly. Eighty-five communications by 26 people were made to Congress during the entire life of the society, with more than a half relating to astronomy or mathematics. Among all the activities planned by the institute, only a few were actually implemented. Two were the establishment of a botanical garden, and a museum that was designed to have a national and permanent status. The former occupied space where the present Botanic Garden sits.

The museum contained specimens of zoology, botany, archeology, fossils, etc., some of which were passed on to the Smithsonian Institution after its formation. The institute's charter expired in 1838, but its spirit lived on in the National Institution, founded in 1840. With the mission to "promote science and the useful arts, and to establish a national museum of natural history," this organization continued to press Congress to establish a museum that would be structured in terms that were very similar to those finally incorporated into the founding of the Smithsonian Institution. Its work helped to develop an underlying philosophy that pushed for the pursuit and development of scientific knowledge that would benefit the nation, and edify its citizens at the same time.{{cite web |title=A Guide to the Columbian Institute in the Special Collections Research Center |url=https://library.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/scrc/Columbian_Institute.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210725102045/https://library.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/scrc/Columbian_Institute.pdf |archive-date=July 25, 2021 |access-date=July 30, 2021 |publisher=Special Collections Research Center Gelman Library, George Washington University}}

The British scientist James Smithson (1765–1829) left most of his wealth to his nephew Henry James Hungerford. When Hungerford died childless in 1835,{{cite book|last=Goode|first=George Brown |title=The Smithsonian Institution, 1846–1896, The History of Its First Half Century.|year=1897|publisher=De Vinne Press|location=Washington, D.C.|page=25|url= http://siris-sihistory.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=133GO29212E47.369&profile=sicall&source=~!sichronology&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!464~!16&ri=1&aspect=power&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=smithson+james&index=.SW&uindex=&aspect=power&menu=search&ri=1&limitbox_1=LO01+=+sch&ultype=.YW&uloper=%3C&ullimit=1966|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121212194644/http://siris-sihistory.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=133GO29212E47.369&profile=sicall&source=~!sichronology&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!464~!16&ri=1&aspect=power&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=smithson+james&index=.SW&uindex=&aspect=power&menu=search&ri=1&limitbox_1=LO01+=+sch&ultype=.YW&uloper=%3C&ullimit=1966|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 12, 2012}} the estate passed "to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men", in accordance with Smithson's will.{{cite web |first1=James |last1=Smithson |title=Last Will and Testament |date=October 23, 1826 |url=http://siarchives.si.edu/history/exhibits/documents/smithsonwill.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110824051624/http://siarchives.si.edu/history/exhibits/documents/smithsonwill.htm |archive-date=August 24, 2011 |access-date=October 4, 2012 |location= Smithsonian Scrapbook: Letters, Diaries and Photographs from the Smithsonian Archives |website= Smithsonian Institution}} Congress officially accepted the legacy bequeathed to the nation and pledged the faith of the United States to the charitable trust on July 1, 1836.{{cite web|title=Founding of the Smithsonian Institution|url=http://newsdesk.si.edu/factsheets/founding-smithsonian-institution|website= Smithsonian Institution |date=July 1, 2009 |access-date=October 4, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120901160155/http://newsdesk.si.edu/factsheets/founding-smithsonian-institution|archive-date=September 1, 2012}} The American diplomat Richard Rush was dispatched to England by President Andrew Jackson to collect the bequest. Rush returned in August 1838 with 105 sacks containing 104,960 gold sovereigns. This is approximately $500,000 at the time, which is {{Inflation|US|500000|1838|r=-6|fmt=eq}} or {{Inflation|UK|104960|1838|r=-6|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}. However, when considering the GDP at the time it may be more comparable to $220 million in the year 2007.{{cite book| first= Heather |last= Ewing| title= The Lost World of James Smithson: Science, Revolution, and the Birth of the Smithsonian| pages= 323–24, 330, 409}} Ewing notes that it would be the equivalent of over $10 million today, using one index, but using a per-capita share of GDP, it would be the equivalent of over $220 million. It was close to the total of Harvard University's endowment at that point, which had accumulated for nearly 200 years by the 1830s and was not the result of a single gift, as Smithson's was.{{cite book|last=Ottesen|first=Carole| title=A Guide to Smithsonian Gardens| year=2011|publisher=Smithsonian Books|isbn=978-1-58834-300-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/guidetosmithsoni0000otte/page/13 13]|url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/guidetosmithsoni0000otte/page/13}}

Once the money was in hand, eight years of congressional haggling ensued over how to interpret Smithson's rather vague mandate "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge." The money was invested by the US Treasury in bonds issued by the state of Arkansas, which soon defaulted. After heated debate, Massachusetts representative (and former president) John Quincy Adams persuaded Congress to restore the lost funds with interest{{cite book| title= Smithsonian Information Brochure| publisher= Smithsonian Institution| location= Smithsonian Visitor Information and Associates' Reception Center| date= May 2009}} and, despite designs on the money for other purposes, convinced his colleagues to preserve it for an institution of science and learning.{{cite book| last= Nagel| first= Paul |year= 1999| title= John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life| publisher= Harvard University Press| page= 348| isbn= }} Finally, on August 10, 1846, President James K. Polk signed the legislation that established the Smithsonian Institution as a trust instrumentality of the United States, to be administered by a Board of Regents and a secretary of the Smithsonian.{{usstat|9|102}}

Though the Smithsonian's first secretary, Joseph Henry, wanted the institution to be a center for scientific research,{{Cite book|publisher=University of Alabama Press|isbn=978-0-8173-1204-6| last= Orosz |first= Joel J.|title=Curators and Culture: The Museum Movement in America, 1740-1870|date=June 28, 2002}}{{rp|155}} it also became the depository for various Washington and U.S. government collections.{{Cite book|publisher=University of Alabama Press|isbn=978-0-8173-1204-6|last=Orosz|first=Joel J. |title=Curators and Culture: The Museum Movement in America, 1740-1870|date=June 28, 2002}}{{rp|157}} The United States Exploring Expedition by the U.S. Navy circumnavigated the globe between 1838 and 1842.{{Cite book |publisher= University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0-295-98239-7 |last1=Benson|first1=Keith Rodney |last2=Rehbock|first2=Philip F.|title=Oceanographic History: The Pacific and Beyond|date=2002}}{{rp|532}} The voyage amassed thousands of animal specimens, an herbarium of 50,000 plant specimens, and diverse shells and minerals, tropical birds, jars of seawater, and ethnographic artifacts from the South Pacific Ocean. These specimens and artifacts became part of the Smithsonian collections,{{Cite journal |last=Adler|first=Antony|date=May 1, 2011 |title=From the Pacific to the Patent Office: The US Exploring Expedition and the origins of America's first national museum |journal=Journal of the History of Collections |volume=23|issue=1|pages=49–74| doi= 10.1093/jhc/fhq002|issn=0954-6650}} as did those collected by several military and civilian surveys of the American West, including the Mexican Boundary Survey and Pacific Railroad Surveys, which assembled many Native American artifacts and natural history specimens.{{Cite book |publisher=Рипол Классик|isbn=978-5-88160-802-6|last1=Baird |first1=S.F. |last2=Emory|first2=W.H. |title=Report on the United States and Mexican boundary survey|year=1857}}{{rp|13}}

In 1846, the regents developed a plan for weather observation; in 1847, money was appropriated for meteorological research.{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Smithsonian Institution|volume=25}} The institution became a magnet for young scientists from 1857 to 1866, who formed a group called the Megatherium Club.{{cite book|last=Merrill|first=Marlene Deahl |title=Yellowstone and the Great West: Journals, Letters, and Images from the 1871 Hayden Expedition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5im5iAPqy3UC&pg=PA220|access-date=September 4, 2016|year=1999|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|location=Lincoln|isbn=0803231482|page=220|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716061906/https://books.google.com/books?id=5im5iAPqy3UC&pg=PA220|archive-date=July 16, 2017}} The Smithsonian played a critical role as the US partner institution in early bilateral scientific exchanges with the Academy of Sciences of Cuba.{{cite web|last1=Pastrana |first1=Sergio Jorge |title= Building a Lasting Cuba-U.S. Bridge through Science |url=http://www.sciencediplomacy.org/perspective/2015/building-lasting-cuba-us-bridge-through-science|website=Science & Diplomacy |date=March 30, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150402103006/http://www.sciencediplomacy.org/perspective/2015/building-lasting-cuba-us-bridge-through-science|archive-date=April 2, 2015}}

File:Smithsonian.jpg.]]

