According to data from the Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian museums saw a total of 14.9 visits in 2025. The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, consisting of 21 museums and the National Zoo. As our infographic shows, the National Museum of Natural History, which houses the world's largest natural history collection, including the Hope Diamond and massive dinosaur fossils, recorded 3.3 million visits in 2025, making it the most visited of the Smithsonian museums. In second position came the National Air and Space Museum and the National Zoo, both with 1.9 million visitors last year, followed by the National Museum of American History (1.8 million).
At the end of last year, a survey conducted by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) showed that museums in the United States were facing deep uncertainty, in part due to decreasing attendances and federal cuts. The survey of 511 museum directors conducted in July and August 2025 found that 34 percent of museums suffered the cancellation of government grants or contracts through federal cuts implemented by the Trump administration. Attendance was also an issue, as only 45 percent of museums reported attendance at or above their 2019 pre-pandemic levels, down from 51 percent in 2024. Put together, the 22 Smithsonian institutions didn't reach the level of attendance of the most visited museum, Beijing’s Palace Museum, which saw 17 million visitors last year.
