The Smithsonian Institute: A top tourist site
The Smithsonian institute is funded because a scientist who lived in the 1800s left his entire fortune to the US government, to create the museum in his name and continue to maintain it according to his last wishes. But he was not, as one might suspect, a patriotic and loyal American. In fact, he never stepped foot in the USA, and as far as historians can tell, he didn’t have any friends or contacts here. The whole arrangement remains an interesting mystery, and some who have studied the story believe that his big gift to the USA may have done to spite his own homeland of Great Britain, because of the way he had been treated in his own country. There are many theories as to why he decided to create the Institute, but for whatever reason, it now exists and thrives - in Washington, DC, the capitol of the USA - more than 150 later, as the most expansive and thorough museum in the world. Admission is free for all Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C, which is the world’s largest museum and archival research conglomerate. 16 museums and the National Zoo in Washington, plus 2 museums in New York City, contain more than 140 million items, including art, music, mummies, dinosaur skeletons, airplanes, movies, clothing, jewels, and just about anything on earth of value to preserve for future generations that you can imagine. So if you plan to visit one or more of the Smithsonian projects, be sure to give yourself plenty of time. There are people who have spent months inside the museum and have only glimpsed a mere fraction of what it has in its many displays.