Construction began on the Smithsonian Institution Building ("the Castle") in 1849. Designed by architect James Renwick Jr., its interiors were completed by general contractor Gilbert Cameron. The building opened in 1855.{{cite web|url={{NHLS url|id=66000867}}|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination: Smithsonian Institution Building|last=Morton |first=W. Brown III| date= February 8, 1971|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=May 11, 2009}}

The Smithsonian's first expansion came with the construction of the Arts and Industries Building in 1881. Congress had promised to build a new structure for the museum if the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition generated enough income. It did, and the building was designed by architects Adolf Cluss and Paul Schulze, based on original plans developed by Major General Montgomery C. Meigs of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. It opened in 1881.{{cite web |url={{NHLS url|id=71000994}}|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination: Arts and Industries Building of the Smithsonian Institution|last=Norton|first=W. Brown III|date=April 6, 1971|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=May 11, 2009}}

File:A field trip to the Smithsonian Institution LCCN2001702329.jpg

The National Zoological Park opened in 1889 to accommodate the Smithsonian's Department of Living Animals.{{cite web |url= http://siarchives.si.edu/history/exhibits/pictures/national-zoological-park |title=National Zoological Park |website= Smithsonian Institution |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141111025911/http://siarchives.si.edu/history/exhibits/pictures/national-zoological-park |archive-date=November 11, 2014}} The park was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.

The National Museum of Natural History opened in June 1911 to similarly accommodate the Smithsonian's United States National Museum, which had previously been housed in the Castle and then the Arts and Industries Building.{{Cite news |url=http://www.mnh.si.edu/about/history.htm |title=Museum History |website= nmh.si.edu |publisher=National Museum of Natural History |year=2008 |access-date=November 15, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090726053347/https://www.mnh.si.edu/about/history.htm |archive-date=July 26, 2009}} This structure was designed by the D.C. architectural firm of Hornblower & Marshall.{{cite news| title= New Museum Plans| newspaper= The Washington Post| date= April 13, 1903}}

When Detroit philanthropist Charles Lang Freer donated his private collection to the Smithsonian and funds to build the museum to hold it (which was named the Freer Gallery), it was among the Smithsonian's first major donations from a private individual.{{Cite book|publisher=Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery|isbn=978-1-85759-297-9|last=Gunter|first=Ann Clyburn|title=A Collector's Journey: Charles Lang Freer and Egypt|date=2002}}{{rp|96}} The gallery opened in 1923.{{Cite book|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-1-62585-064-5| last= Fortier |first= Alison |title=A History Lover's Guide to Washington, D.C.: Designed for Democracy|date=May 6, 2014}}{{rp|110}}

More than 40 years would pass before the next museum, the Museum of History and Technology (renamed the National Museum of American History in 1980), opened in 1964. It was designed by the world-renowned firm of McKim, Mead & White.{{cite book |last1=Moeller|first1=Gerard Martin|last2=Feldblyum|first2=Boris|title=AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C. |location=Baltimore |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|date=2012|isbn=9781421402697|page=78}} The Anacostia Community Museum, an "experimental store-front" museum created at the initiative of Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley, opened in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in 1967.{{cite journal|last=Bass|first=Holly |title=Camille Akeju: New Director Seeks to Rejuvenate Anacostia Museum |journal= Crisis |date=March–April 2006|pages=37–39 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sEIEAAAAMBAJ&q=Anacostia+Museum&pg=PA37|access-date=April 22, 2012 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108005536/http://books.google.com/books?id=sEIEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA39&dq=Anacostia%20Museum&pg=PA37#v=onepage&q=Anacostia%20Museum&f=false|archive-date=January 8, 2014}}{{cite web|title=Anacostia Community Museum|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/history/anacostia-community-museum |work=Smithsonian Museums|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=April 22, 2012|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418131744/http://siarchives.si.edu/history/anacostia-community-museum |archive-date=April 18, 2012}}{{cite book|last=Oehser|first=Paul H.|title=The Smithsonian Institution |year=1970|publisher=Praeger Publishers|location=New York |isbn=8989456584|pages=10 |url= http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1095|access-date=April 22, 2012|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103035755/http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1095 |archive-date=January 3, 2013}} That same year, the Smithsonian signed an agreement to take over the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration (now the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum).{{cite news|last=Knox|first=Sanka|title=Smithsonian Takes Over Cooper Union Museum|work=The New York Times|date=October 10, 1967|page=41}} The National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum opened in the Old Patent Office Building (built in 1867) on October 7, 1968.{{cite news| last= Richard| first= Paul| title= A National Family Album| newspaper= The Washington Post| date= October 6, 1968}}{{cite news| last= Martin| first= Judith| title= 'Semi, Demi-Heroes' Open New Gallery| newspaper= The Washington Post| date= October 7, 1968}} The reuse of an older building continued with the opening of the Renwick Gallery in 1972 in the 1874 Renwick-designed art gallery originally built by local philanthropist William Wilson Corcoran to house the Corcoran Gallery of Art.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/museums/renwick-gallery-of-the-smithsonian-american-art-museum,791815/critic-review.html |title= Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=July 18, 2013 |author=Yardley, William |url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110212011708/http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/museums/renwick-gallery-of-the-smithsonian-american-art-museum,791815/critic-review.html |archive-date=February 12, 2011}}

The first new museum building to open since the National Museum of History and Technology was the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, which opened in 1974.{{cite news |last= Raynor |first= Vivian |title= A Preview of the New Hirshhorn Museum|work=The New York Times|date=July 14, 1974|access-date=December 13, 2016|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/07/14/archives/a-preview-of-the-new-hirshhorn-museum-the-hirshhorn-some-arresting.html|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170715220327/http://www.nytimes.com/1974/07/14/archives/a-preview-of-the-new-hirshhorn-museum-the-hirshhorn-some-arresting.html|archive-date=July 15, 2017}} The National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian's largest in terms of floor space, opened in June 1976.{{cite web| last= Mianecki| first=Julie |title= The List: Six Things You Didn't Know About the Air and Space Museum on its 35th Anniversary|website= smithsonianmag.com |date=June 29, 2011|access-date=December 13, 2016 |url= http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/the-list-six-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-air-and-space-museum-on-its-35th-anniversary-24268503/}}

