Smithsonian

What is the Smithsonian Institution?

How many specimens can the public see at the Smithsonian Institution?

The Wright Brothers first performed a literature search to find out the state of aeronautical knowledge at their time. They wrote to the Smithsonian and obtained technical papers regarding aerodynamics. They read about the works of Cayley, and Langley, and the hang-gliding flights of Otto Lilienthal.

"It's complicated," said Christina Simkanin, a biologist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, "which isn't a super-satisfying answer if you want a direct, should we keep it or should we not? But it's the reality."

“In recent years we've noticed that the artists in our shows have been working with more renewable materials and methods that are environmentally safe,” said JoAnn Symons, president of the Smithsonian Women’s Committee. “So we’ve decided we would reward those efforts by offering the Sustainability Award every year in our show.”

Smithsonian Institution is marking its 175th anniversary this year, and it expects to celebrate later this year with a futuristic exhibition that includes a robot to help prevent loneliness and a sail for deep space travel.

The Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum complex, consisting of 19 museums, nine research centers, and the National Zoo.

Established by the U.S. Congress in 1846, the Smithsonian was the brainchild of James Smithson, a wealthy English chemist who left his estate to the United States for the establishment of an institution in the nation’s capital “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”

The National Air and Space Museum is the most visited Smithsonian museum.

The "Futures" exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, open Nov. 20, 2021, through July 6, 2022, gives visitors a peek at what may happen in the years to come.