Wikipedia:Today's featured list/January 30, 2012
The Smithsonian museums are the most widely visible part of the United States' Smithsonian Institution (pictured) and consist of nineteen museums and galleries as well as the National Zoological Park. Eleven of these museums are located on the National Mall, while the remainder are located elsewhere in Washington, D.C., as well as New York City and Chantilly, Virginia. The museums have roughly 137 million objects such as works of art, natural specimens, cultural artifacts, etc., in their collections, and are visited by over 25 million people every year. The birth of the Smithsonian Institution can be traced to the acceptance of James Smithson's legacy, willed to the United States in 1826. In 1838, this legacy, which totaled more than $500,000, was delivered to the US Mint and in 1846, the Smithsonian Institution was established. The Institution grew slowly until 1964 when Sidney Dillon Ripley became secretary. Ripley managed, over a twenty year period, to expand the institution by eight museums and upped admission from 10.8 million to 30 million people a year. The newest Smithsonian museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, is slated to open in 2015. (Full list...)