Eleven years later, the National Museum of African Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery opened in a new, joint, underground museum between the Freer Gallery and the Smithsonian Castle.{{cite web|title=National Museum of African Art |url=http://siarchives.si.edu/history/national-museum-african-art|work=Smithsonian History|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|access-date=May 16, 2012|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528121703/http://siarchives.si.edu/history/national-museum-african-art |archive-date=May 28, 2012}}{{cite web| title= Quadrangle Complex Opens |url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1765| publisher= Smithsonian Institution| work= The Torch| date= January 1987| page= 1 |access-date=May 16, 2012|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104132101/http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1765|archive-date=January 4, 2013}} Record Unit 371, Box 5.{{cite web| title=Arthur M. Sackler Gallery |url=http://siarchives.si.edu/history/arthur-m.-sackler-gallery |work= Smithsonian Institution |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives |access-date=May 10, 2012|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528121624/http://siarchives.si.edu/history/arthur-m.-sackler-gallery |archive-date=May 28, 2012}} Reuse of another old building came in 1993 with the opening of the National Postal Museum in the 1904 former City Post Office building, a few city blocks from the Mall.{{cite news|last=McAllister |first=Bill|title=The Museum On the Mail|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=July 2, 1993|page=N58}}

In 2004, the Smithsonian opened the National Museum of the American Indian in a new building near the United States Capitol.{{cite news|last=Rothstein|first=Edward|title=Museum With an American Indian Voice|work=The New York Times|date=September 21, 2004|access-date=December 13, 2016|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/21/arts/design/museum-with-an-american-indian-voice.html |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160615010955/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/21/arts/design/museum-with-an-american-indian-voice.html|archive-date=June 15, 2016}} Twelve years later almost to the day, in 2016, the latest museum opened: the National Museum of African American History and Culture, in a new building near the Washington Monument.{{cite news|last=Cotter|first=Holland|title=Review: The Smithsonian African American Museum Is Here at Last. And It Uplifts and Upsets|work=The New York Times|date=September 15, 2016|access-date=December 13, 2016 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/arts/design/smithsonian-african-american-museum-review.html|url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161216023638/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/arts/design/smithsonian-african-american-museum-review.html|archive-date=December 16, 2016}}

Two more museums have been established and are being planned for eventual construction on the Mall: the National Museum of the American Latino and the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum.

In 2011, the Smithsonian undertook its first-ever capital fundraising campaign.{{Cite book|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-69399-2|last=Kelly|first=Kathleen S.|title=Effective Fund-Raising Management| date= December 6, 2012}}{{rp|79}} The $1.5 billion effort raised $1 billion at the three-year mark. Smithsonian officials made the campaign public in October 2014 in an effort to raise the remaining $500 million. More than 60,000 individuals and organizations donated money to the campaign by the time it went public.{{cite news| url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/smithsonian-announces-15-billion-fundraising-effort/2014/10/20/b853634e-586d-11e4-8264-deed989ae9a2_story.html|last=McGlone|first=Peggy|title=Smithsonian Announces $1.5 Billion Fundraising Effort|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=October 20, 2014|access-date=October 21, 2014|url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141021101512/http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/smithsonian-announces-15-billion-fundraising-effort/2014/10/20/b853634e-586d-11e4-8264-deed989ae9a2_story.html|archive-date=October 21, 2014}} This included 192 gifts of at least $1 million. Members of the boards of directors of various Smithsonian museums donated $372 million. The Smithsonian said that funds raised would go toward completion of the National Museum of African American History and Culture building, and renovations of the National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of American History, and the Renwick Gallery. A smaller amount of funds would go to educational initiatives and digitization of collections. As of September 2017, the Smithsonian claimed to have raised $1.79 billion, with three months left in the formal campaign calendar.{{cite web|title=Progress |url=https://smithsoniancampaign.org/progress|website=smithsoniancampaign.org|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210064239/https://smithsoniancampaign.org/progress|archive-date= February 10, 2018}}

Separately from the major capital campaign, the Smithsonian has begun fundraising through Kickstarter.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/lifestyle/smithsonian-kickstarter |title=Saving America's treasures: The Smithsonian used Kickstarter to raise money for Neil Armstrong's spacesuit and Dorothy's ruby slippers. Was it worth it? |first=Peggy |last=McGlone |date=July 6, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=January 20, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107234036/https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/lifestyle/smithsonian-kickstarter/ |archive-date=November 7, 2017}} An example is a campaign to fund the preservation and maintenance of the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland for her role as Dorothy Gale in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.{{cite news|last1=Bowley|first1=Graham|title=Smithsonian Seeks $300,000 to Save Dorothy's Ruby Slippers |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/20/arts/design/smithsonian-seeks-300000-to-save-dorothys-ruby-slippers.html|access-date=October 14, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=October 19, 2016|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226170219/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/20/arts/design/smithsonian-seeks-300000-to-save-dorothys-ruby-slippers.html|archive-date=December 26, 2016}}

{{main|List of Smithsonian museums}}

Nineteen museums and galleries, as well as the National Zoological Park, comprise the Smithsonian museums.{{cite web| url= http://newsdesk.si.edu/factsheets/facts-about-smithsonian-institution |title= Facts about the Smithsonian Institution| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20101101232622/http://newsdesk.si.edu/factsheets/facts-about-smithsonian-institution |archivedate= November 1, 2010 | website= newsdesk.si.edu | publisher= Smithsonian Institution| access-date= February 19, 2011}} Eleven are on the National Mall, the park that runs between the Lincoln Memorial and the United States Capitol. Other museums are located elsewhere in Washington, D.C., with two more in New York City and one in Chantilly, Virginia.

File:Air and Space Planes.jpg, including a Ford Trimotor and Douglas DC-3 (top and second from top)]]

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

!scope="col"| Institution

!scope="col" class=unsortable| Type of collection

!scope="col" style="width: 15%"| Location{{cite web| url= http://www.si.edu/Visit/Maps |title= Maps and Directions| website= Smithsonian Institution | access-date= February 21, 2011}}

!scope="col"| Opened

!scope="col" class=unsortable|{{ref heading}}

|-

!scope="row"| Anacostia Community Museum

| African American culture

| Washington, D.C.
Anacostia

| 1967

| {{cite web| url= http://anacostia.si.edu/Museum/Mission_History.htm |title= Mission and History| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110828225228/http://anacostia.si.edu/Museum/Mission_History.htm |archivedate=August 28, 2011 | website= anacostia.si.edu| publisher= Anacostia Community Museum| access-date= December 6, 2009}}

|-

!scope="row"| Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (affiliated with the Freer Gallery)

| Asian art

| Washington, D.C.
National Mall

| 1987

| [http://www.asia.si.edu/visitor/history.htm History of the Galleries] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320023807/http://www.asia.si.edu/visitor/history.htm |date=March 20, 2009 }}. Freer and Sackler Galleries. Retrieved December 6, 2009

|-

!scope="row"| Arts and Industries Building

| Special event venue

| Washington, D.C.
National Mall

| 1881

| {{cite web|url= http://www.si.edu/Museums/arts-and-industries-building |title= Arts and Industries Building| website= Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved December 26, 2015.}}

|-

!scope="row"| Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

| Design history

| New York City
Museum Mile

| 1897

| {{cite web| url= http://www.cooperhewitt.org/ABOUT/ |title= About The Museum | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090310142556/http://cooperhewitt.org/ABOUT/ |archivedate= March 10, 2009 | publisher= Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum| access-date= December 6, 2009}}

|-

!scope="row"| Freer Gallery of Art (affiliated with the Sackler Gallery)

