Smithsonian Birthday: August 10, 2011
Celebrating 165 years of knowledge and discovery!

On August 10, 1846 the U.S. Senate passes the act organizing the Smithsonian Institution, which is signed into law by President James K. Polk.

Congress authorized acceptance of the Smithson bequest on July 1, 1836, but it took another ten years of debate before the Smithsonian was founded! Once established, the Smithsonian became part of the process of developing an American national identity—an identity rooted in exploration, innovation, and a unique American style. That process continues today as the Smithsonian looks toward the future.

Learn more about the founding of the Smithsonian »

Did you know?

• Did you know the global tiger population in the wild is less than 3,500?
  The Smithsonian’s National Zoo is trying to change that. Learn how.
• Have you ever wondered where your foramen magnum is?
  Find out by visiting the website for the Natural History Museum’s Hall of Human Origins.
• Did you know that before building their first “flying machine,” the Wright Brothers wrote to the Smithsonian requesting any aeronautical publications it could share?
• Did you know famous artists make “to-do” lists just like the rest of us?
  Our Archives of American Art has a bunch.
• Ever wonder what animals are up to when no one’s looking?
  Smithsonian scientists did, and the result is more than 200,000 images of animals from around the world. Check out Smithsonian Wild to learn more.
• Did you know the first cross-country road trip took 63 days in a 1903 Winton?
  Learn more about transportation in the United States in American History Museum’s online exhibition “America on the Move.”
• Have you ever wondered if baby bats learn to hunt from their mothers or if they just “wing it?”
  An intern at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama is looking to answer that very question. Learn more.
• Did you know that Nam June Paik’s “Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii,” on view at the American Art Museum, features 336 televisions on a scaffold and almost 600 feet of neon? 

What do you want the Smithsonian to exhibit or study in the next 165 years?