Why i love the Smithsonian and so should you.
No words can fairly describe the amazing world that is the Smithsonian museum complex. The Smithsonian with its 19 museums and the National Zoo, is the largest museum complex in the world, and size is not its only attribute. It was built "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge," and it amply does satisfy the curiosities, in arts, history, science and more...Just ask the more than 30 million people that visited its locations in 2017.
By the numbers, the Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of Natural History are crowd favorites. Eleven of the museums localities are on the National Mall, between the Lincoln Memorial and the United States Capitol. The rest are located elsewhere in Washington, D.C., two museums are located in New York City and one in Chantilly, Virginia.
Any museum is as good as what it holds inside, and the Smithsonian collections are enormous. 156 million artworks, artifacts, and specimens reside within the complex walls. The National Museum of Natural History alone houses 145 million of these specimens and artifacts. Items that were overtime acquired or donated by the rich and famous and cared for but some of the best in the business.
You would find yourself in awe confronted by such historical pieces oddities, and unique artifacts. just imagine gazing upon the real Star-Spangled banner, items worn by presidents, folk heroes, and the rich and famous.
The National Museum of Natural History which captures your imagination as soon as you walk in the rotunda, has, for example, the largest collection of vertebrate specimens in the world, nearly twice the size of the next largest mammal collections. The Gem and Mineral Collection is expansive, and includes such rarities as the hope diamond and the Star Of Asia. The Ocean Hall includes 674 marine specimens and models chosen from over 80 million specimens in the museum's total collection, also the largest in the world.
The collection of rare artifacts that each hold an immense artistic or historical value is countless within the museum walls, and it is hard to do it justice in a few lines. But stepping away from a day spent strawling one of the museums premises, you walk away with a feeling of perspective, fulfilled and inspired in a unique sense.