| Asian art

| Washington, D.C.
National Mall

| 1923

|

|-

!scope="row"| Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

| Contemporary and modern art

| Washington, D.C.
National Mall

| 1974

| {{cite web| url= http://hirshhorn.si.edu/info/column.asp?key=92 |title= History of the Hirshhorn | publisher= Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080928232542/http://hirshhorn.si.edu/info/column.asp?key=92 |archivedate=September 28, 2008 |access-date= December 6, 2009}}

|-

!scope="row"| National Air and Space Museum

| Aviation and spaceflight history

| Washington, D.C.
National Mall

| {{sort|1946|1946,
1976{{NoteTag|name=Moved| Year museum moved to current building}}}}

| {{cite web |url= http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/history/nasm25th/chronology/index.htm |title= National Air and Space Museum Chronology| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20130422183430/http://airandspace.si.edu/museum/history/nasm25th/chronology/index.htm |archivedate= April 22, 2013 | website= nasm.si.edu| publisher= National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution| access-date= December 6, 2009}}

|-

!scope="row"| National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

| Aviation and spaceflight history

| Chantilly, Virginia

| 2003

| {{cite web| url= http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/udvarhazy/ |title= Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20120430130921/http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/udvarhazy/ |archivedate= April 30, 2012 | website= nasm.si.edu| publisher= National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution| access-date= February 25, 2010}}

|-

!scope="row"| National Museum of African American History and Culture

| African-American history and culture

| Washington, D.C.
National Mall

| {{sort|2003|2003,
2016{{NoteTag|name=Moved}}}}

| {{cite web| url= http://nmaahc.si.edu/section/about_us |title= About Us| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090326185133/http://nmaahc.si.edu/section/about_us |archivedate=March 26, 2009 | publisher= National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution|access-date=February 25, 2010}}[http://nmaahcdesign.si.edu/overview/ Building The Museum, Overview]. National Museum of African American History and Culture. Retrieved January 10, 2010

|-

!scope="row"| National Museum of African Art

| African art

| Washington, D.C.
National Mall

| {{sort|1964|1964,
1987{{NoteTag|name=Moved}}}}

| {{cite news |last=Brenson |first=Michael |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/08/arts/beneath-smithsonian-debut-for-2-museums.html |title=Beneath Smithsonian, Debut for 2 Museums |work=The New York Times |date=September 8, 1987 |access-date=December 29, 2009}}

|-

!scope="row"| National Museum of American History

| American history

| Washington, D.C.
National Mall

| 1964

| [http://americanhistory.si.edu/museum/mission-history Mission and History]. National Museum of American History. Retrieved February 14, 2018

|-

!scope="row"| National Museum of the American Indian

| Native American history and art

| Washington, D.C.
National Mall

| 2004

| [http://www.nmai.si.edu/subpage.cfm?subpage=about About the National Museum of the American Indian] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206102230/http://www.nmai.si.edu/subpage.cfm?subpage=about |date=February 6, 2010 }}. National Museum of the American Indian. Retrieved February 25, 2010[https://web.archive.org/web/20040917050700/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/09/0914_040915_indian_museum_opening.html 20,000 American Indians March at National Museum Opening]. National Geographic News. September 21, 2004. Retrieved December 29, 2009

|-

!scope="row"| National Museum of the American Indian's George Gustav Heye Center

| Native American history and art

| New York City
Bowling Green

| 1994

| [http://www.nmai.si.edu/subpage.cfm?subpage=visitor&second=ny Visitor Information New York, NY] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413221042/http://www.nmai.si.edu/subpage.cfm?subpage=visitor&second=ny |date=April 13, 2009 }}. National Museum of the American Indian. Retrieved December 29, 2009

|-

!scope="row"| National Museum of Natural History

| Natural history

| Washington, D.C.
National Mall

| {{sort|1858|1858,
1911{{NoteTag|name=Moved}}}}

| [http://www.mnh.si.edu/onehundredyears/brief_history.htm A Brief History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121200124/http://www.mnh.si.edu/onehundredyears/brief_history.htm |date=January 21, 2016 }}. National Museum of Natural History Museum History. Retrieved February 21, 2011

|-

!scope="row"| National Portrait Gallery

| Portraiture

| Washington, D.C.
Penn Quarter

| 1968

| [http://www.npg.si.edu/inform/overview.html Visiting the Museum, A Brief Overview: History with Personality]. National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved February 25, 2010[http://www.npg.si.edu/inform/chronology.html Visiting the Museum, Building Chronology]. National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved December 29, 2009

|-

!scope="row"| National Postal Museum

| United States Postal Service; postal history; philately

| Washington, D.C.
NoMa

| 1993

| [http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/museum/1c_history.html History of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414185001/http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/museum/1c_history.html |date=April 14, 2012 }}. National Postal Museum. Retrieved December 29, 2009

|-

!scope="row"| Renwick Gallery

| American craft and decorative arts

| Washington, D.C.
Lafayette Square

| 1972

| [http://americanart.si.edu/visit/about/history/ About the American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery, History of the Museum Collection] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820024139/http://americanart.si.edu/visit/about/history/ |date=August 20, 2014 }}. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved December 29, 2009

|-

!scope="row"| Smithsonian American Art Museum

| American art

| Washington, D.C.
Penn Quarter

| 1968

|

|-

!scope="row"| Smithsonian Institution Building (The Castle)

| Visitor center and offices

| Washington, D.C.
National Mall

| 1855

| [http://www.si.edu/Museums/smithsonian-institution-building Smithsonian Institution Building (The Castle)]. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved February 21, 2011

|-

!scope="row"| National Zoological Park (National Zoo)

| Zoo

| Washington, D.C.
Rock Creek Park

| 1889

| [http://nationalzoo.si.edu/AboutUs/History/ History of the National Zoo]. National Zoological Park. Retrieved December 29, 2009

|-

!scope="row"| Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

| Women's history

| Washington, D.C.

| 2020{{NoteTag|name=Unbuilt| Year established; museum is currently pending construction}}

| {{cite web |last1=Blair |first1=Elizabeth |title=Congress Approves 2 New Museums Honoring American Latinos, Women's History |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/12/22/949153631/congress-approves-2-new-museums-honoring-american-latinos-womens-history |website=NPR |access-date=22 February 2025 |language=en |date=22 December 2020}}

|-

!scope="row"| National Museum of the American Latino

| Hispanic and Latino Americans

| Washington, D.C.

| 2020{{NoteTag|name=Unbuilt}}

|

|}

The Smithsonian has close ties with 168 other museums in 39 states, Panama, and Puerto Rico. These museums are known as Smithsonian Affiliated museums. Collections of artifacts are given to these museums in the form of long-term loans. The Smithsonian also has a large number of traveling exhibitions, operated through the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES).[https://www.sites.si.edu/s/ Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110051740/https://www.sites.si.edu/s/ |date=November 10, 2017}} In 2008, 58 of these traveling exhibitions went to 510 venues across the country.

