Most visited Smithsonian museums US 2021

Among the Smithsonian museums and institutions in the United States, the National Museum of Natural History was the most visited establishment in 2021, with approximately 983 thousand visits. The National Zoo placed second on the ranking that year, with around 957 thousand visits.

Smithsonian museums – additional information

The Smithsonian museums are part of the Smithsonian Institution which belongs to the United States government and was created after the death of Englishman James Smithson in 1829. Despite having never stepped foot in the U.S., he left his entire estate to the United States government for the “increase and diffusion of knowledge”. The Smithsonian Institution was finally established in 1846 and is today the world’s largest museum and research complex.

In 2020 and 2021, the number of visits to Smithsonian museums and institutions was significantly lower compared to 2019, as all Smithsonian museums stayed closed between March 2020 and May 2021 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As a result of the COVID-19 impact, the number of visits to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History hit a record low in 2020, then slightly rose in 2021. The number of visits to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History followed a similar trend.

Most visited Smithsonian museums and institutions in the United States in 2021 (in 1,000s)

Characteristic	Number of visits in thousands
National Museum of Natural History	982
National Zoo	957
National Museum of American History	570
National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center	562
Smithsonian American Art Museum (With the Renwick Gallery)	420
National Air and Space Museum	411
National Museum of African American History and Culture	393
National Portrait Gallery	330
Smithsonian Institution Building, "The Castle"	225
National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, D.C.)	207
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden	167
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum	91
Arts and Industries Building	86
Freer Gallery of Art	82
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum	62
National Museum of the American Indian Heye Center (New York City)	57
National Museum of African Art	32
National Postal Museum	22
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery	13
Anacostia Community Museum	2

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Release date

May 2022

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Region

United States

Survey time period

2021*

Supplementary notes

*All Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo closed to the public on March 14, 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The museums and the National Zoo reopened in phases starting in May 2021 with timed tickets and a limited schedule.

The source specifies that: "because the Smithsonian museums are free, we cannot base our visit tallies on a number of tickets sold. Smithsonian security officers use hand clickers to count everyone entering the museums (in some buildings they count people leaving) through public entrances during the hours the museums are open. The counts sometimes include staff, as well as visitors who leave the museum and return. A person visiting three Smithsonian museums on any given day will be counted three times. The newest Smithsonian museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), has an automated counting system that counts visitors (and staff) as they enter the museum".

The source does not provide a date of publication. The date given is the date accessed. Figures have been rounded.

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