Wednesday December 17, 2008
Smithsonian Museums
Many people plan to visit "the Smithsonian Museum" when they come to Washington, DC. But what some fail to recognize is that the Smithsonian is actually the world's largest museum complex and research organization. It comprises 19 museums and nine research centers. Each museum is devoted to displaying treasured icons and items of our past, present and future. Be sure to stop by the Visitors Information desk to pick up a free visitors guide to the Smithsonian system. It details each museum floor by floor and is invaluable in hepling you make the most of your visit. You will no doubt find something of interest in the ever-expanding collections of these museums. Listed below are the museums in the Smithsonian system in the Washington, DC, area.
American Art Museum (Smithsonian) |
||
 |
America's first federal art collection is dedicated to American art. It includes sculpture, photographs, folk art, contemporary craft, paintings and decorative arts. You will find works by Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper and many others. | |
Anacostia Community Museum 1901 Fort Place, SE, Washington, DC 20020 10am-5pm daily; closed December 25 |
||
This museum, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, is dedicated to African American history and culture. Everyday objects are featured to provide perspective in history and culture. For example, one exhibit includes a handwritten loan agreement dated 1833; the loan, for $155, secured the freedom of a young enslaved woman. |
||
Arts and Industries Building |
||
|
This is the original home of the National Museum, the first in the Smithsonian system of museum. The beatiful building, designed in a High Victorian style, was opened in 1881 in time to host the inaugural ball of President James A. Garfield. The Smithsonian Carousel is located near the building. |
|
Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (Smithsonian) |
||
 |
These two Smithsonian Museums are connected by an underground exhibition space. They feature wide-ranging collections of American, Egyptian and Asian art works. Objects include paintings, manuscripts, ceramics and lacquerwork, precious metals, calligraphy, glass and earthenware. |
|
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Smithsonian) |
||
|
This Smithsonian museum features international modern and contemporary art. Daily tours conducted by docents. The Sculpture Garden is located on the National Mall and contains more than 60 large-scale works of art from Auguste Rodin, Alexander Calder, Henry Moore and others. |
|
National Air & Space Museum on the Mall (Smithsonian) |
||
 |
One of the most recent additions to the Smithsonian museum system, this is a companion facility to the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. With the space provided in the Boeing Aviation Hanger in Chantilly, Virginia, thousands of aviation and space artifacts that could not be exhibited in the D.C. building are on display. It features three levels with aircraft hanging from an arched ceiling. Exhibits include the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the Boeing Dash 80, the Enola Gay, the Mobile Quarantine Unit used by the Apollo 11 crew, the Gemini VII space capsule and other aircraft. The space shuttle Enterprise is the centerpiece of the museum. | |
National Air & Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (Smithsonian) |
||
 |
One of the most recent additions to the Smithsonian museum system, this is a companion facility to the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. With the space provided in the Boeing Aviation Hanger in Chantilly, Virginia, thousands of aviation and space artifacts that could not be exhibited in the D.C. building are on display. It features three levels with aircraft hanging from an arched ceiling. Exhibits include the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the Boeing Dash 80, the Enola Gay, the Mobile Quarantine Unit used by the Apollo 11 crew, the Gemini VII space capsule and other aircraft. The space shuttle Enterprise is the centerpiece of the museum. | |
National Museum of African Art (Smithsonian) |
||
|
The collection at this museum features artistic expressions from ancient to contemporary Africa, including ceramics, textiles, furniture, tools, masks, figures and musical instruments as well as traditional art forms of painting and sculpture. |
|
National Museum of American History (Smithsonian) |
||
|
Among the displays: The Star Spangled Banner that served as inspiration for Francis Scott Key, Mister Rogers' sweater, and First Ladies Exhibit. "Treasures of American History," a collection of more than 150 objects from the museum, are on display at the National Air and Space Museum during construction at the American History Museum. |
|
National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian) |
||
 |
One of the first Smithsonian Museums opened on the National Mall, it houses exhibits focused on the natural world. That includes geology, dinosaurs, animal life, plants and insects. Among the displays you will find the Hope Diamond, a T-rex dinosaur display and Mammal Hall. There is also an IMAX Theater, which shows some of the films in 3-D. | |
| National Museum of the American Indian (Smithsonian) (202) 633-1000 4th Street and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20560 10am-5:30pm daily; closed December 25 No admission charged |
||
 |
One of the Smithsonian's newest museums on the Mall, this one specializes in exhibits that celebrate and commemorate the ideas and experiences in Native life and history. Its mission is to advance knowledge and understanding of the Native cultures of the Western Hemisphere. The exhibits include materials from North, Central and South America as well as the Caribbean, and include clothing, baskets, textiles, precious metals, featherwork, ceramics and other objects that are associated with Native life. | |
National Postal Museum (Smithsonian) |
||
 |
You will find one of the world’s largest collections of stamps and philatelic materials. The museum has postal history material that pre-dates stamps, vehicles that were used to transport the mail, mailboxes and mailbags, postal uniforms and equipment. Visitors learn how the process of mail delivery has evolved and the importance of letters in our history. | |
National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian) |
||
|
Specializes in American art, history and biography , including works by Winslow Homer and Edward Hopper. It contains visual arts, performing arts and new media to portray individuals who have shaped our country's culture. Collections include American presidents, George Washington, Colonial America and the American Revolution. The America's Presidents exhibit is the nation's only complete collection of presidential portraits outside the White House. |
|
National Zoological Park (Smithsonian) Grounds 6am-6pm; buildings 10am-4:30pm November-March |
||
 |
The National Zoo is more than just a place to see wild animals. In the heart of the nation's capital, you can see giant pandas, cheetahs, zebra, bears, monkeys and gorillas. More than 2,000 individual animals of nearly 400 species are on display, including giant pandas: Tian Tian, Mei Ziang and their cub, Tai Shan. If you visit the Zoo in early morning hours before the buildings open, the animals are more active, and you can watch zookeepers feed and care for the animals. | |
Renwick Gallery (Smithsonian) |
||
 |
This National Historic Landmark is part of the Smithsonian Museum collection. It features American crafts and decorative arts from the 19th to the 21st century. | |
Smithsonian Institution Building (The Castle) |
||
 |
Popularly known as The Castle, the original Smithsonian Institution Building served as the home for the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Joseph Henry and his family. It is a medieval-revival-style building that was completed in 1855. The crypt of James Smithson (1765-1829), a well-to-do English scientist who was the benefactor of the Institution, is located here. Smithson bequested his estate of $508,318 ($10 million in today's dollars) to establish in Washington, DC, for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge." The Castle serves as the Smithsonian Information Center as well as the administrative offices. An 18-minute video orientation, two interactive touch-screen stations with information on the Smithsonian museums in six languages and one scale model of Washington, DC, are available here. |
|