{{Expand section|date=September 2012}}

Smithsonian collections include 156 million artworks, artifacts, and specimens. The National Museum of Natural History houses 145 million of these specimens and artifacts, which are mostly animals preserved in formaldehyde. The Collections Search Center has 9.9 million digital records available online. The Smithsonian Institution Libraries hold 2 million library volumes. Smithsonian Archives hold {{convert|156830|cuft}} of archival material.{{cite web|url=http://www.si.edu/Collections|title=Smithsonian Collections |work=Smithsonian|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151204031426/http://si.edu/Collections|archive-date=December 4, 2015 |access-date=June 28, 2019}}{{cite web|url=http://collections.si.edu/search/about.htm|title=Smithsonian|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170614050316/http://collections.si.edu/search/about.htm|archive-date=June 14, 2017 |access-date=June 28, 2019}}

The Smithsonian Institution has many categories of displays that can be visited at the museums. In 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft donated her inauguration gown to the museum to begin the First Ladies' Gown display at the National Museum of American History,{{cite news |url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/first-ladies/tradition-of-the-gowns|title=The First Ladies at the Smithsonian: The Tradition of the Gowns (page 1 of 3)|work=The National Museum of American History|date=April 4, 2012|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=March 8, 2017 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308221145/http://americanhistory.si.edu/first-ladies/tradition-of-the-gowns |archive-date=March 8, 2017}} one of the Smithsonian's most popular exhibits.{{cite web |url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/first-ladies/introduction|title=The First Ladies at the Smithsonian: The First Ladies: Introduction |work=The National Museum of American History|date=April 4, 2012 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=March 8, 2017|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301223434/http://americanhistory.si.edu/first-ladies/introduction |archive-date=March 1, 2017}} The museum displays treasures such as the Star-Spangled Banner, the stove pipe hat that was worn by President Abraham Lincoln, the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard Of Oz, and the original Teddy Bear that was named after President Theodore Roosevelt.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.teddybearandfriends.com/archive/articles/history.html|title=The History of the Teddy Bear|first=Marianne|last=Clay|year=2002|magazine=Teddy Bear & Friends|publisher=Madavor Media, LLC|access-date=December 10, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723184018/http://www.teddybearandfriends.com/archive/articles/history.html |archive-date=July 23, 2011}} In 2016, the Smithsonian's Air & Space museum curators restored the large model Enterprise from the original Star Trek TV series.{{Cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2016/06/28/483281249/smithsonian-sets-phasers-to-restore-on-original-starship-enterprise |title=Smithsonian Sets Phasers To Restore On Original Starship Enterprise|date=June 28, 2016|work=Morning Edition|publisher=NPR: National Public Radio|access-date=July 1, 2016|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701072340/http://www.npr.org/2016/06/28/483281249/smithsonian-sets-phasers-to-restore-on-original-starship-enterprise|archive-date=July 1, 2016}}

Following international debates about the decolonisation of museums and the legal and moral justifications of their acquisitions, the Smithsonian adopted a new "ethical returns policy" on April 29, 2022. This will permit the deaccession and restitution of items collected under circumstances considered unethical by contemporary standards and thus places moral over legal arguments. A month before, the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art had announced the planned return of most of its 39 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria,{{Cite news |last=McGlone |first=Peggy |title=Smithsonian to give back its collection of Benin bronzes |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/03/08/smithsonian-benin-bronzes-nigeria-return/ |access-date=May 18, 2022 |issn=0190-8286}} as well as of other cultural items to Turkey.{{Cite web |last=Ludel |first=Wallace |date=May 4, 2022 |title=Smithsonian adopts new 'ethical returns policy' to handle artefacts with problematic histories |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/05/04/smithsonian-new-ethical-returns-policy |access-date=May 18, 2022 |website=The Art Newspaper - International art news and events}}

On October 11, 2022, Benin Bronzes from the National Museum of African Art, as well as the National Gallery of Art, were formally returned to Nigerian cultural officials in a ceremony held in Washington D.C. The Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, and Prince Aghatise Erediauwa, representing the Oba of Benin Kingdom, spoke at the ceremony. Mohammed said the "decision to return the timeless artworks is worth emulating."{{Cite web |date=October 11, 2022 |title=Smithsonian Returns 29 Benin Bronzes to the National Commission for Museums and Monuments in Nigeria |url=https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/smithsonian-returns-29-benin-bronzes-national-commission-museums-and-monuments |website= Smithsonian Institution}}

In February 2020, the Smithsonian made 2.8 million digital items available to the public under a Creative Commons Zero Public Domain Dedication, with a commitment to release further items in the future.{{cite web |title=Open Access FAQ |url=https://www.si.edu/openaccess/faq |website=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=November 14, 2020 |language=en}}

The Smithsonian has eight research centers, located in Washington, D.C.; Front Royal, Virginia; Edgewater, Maryland; Suitland, Maryland; Fort Pierce, Florida; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Panama.{{cite web|title=Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce|url=https://www.si.edu/unit/smithsonian-marine-station|access-date=December 24, 2022|website= Smithsonian Institution |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130080904/https://www.si.edu/unit/smithsonian-marine-station |archive-date=November 30, 2022 }}{{cite web|title=Smithsonian Environmental Research Center| url=https://serc.si.edu/ | website= Smithsonian Environmental Research Center |publisher= Smithsonian Institution |access-date=December 24, 2022}}{{cite web|title=Museum Conservation Institute: About|url=https://mci.si.edu/about|access-date=December 24, 2022}}{{cite web|title=Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute|url=https://nationalzoo.si.edu/conservation|access-date=December 24, 2022 | website= nationalzoo.si.edu |publisher= Smithsonian Institution |date=March 15, 2016 }}{{cite web|title=Smithsonian Astophysical Observatory History|url=https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/about/about-smithsonian-astrophysical-observatory/smithsonian-astrophysical-observatory-history|access-date=December 24, 2022|website= cfa.harvard.edu}}{{cite web|title=Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute: About Us|url=https://stri.si.edu/about-us|access-date=December 24, 2022 |website=stri.si.edu |publisher= Smithsonian Institution |date=December 19, 2016 }} Formerly two separate entities, the Smithsonian Libraries and Smithsonian Archives merged into one research center in 2020.{{cite web|title=Smithsonian Libraries and Archives|url=https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/factsheets/smithsonian-libraries-and-archives| website= Smithsonian Environmental Research Center |publisher= Smithsonian Institution |access-date=December 24, 2022}}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

!scope="col"| Research center

!scope="col" class=unsortable| Area of focus

!scope="col" style="width: 15%"| Location

!scope="col"| Opened

!scope="col" class=unsortable|{{ref heading}}

|-

!scope="row"| Archives of American Art

| History of the visual arts in the United States

| Washington, D.C.
New York City

| | {{sort|1970|1954
1970{{NoteTag|name=Affiliated| Year center became affiliated with the Smithsonian}}}}

| {{cite web| url= https://www.aaa.si.edu/about| title= About the Archives of American Art| website= Smithsonian Environmental Research Center |publisher= Smithsonian Institution |date= December 24, 2022}}

|-

!scope="row"| Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

| Astrophysics

| Cambridge, Massachusetts

| 1890

|

|-

!scope="row"| Museum Conservation Institute

| Conservation

| Suitland, Maryland

| 1965

|

|-

!scope="row"| Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (affiliated with the National Zoo)

| Veterinary medicine, reproductive physiology and conservation biology

| Front Royal, Virginia

| 1974

|

|-

!scope="row"| Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

| Coastal ecosystems

| Edgewater, Maryland

| 1965

|

|-

!scope="row"| Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

| Science, art, history and culture, and museology information and reference

| Washington, D.C.

