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What would James Smithson think if he saw today's Smithsonian Institution—the world's largest museum and research complex?

Smithsonian Institution Building (Castle) Enlargement

The activities of the Smithsonian Institution 150 years after its founding embody "the increase and diffusion of knowledge" in virtually all the modern interpretations of those words. Millions of sightseers each year enjoy Smithsonian museum exhibitions in Washington and New York, and at the annual Festival of American Folklife on the National Mall in Washington. Now visitors throughout the world have access to the Institution's programs through traveling and online exhibitions. Less visible but just as significant are the Smithsonian's behind-the-scenes studies and investigations at its research institutes, 16 museums, and the National Zoo.

Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, 1995, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. with the Smithsonian Building (Castle) at right and the United States Capitol Building in background.

Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife, 1995 Enlargement

In all of its activities, the Smithsonian strives to serve the nation and the world in ways that James Smithson could only have imagined.

Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife, 1995 Enlargement

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