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The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex. We are a community of learning and an opener of doors. Join us on a voyage of discovery. Explore our vast digital resources and learn online.
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museum, institution dedicated to preserving and interpreting the primary tangible evidence of humankind and the environment. In its preserving of this primary evidence, the museum differs markedly from the library, with which it has often been compared, for the items housed in a museum are mainly unique and constitute the raw material of study and ...
As institutions that preserve and interpret the material evidence of humankind, human activity, and the natural world, museums have a long and varied history, springing from what may be an innate human desire to collect and interpret and having discernible origins in large collections built up by individuals and groups before the modern era.
- Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. The Smithsonianis the world’s largest research and museum complex, with 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park, and various research stations.
- Le Louvre, Paris, France. The Louvrewas a medieval fortress and the palace of the kings of France before becoming a museum two centuries ago. The addition of I. M. Pei’s pyramid shocked many when it was unveiled in 1989 as the new main entrance, yet it somehow works, integrating the palace’s disparate elements.
- The Acropolis Museum, Athens, Greece. The stunning ground floor galleryhouses finds from the slopes of the Acropolis. Its amazing transparent glass floor provides a walk over history, with a view of the archaeological excavation, while sloping upward to the Acropolis with sanctuaries of the Athenians from each historic period nearby.
- State Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia. Russiamay be isolated from the artistic centers of Paris, Rome, and London, but the Hermitagehas managed to acquire a spectacular collection of world art—more than three million items—spanning the years from the Stone Age to the early 20th century.
A museum ( / mjuːˈziːəm / mew-ZEE-əm) is an institution dedicated to displaying and/or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers and specialists.
- The British Museum, London. This iconic museum located in the heart of London allows virtual visitors to tour the Great Court and discover the ancient Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies.
- Guggenheim, New York. Google's Street View feature lets visitors tour the Guggenheim's famous spiral staircase without ever leaving home. From there, you can discover incredible works of art from the impressionist, post-impressionist, modern, and contemporary eras.
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. This famous American art museum features two online exhibits through Google. The first is an exhibit of American fashion from 1740 to 1895, including many renderings of clothes from the colonial and Revolutionary eras.
- Musée d’Orsay, Paris. You can virtually walk through this popular gallery that houses dozens of famous works from French artists who worked and lived between 1848 and 1914.
Home. Smithsonian Museums in Washington, DC. Collectively called the Smithsonian Institution, this world-renowned museum and research complex consists of 17 museums, galleries and a zoo.
Smithsonian museums, galleries, and zoo. Admission is free of charge at all locations except the Cooper Hewitt in New York City. All Washington, D.C.–area museums and the American Indian Museum in New York are open every day of the year except December 25.
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