| 1968{{NoteTag|name=Libraries| Year the Smithsonian Institution Libraries came into existence}}
2020{{NoteTag|name=SLA| Year the Smithsonian Libraries and Smithsonian Archives merged}}

|

|-

!scope="row"| Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce (affiliated with the National Museum of Natural History)

| Floridian marine ecosystems and lifeforms

| Fort Pierce, Florida

| {{sort|1981|1981
1999{{NoteTag|name=MovedSMS| Year the research center moved to its current location}}}}

| {{cite web|title=A Timeline of the History of Women in Ocean Science|url=https://ocean.si.edu/human-connections/history-cultures/irrepressible-wave| website= Smithsonian Ocean |publisher= Smithsonian Institution |access-date=December 24, 2022}}

|-

!scope="row"| Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

| Tropical ecology and its interactions with human welfare

| Panama

| {{sort|1966|1923{{NoteTag|name=BCI| Year Barro Colorado Island was declared a biological reserve}}
1946{{NoteTag|name=BCIAffiliated| Year Barro Colorado Island became affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution}}
1966{{NoteTag|name=Founded| Year the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute was founded}}}}

|

|}

The Smithsonian Institution includes three cultural centers among its units:

• Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
• Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
• Smithsonian Latino Center

In 1997, the Smithsonian Latino Center was created as a way to recognize Latinos across the Smithsonian Institution. The primary purpose of the center is to place Latino contributions to the arts, history, science, and national culture across the Smithsonian's museums and research centers.{{Cite web|url=http://latino.si.edu/About|title=About the Center |website=latino.si.edu |publisher= Smithsonian Institution |access-date=May 18, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602232938/http://latino.si.edu/About|archive-date=June 2, 2016}}

The center is a division of the Smithsonian Institution.{{Cite web|url=http://latino.si.edu/PDF/2007/YAP_PR_6.26.07.pdf|title=Smithsonian Latino Center's Young Ambassadors Arrive for Week of Cultural Programs in Washington, D.C.|last=Lara|first=Isabel|date=June 26, 2007| website= latino.si.edu |publisher= Smithsonian Institution |access-date=May 18, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216050238/http://latino.si.edu/PDF/2007/YAP_PR_6.26.07.pdf|archive-date=February 16, 2017}} As of May 2016, the center is run by an executive director, Eduardo Díaz.{{Cite web|url=http://latino.si.edu/About/Staff|title=Smithsonian Latino Center Staff| website= latino.si.edu |publisher= Smithsonian Institution |access-date=May 18, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611141733/http://latino.si.edu/About/Staff|archive-date=June 11, 2016}}

At the time of its creation, the Smithsonian Institution had other entities dedicated to other minority groups: National Museum of the American Indian, Freer-Sackler Gallery for Asian Arts and Culture, African Art Museum, and the National Museum of African-American Heritage and Culture.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/documents/smithsonian/OlearyIGdeclaration.pdf|title=Declaration|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216085038/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/documents/smithsonian/OlearyIGdeclaration.pdf|archive-date=February 16, 2017|access-date=September 12, 2017}}

The opening of the center was prompted, in part, by the publishing of a report called "Willful Neglect: The Smithsonian and U.S. Latinos".

According to documents obtained by The Washington Post, when former Latino Center executive director Pilar O'Leary first took the job, the center faced employees who had "serious performance issues". No performance plans existed for the staff and unfulfilled financial obligations to sponsors existed. The website's quality was poor, and the center did not have a public affairs manager, a programs director, adequate human resources support, or cohesive mission statement.

After difficult times in the first few years, the center improved. According to the Smithsonian, the center "support[s] scholarly research, exhibitions, public and educational programs, web-based content and virtual platforms, and collections and archives. [It] also manage[s] leadership and professional development programs for Latino youth, emerging scholars and museum professionals." Today, the website features a high-tech virtual museum including self-guided virtual tours of past and present exhibits.{{Cite web|url=http://latino.si.edu/LVM|title=Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum | website= latino.si.edu |publisher= Smithsonian Institution |access-date=May 18, 2016|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510114004/http://latino.si.edu/LVM|archive-date=May 10, 2016}}

The Smithsonian Latino Center's Young Ambassadors Program (YAP) is a program within the Latino Center that reaches out to Latino high school students with the goal of encouraging them to become leaders in arts, sciences, and the humanities.{{Cite web|url=http://latino.si.edu/Education/YAP|title=Young Ambassadors Program| website= latino.si.edu |publisher= Smithsonian Institution |access-date=May 18, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510115706/http://latino.si.edu/Education/YAP|archive-date=May 10, 2016}}

Students selected for the program travel to Washington, D.C. for an "enrichment seminar" that lasts approximately five days. Afterwards, students return to their communities to serve in a paid, one-month internship.

Pilar O'Leary launched the program when she served as executive director of the Smithsonian Latino Center.{{Cite news |url=https://issuu.com/washingtonlife/docs/holiday_2006__100mb_/80|title=Con Sabor!|date=2006|work=Washington Life Magazine "Substance and Style" Issue|access-date=May 18, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616154819/https://issuu.com/washingtonlife/docs/holiday_2006__100mb_/80|archive-date=June 16, 2016}} According to the Latino Center, O'Leary told the press in 2007: "Our goal is to help our Young Ambassadors become the next generation of leaders in the arts and culture fields. This program encourages students to be proud of their roots and learn more about their cultural heritage to inspire them to educate the public in their own communities about how Latinos are enriching America's cultural fabric."

The institution publishes Smithsonian magazine monthly and Air & Space magazine bimonthly. Smithsonian was the result of Secretary of the Smithsonian S. Dillon Ripley asking the retired editor of Life magazine Edward K. Thompson to produce a magazine "about things in which the Smithsonian Institution is interested, might be interested or ought to be interested".{{cite web |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Noxious_Bogs__Amorous_Elephants.html |archive-url= https://archive.today/20130202154607/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Noxious_Bogs__Amorous_Elephants.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 2, 2013 |title=Noxious Bogs & Amorous Elephants: Smithsonian's birth, 35 years ago, only hinted at the splendors to follow |last=Winfrey |first=Carey |publisher=Smithsonian |date=October 2005 }} Another Secretary of the Smithsonian, Walter Boyne, founded Air & Space.{{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Paul D |title=Truman's Dilemma: Invasion Or the Bomb |date=September 23, 2010 |publisher=Pelican Publishing |isbn=978-1-4556-1335-9}}{{rp|269}}{{Cite book |publisher=Pelican Publishing Company, Inc.|isbn=978-1-4556-1568-1|last=Boyne|first=Walter |title=How the Helicopter Changed Modern Warfare|date=March 4, 2011}}{{rp|353}}

The organization publishes under the imprints Smithsonian Institution Press, Smithsonian Books, and Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.{{cite web |title=Smithsonian Institution Press |url=https://openlibrary.org/publishers/Smithsonian_Institution_Press |website=Open Library |access-date=November 23, 2020}}{{cite web |title=About Smithsonian Books |url=https://www.smithsonianbooks.com/about/ |website=Smithsonian Books |access-date=November 23, 2020}}{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://scholarlypress.si.edu/about-us/ | website= scholarlypress.si.edu |publisher= Smithsonian Institution |access-date=November 23, 2020}}

The Smithsonian makes a number of awards to acknowledge and support meritorious work.

