The Smithsonian Institution, whose museums in Washington, D.C.have come under fire from conservatives and President Donald Trump over what they describe as increasingly left-wing messaging, is the world's largest museum complex, comprising a sprawling network that spans the country and influences millions of people each year.Founded in 1846 with funds from the will of British scientist James Smithson, who never visited the United States but left his fortune to establish an institution "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge," the Smithsonian steadily grew from a single museum into the world's largest museum, education and research complex.Today, the Smithsonian owns or leases nearly 700 facilities across eight states, Washington, D.C., and Panama, encompassing roughly 13.6 million square feet of museums, laboratories, archives, warehouses, research stations and support facilities.The organization now houses more than 157 million artifacts and specimens, operates 21 museums along with the National Zoo and 14 education and research centers, maintains 21 libraries, and partners with more than 200 affiliate museums and cultural institutions nationwide.TRUMP ORDERS SIGNS OUTSIDE SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM AMID ROW OVER ITS DEPICTION OF AMERICAN HISTORYThe Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is being called out for being 'ideologically captured' and presenting woke revisionist history on the weekend of America's 250th birthday.
(Kevin Carter)Visitors see only a fraction of the Smithsonian’s overall collection.Roughly 99% of the Smithsonian's more than 157 million artifacts and specimens are kept in storage facilities, laboratories and archives, where they are preserved and studied by researchers.The Smithsonian as a whole welcomes over 30 million in-person visitors each year, while its educational resources and digital platforms reach millions more.
The institution operates on an annual budget of more than $1 billion.The Smithsonian isn't just a museum oper...