Most visited Smithsonian museums and institutions in the U.S. 2020

Among the Smithsonian museums and institutions in the United States, the National Museum of Natural History was the most visited Smithsonian museum in 2020, with approximately 573 thousand visits.

Smithsonian museums –additional information

The Smithsonian museums are part of the Smithsonian Institution which belongs to the United States government. The Smithsonian Institution 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, the number of visits to Smithsonian museums and institutions dropped sharply over the previous year, due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Museums had to close to the public for several months, as emergency measures were implemented to face the spread of the virus. As a result, the number of visits to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History fell dramatically, as this institution recorded over four million visits in 2019. Meanwhile, the number of visits to the Smithsonian American Art Museum (With the Renwick Gallery) - which reported the second-highest figure in 2020 - also decreased significantly, passing from two million in 2019 to 387 thousand in 2020.