• The James Smithson Medal, the Smithsonian Institution's highest award, was established in 1965 and is given in recognition of exceptional contributions to art, science, history, education, and technology.
• The James Smithson Bicentennial Medal, established in 1965, is given to persons who have made distinguished contributions to the advancement of areas of interest to the Smithsonian.
• The Hodgkins Medal, established in 1893, is awarded for important contributions to the understanding of the physical environment.
• The Henry Medal, established in 1878, is presented to individuals in recognition of their distinguished service, achievements or contributions to the prestige and growth of the Smithsonian Institution.
• The Langley Gold Medal is awarded for meritorious investigations in connection with aerodromics ("the science or art of flying aircraft", a 19th century term predating the powered airplane){{cite encyclopedia |title=aerodromics |encyclopedia=Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary |publisher=Merriam-Webster |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aerodromics |access-date=2025-01-28}} and its application to aviation.{{cite magazine |url=http://newsdesk.si.edu/about/awards |title=Awards and Medals |website=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=June 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170617144849/http://newsdesk.si.edu/about/awards |archive-date=June 17, 2017 |url-status=dead}}

File:Smithsonian Castle Doorway.jpg

The Smithsonian Institution was established as a trust instrumentality by act of Congress.{{cite book|last=Stam|first=David H.|title=International Dictionary of Library Histories, Volume 1 & 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=APtYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA702|access-date=September 9, 2016|year=2001|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-1-136-77785-1|page=702 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416054300/https://books.google.com/books?id=APtYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA702 |archive-date=April 16, 2017}} More than two-thirds of the Smithsonian's workforce of some 6,300 persons are employees of the federal government. The Smithsonian Institution Office of Protection Services oversees security at the Smithsonian facilities and enforces laws and regulations for National Capital Parks together with the United States Park Police.

The president's 2011 budget proposed just under $800 million in support for the Smithsonian, slightly increased from previous years. Institution exhibits are free of charge, though in 2010 the Deficit Commission recommended admission fees.{{cite web |url=http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/sites/fiscalcommission.gov/files/documents/Illustrative_List_11.10.2010.pdf |title=$200 billion in Illustrative Savings |publisher= | work= fiscalCommission.gov |access-date=July 1, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119153741/http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/sites/fiscalcommission.gov/files/documents/Illustrative_List_11.10.2010.pdf |archive-date=November 19, 2010}}{{cite web |url=http://newsdesk.si.edu/releases/smithsonian-responds-deficit-commission-s-recommendation-admission-fees |title=Smithsonian Responds to Deficit Commission's Recommendation on Admission Fees | website= Smithsonian Institution |date=November 12, 2010 |access-date=November 18, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101116150742/http://newsdesk.si.edu/releases/smithsonian-responds-deficit-commission-s-recommendation-admission-fees |archive-date=November 16, 2010}}

As approved by Congress on August 10, 1846, the legislation that created the Smithsonian Institution called for the creation of a Board of Regents to govern and administer the organization. This seventeen-member board meets at least four times a year and includes as ex officio members the chief justice of the United States and the vice president of the United States. The nominal head of the institution is the chancellor, an office which has traditionally been held by the chief justice. In September 2007, the board created the position of chair of the Board of Regents, a position currently held by Risa Lavizzo-Mourey.{{Cite web |title=The Smithsonian Board of Regents |url=https://www.si.edu/regents/members | website= Smithsonian Institution |access-date= }}

Other members of the Board of Regents are three members of the U.S. House of Representatives appointed by the speaker of the House; three members of the Senate, appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; and nine citizen members, nominated by the board and approved by the Congress in a joint resolution signed by the president of the United States.{{Cite web|url=http://newsdesk.si.edu/kits/default.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100407183020/http://newsdesk.si.edu/kits/default.htm|url-status= dead|title=Smithsonian Press Kit| website= Smithsonian Institution |archive-date=April 7, 2010}} Regents who are senators or representatives serve for the duration of their elected terms, while citizen Regents serve a maximum of two six-year terms. Regents are compensated on a part-time basis.

The chief executive officer (CEO) of the Smithsonian is the secretary, who is appointed by the Board of Regents. The secretary also serves as secretary to the Board of Regents but is not a voting member of that body. The secretary of the Smithsonian has the privilege of the floor at the United States Senate. On September 18, 2013, Secretary G. Wayne Clough announced he would retire in October 2014. The Smithsonian Board of Regents said it asked regent John McCarter, Jr., to lead a search committee.[http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/top-shelf/2013/09/smithsonian-chief-will-retire-in-2014.html Cooper, Rebecca. "Smithsonian Chief Will Retire in 2014." Washington Business Journal. September 18, 2013.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920043648/http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/top-shelf/2013/09/smithsonian-chief-will-retire-in-2014.html |date=September 20, 2013 }} Accessed September 18, 2013. On March 10, 2014, the Smithsonian Board selected David Skorton, a physician and president of Cornell University, as the thirteenth secretary of the Smithsonian. Skorton took the reins of the institution on July 1, 2015.[http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/2014/03/10/cc7d2244-a85d-11e3-8d62-419db477a0e6_story.html Parker, Lonnae O'Neal Parker and Boyle, Katherine. "Smithsonian Institution Names Cornell President As Its 13th Secretary." Washington Post. March 10, 2014.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227082935/http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/2014/03/10/cc7d2244-a85d-11e3-8d62-419db477a0e6_story.html |date=December 27, 2014 }} Accessed March 10, 2014. Upon Skorton's announced resignation in 2019, the Board selected Lonnie Bunch III, the founding director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, as the fourteenth secretary.{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/05/28/727497208/smithsonian-institution-names-lonnie-bunch-iii-as-its-next-secretary|title=Lonnie Bunch III Set To Become Smithsonian Institution's 1st Black Secretary|newspaper=NPR|date=May 28, 2019|last1=Dwyer|first1=Colin}}

Source{{cite web |url=https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/factsheets/secretaries-smithsonian-institution |title=The Secretaries of the Smithsonian Institution |date=April 19, 2019 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"

|-

!{{Abbr|No.|Number}}

!Portrait

!Secretary

!Term

!Notes

|-

|1

|70px

|Joseph Henry

|1846–1878

|

|-

|2

|70px

|Spencer Fullerton Baird

|1878–1887

|

|-

|3

|70px

|Samuel Pierpont Langley

|1887–1906

|

|-

|4

|70px

|Charles Doolittle Walcott

|1907–1927

|

|-

|5

|70px

|Charles Greeley Abbot

|1928–1944

|

|-

|6

|70px

|Alexander Wetmore

|1944–1952

|

|-

|7

|70px

|Leonard Carmichael

|1953–1964

|

|-

|8

|70px

|Sidney Dillon Ripley

|1964–1984

|

|-

|9

|70px

|Robert McCormick Adams, Jr.

|1984–1994

|

|-

|10

|70px

|Ira Michael Heyman

|1994–1999

|

|-

|11

|70px

|Lawrence M. Small

|2000–2007

|{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/14/arts/president-of-fannie-mae-is-to-lead-smithsonian.html |title=President Of Fannie Mae Is to Lead Smithsonian |first=Irvin |last=Molotsky |date=September 14, 1999 |newspaper=New York Times |url-access=subscription}}{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2007/03/27/9151771/small-leaves-smithsonian-amid-criticism |title=Small Leaves Smithsonian Amid Criticism |date=March 27, 2007 |first=Elizabeth |last=Blair |work=NPR}}

|-

|12

|70px

|G. Wayne Clough

|2008–2015

|{{cite news |url=https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/g-wayne-clough-named-secretary-smithsonian-institution |title=G. Wayne Clough Named Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution |date=March 15, 2008 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}{{cite news |url=https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/smithsonian-secretary-announces-plan-retire |title=Smithsonian Secretary Announces Plan to Retire |date=September 18, 2013 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}

|-

|13

|70px

|David J. Skorton

|2015–2019

|{{cite news |url=https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/smithsonian-regents-name-david-skorton-13th-smithsonian-secretary |title=Smithsonian Regents Name David Skorton 13th Smithsonian Secretary |date=March 10, 2014 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}{{cite news |url=https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/secretary-david-skorton-depart-smithsonian |title=Secretary David Skorton To Depart the Smithsonian |date=December 20, 2018 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}

|-

|14

|70px

|Lonnie Bunch

|2019–present

|{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/05/28/727497208/smithsonian-institution-names-lonnie-bunch-iii-as-its-next-secretary |title=Lonnie Bunch III Set To Become Smithsonian Institution's 1st Black Secretary |date=May 28, 2019 |first=Colin |last=Dwyer |work=NPR}}

|-

|}

{{See also|Enola Gay#Exhibition controversy|l1= Enola Gay exhibition controversy }}

