The Smithsonian By The Numbers

The following is reprinted from Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into History Again Smithsonian Castle in Washington Mall, in HDR by jculverhouse [Flickr] You haven't experienced American history until you've experienced the wonders of the Smithsonian Institution. Ironically, the Smithsonian came into being as a bequest to the United States by British scientist James Smithson, who had never visited the United States himself (while alive, anyhow - see below). Here's a glimpse of this All-American institution, courtesy of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader:

0 - Number of bag lunches you're allowed to take into the Smithsonian. Collectively, there are more than 20 sit-down restaurants among the Smithsonian museums, not counting outdoor courtyard grub.

2 - Percentage of the Smithsonian Institution's holdings on display at any given time.

3 - Number of one-cent stamps affixed to the first piece of mail flown across the Atlantic, which is housed in the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum.

4.5 - Millions of botanical specimens housed by the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History; this represents around 8 percent of all plants collected in the United States.

17 - Number of museums that make up the Smithsonian. Among others, these include the American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (Asian art), the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Gallery (modern and contemporary art), and - whew! - the National Museum of Natural History.

24 - Number of 2004 Smithsonian visitors, in millions.

25 - The number, in thousands, of Africana books in the institution's Warren M. Robbins Library at the National Museum of African Art.

32 - The number of huge, metal buildings dedicated just to restoring and storing aircraft on display at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and related centers. Smithsonian airplanes include the Enola Gay, the Wright 1903 Flyer, the Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis, the Space Shuttle Enterprise, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, and the Concorde.

37.2 - Weight, in tons, of a section of Route 66 delivered to the Hall of Transportation in the National Museum of American History for a recent exhibit.

40 - Number, in thousands, of three-dimensional objects housed in the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, including Irish cut glass, Soviet porcelains, and Japanese sword fittings. The museum has more than 250,000 objects - drawings, prints, books, and textiles - all dedicated to the study of design.

45.52 - Number of carats in the Hope Diamond at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. It glows in the dark after exposure to UV rays and is semiconductive, too! If it truly belongs to the people of America to enjoy, Mrs. Uncle John wants to know when it'll be her turn to wear it out to dinner.

75 - Number of years after the institution's namesake, James Smithson, died that Smithsonian regent, Alexander Graham Bell, brought Smithson's body from his place of death in Italy to a tomb at the Smithsonian Institution.

100,000 - Amount of money, in British pound sterling, that James Smithson originally willed to the United States upon his death in 1826. This eventually became the financial start of the Smithsonian.

7,635,245 - That same willed amount adjusted to reflect 2002 U.S. dollars.

78,000,000 - Visitors that the website, www.smithsonian.org [now www.si.edu - Ed], hosted in 2004.

143,500,000 - Approximate number of objects, works of art, and specimens in the Smithsonian Institution.

The article above is reprinted with permission from Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into History Again. The book is a compendium of entertaining information chock-full of facts on a plethora of history topics. Uncle John's first plunge into history was a smash hit - over half a million copies sold! And this sequel gives you more colorful characters, cultural milestones, historical hindsight, groundbreaking events, and scintillating sagas. Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts. Check out their website here: Bathroom Reader Institute

I think there's a number missing here - how many dollars it takes to gain entry into the museum(s)

Does anyone know? I'm in the UK, so probably won't get the opportunity to visit, but I'm curious as to how much it would cost if I could
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Admission is free! I had to keep reminding myself of that when I saw the prices of the food offered. Drink are pricey, too. That's why no sack lunches are allowed. So if you've got a lot of mouths to feed, eat before you go. Otherwise, just keep reminding yourself that admission is a real bargain. Because it is.

The National Zoo is also part of the Smithsonian.
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The cost for entry to all Smithsonian museums (and the National Zoo - part of the Smithonian) is FREE.

There are charges for the IMAX movies, but butterfly exhibition, and the planetarium.

Also, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum (in New York City), does charge a $15 general adult fee.

Hope you enjoy your visit!
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I loved growing up near DC - the Smithsonian was a great no-cost trip many, many weekends...We'd take the metro downtown and pick a museum. If you had a week uninterrupted, you still wouldn't see a fraction of what was displayed.
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1 - the number of purses that were stolen as my American History/ComputerWorld award group had our photo taken on the lawn of the old Smithsonian building. And it was mine.
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I am so accustomed to the free museums in DC that I always feel a little ripped off when getting charged in other cities.

A perhaps less known source of free entertainment in Washington, DC is at the Kennedy Center. The Kennedy Center can be a downright expensive venue, but EVERY DAY at 6pm there is a free performance on the Millennium Stage.
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18,000: The number of Native American skeletons the Smithsonian holds in its collections and refuses to repatriate to their decedents for a proper / traditional burial.
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I'm surprised by the majority of the holdings not being exhibited. I wonder what's happening to them. Are they just being stored? Are they just sort of being warehoused, or are they sort of a "by request only" type of thing, where if you wanted to see certain objects you could see them? If you're a researcher or a writer or historian or something could you make an appointment and be shown to something that isn't normally included in the big public displays?

Seems to me, it might be a good idea for them to loan a lot of their undisplayed holdings to other museums and learning institutions around the country. I understand that they can't possibly display as much stuff as they have all of the time. But I bet there's a lot of worthy institutions that would love to have the chance to borrow some of that stuff and put it on display. Things that may not be "A-list" content for a huge museum like the Smithsonian, might be still be big draws and real treasures at a smaller museum. Especially like the stuff that's a little too specialized to find a mass appeal at the Smithsonian might be really appreciated at a smaller more specialized museum somewhere. And I don't think it would keep anyone from wanting to visit the Smithsonian,either. Having visited those smaller and more far-flung museums and seeing some Smithsonian owned treasures there isn't going to deter anyone from wanting to see the Smithsonian, in fact, it might even encourage it. If you love the Smithsonian "B-List" or "C or D-List" items you've seen at the local museum, it might really stoke your interest in seeing the "A-list" items at their home in DC.

Plus lending wouldn't require the Smithsonian to relinquish any items. They could just loan them, then if they ever wanted to put the item on display at their location, they could take it back.

The people and organizations and government agencys that donated the items to the Smithsonian wanted the items to be preserved and appreciated. It wasn't necessarily that they wanted them to be on display in DC as much as they wanted them in the custody of a respected institution and cared for and kept where the public could enjoy them. Lending would really help meet the spirit of those donors' intent.
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As far as I can tell, the Smithsonian is complying with the Repatriation Act to the best of their abilities. One caveat of the Act is the provision stating there needs to be a request made. Perhaps no request was made?
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I think there is a typo... 78,000,000 - Millions of visitors that the website, that means 78 million million visitors, like 78,000,000,000,000. = )
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D.C. go hard! I went to the Smithsonian after school probably once a week growing up. I recommend the Natural History gem and mineral wing while on acid, malachite slab and biggest crystal ball in the world room.

I do NOT recommend filling up on eleventeen packs of space ice cream at Air and Space and then puking in the moon landing pod thing. They don't seem to find the humor in that.
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I understand they even have the orgional model of the star ship USS ENTERPRISE from STAR TREK as well as the SPIRIT OF ST LOUIS and the WRIGHT BROTHERS FLYER and even a WW I german FOKKER D-VII and a SPAD
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Funny you posted this the day I was at the Air and Space on vacation visiting. Such a wonderful collection of FREE museums when you will not find such a thing elsewhere.

Flu-Bird I thought the model of the USS Enterprise was fake until I read it was the real thing, funny how things look differently in person. (If you ever go there, its down the escalator in the gift shop, its a bit out of the way)
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