Visits to the National Museum of Natural History in the U.S. 2001-2020

*All Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo closed to the public on March 14, 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Seven museums and the National Zoo reopened in phases between July and September with timed tickets and a limited schedule. The museums and the National Zoo closed again on November 23.

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.