In 1995, controversy arose over the exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum with the display of the Enola Gay, the Superfortress used by the United States to drop the first atomic bomb used in World War II. The American Legion and Air Force Association believed the exhibit put forward only one side of the debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and that it emphasized the effect on victims without discussing its use within the overall context of the war.{{cite journal |last=Kohn |first=R. H. |date=1995 |title=History and the culture wars: The case of the Smithsonian Institution's Enola Gay Exhibition |journal=The Journal of American History |volume=82 |number=3 |pages=1036–1063 |doi=10.2307/2945111|jstor=2945111 }} The Smithsonian changed the exhibit, displaying the aircraft only with associated technical data and without discussion of its historic role in the war.{{cite web | url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/boeing-b-29-superfortress-enola-gay/nasm_A19500100000 | title=Boeing B-29 Superfortress "Enola Gay" | National Air and Space Museum }}

In 2003, a National Museum of Natural History exhibit, Subhankar Banerjee's Seasons of Life and Land, featuring photographs of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, was censored and moved to the basement by Smithsonian officials. They were concerned that its subject matter was too politically controversial.{{Cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A17628-2003May20¬Found=true |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=Smithsonian's Arctic Refuge Exhibit Draws Senate Scrutiny |first= Jacqueline |last=Trescott |date=May 21, 2003 |access-date=May 23, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429173241/http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A17628-2003May20¬Found=true |archive-date=April 29, 2011}}

In November 2007, The Washington Post reported internal criticism has been raised regarding the institution's handling of the exhibit on the Arctic. According to documents and e-mails, the exhibit and its associated presentation were edited at high levels to add "scientific uncertainty" regarding the nature and impact of global warming on the Arctic. Acting Secretary of the Smithsonian Cristián Samper was interviewed by the Post, and claimed the exhibit was edited because it contained conclusions that went beyond what could be proven by contemporary climatology.{{Cite news |title=Scientists Fault Climate Exhibit Changes |date=November 16, 2007|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/15/AR2007111502550.html?hpid=topnews |newspaper= The Washington Post |page=4 |access-date=November 18, 2007 |first1=James V. |last1=Grimaldi |first2=Jacqueline |last2=Trescott |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110429173254/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/15/AR2007111502550.html?hpid=topnews |archive-date=April 29, 2011}} The Smithsonian is now a participant in the U.S. Global Change Research Program.{{cite web |url= http://www.globalchange.gov/about/program-structure/agencies |title=Participating Departments and Agencies |work= globalchange.gov |publisher=US Global Change Research Program |access-date=March 30, 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310123640/http://globalchange.gov/about/program-structure/agencies |archive-date=March 10, 2010}}

The Smithsonian Institution provides access to its image collections for educational, scholarly, and nonprofit uses. Commercial uses are generally restricted unless permission is obtained. Smithsonian images fall into different copyright categories; some are protected by copyright, many are subject to license agreements or other contractual conditions, and some fall into the public domain, such as those prepared by Smithsonian employees as part of their official duties. The Smithsonian's terms of use for its digital content, including images, are set forth on the Smithsonian Web site.{{cite web |url= http://www.si.edu/copyright |title=Terms of use of this website | website= Smithsonian Institution |access-date=July 26, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090716063125/http://www.si.edu/copyright/ |archive-date=July 16, 2009}}{{cite web |url=http://smithsonianimages.si.edu/siphoto/siphoto.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=content&contentpath=copyright.html |title=Smithsonian Images-Copyright |publisher= Smithsonian Institution| website= smithsonianimages.si.edu |date=January 13, 2012 |access-date=July 26, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002131433/http://smithsonianimages.si.edu/siphoto/siphoto.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=content&contentpath=copyright.html |archive-date=October 2, 2011}}

In April 2006, the institution entered into an agreement of "first refusal" rights for its vast silent and public domain film archives with Showtime Networks, mainly for use on the Smithsonian Channel, a network created from this deal. Critics contend this agreement effectively gives Showtime control over the film archives, as it requires filmmakers to obtain permission from the network to use extensive amounts of film footage from the Smithsonian archives.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/01/arts/television/01smit.html?|title=Smithsonian Agreement Angers Filmmakers| newspaper= The New York Times|date=April 1, 2006|first=Edward|last=Wyatt|access-date=May 23, 2010|url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110501003705/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/01/arts/television/01smit.html |archive-date=May 1, 2011}}

{{See also|Executive Order 14151|Executive Order 14168|Executive Order 14172|Executive Order 14190}}

On March 27, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that accused the prior administration of advancing "corrosive ideology". Titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History", the order directed Vice President JD Vance, a member of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, to rid the institution of "improper, divisive, or anti-American" ideology. The order is part of the Trump administration's efforts to eliminate federal funding of DEI.{{cite news |last1=Egwuonwu |first1=Nnamdi |title=Trump targets 'improper ideology' at Smithsonian museums in new executive order |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-targets-improper-ideology-smithsonian-museums-executive-order-rcna198503 |access-date=March 28, 2025 |work=NBC News] |date=March 27, 2025}}{{cite news |last1=Veltman |first1=Chloe |title=Trump executive order seeks to 'restore' American history through Smithsonian overhaul |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/03/27/nx-s1-5342914/smithsonian-president-trump-executive-order |access-date=March 28, 2025 |work=NPR |date=March 28, 2025}}{{cite web |title=Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/restoring-truth-and-sanity-to-american-history/ |website=The White House |access-date=March 28, 2025 |date=March 27, 2025}}

• 3773 Smithsonian
• List of aircraft in the Smithsonian Institution
• Smithsonian Ocean Portal
• Smithsonian Theaters
• Smithsonian/NASA Astrophysics Data System
• "The New Museum Idea"
• American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2463, Smithsonian Institution

{{Reflist}}

• Heather Ewing, The Lost World of James Smithson: Science, Revolution, and the Birth of the Smithsonian. Bloomsbury, 2007.
• Nina Burleigh, Stranger and the Statesman: James Smithson, John Quincy Adams, and the Making of America's Greatest Museum, The Smithsonian. New York: HarperCollins, 2003.
• True, Webster P., [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112106600882&seq=5 The First Hundred Years of the Smithsonian Institution, 1846-1946], 1946.
• United States. Congress. House of Representatives. [https://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo40853 Collections Stewardship at the Smithsonian: Hearing before the Committee on House Administration, House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session.] Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2013.
• William S. Walker, A Living Exhibition: The Smithsonian and the Transformation of the Universal Museum. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 2013.

{{sister project links|d=Q131626|c=Category:Smithsonian Institution|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|wikt=Smithsonian|s=Category:Smithsonian Institution}}

• {{official website}}
• [http://www.mnh.si.edu/onehundredyears/brief_history.htm A brief history of the U.S. National Museum/National Museum of Natural History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121200124/http://www.mnh.si.edu/onehundredyears/brief_history.htm |date=January 21, 2016 }}
• [https://www.si.edu/openaccess Smithsonian Open Access – nearly 3 million Free images now available] ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5vC2kweCNk video]; 1:40)

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