Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History
Main facade
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 Location within Washington, D.C.
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| Established | 1910 |
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| Location | National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States |
| Coordinates | 38°53′29″N 77°01′33″W / 38.8913°N 77.0259°WCoordinates: 38°53′29″N 77°01′33″W / 38.8913°N 77.0259°W |
| Type | Natural History |
| Visitors | 6 million (2017) |
| Director | Kirk Johnson |
| Public transit access |
 Smithsonian or Federal Triangle
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| Website | www |
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural-history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2016, with 7.1 million visitors, it was the fourth most visited museum in the world and the most visited natural-history museum in the world. Opened in 1910, the museum on the National Mall was one of the first Smithsonian buildings constructed exclusively to hold the national collections and research facilities. The main building has an overall area of 1,500,000 square feet (140,000 m2) with 325,000 square feet (30,200 m2) of exhibition and public space and houses over 1,000 employees.
The museum's collections contain over 126 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, human remains, and human cultural artifacts. In 2016 it was the second most visited of all of the Smithsonian museums. It is also home to about 185 professional natural-history scientists—the largest group of scientists dedicated to the study of natural and cultural history in the world.
The United States National Museum was founded in 1846 as part of the Smithsonian Institution. The museum was initially housed in the Smithsonian Institution Building, which is better known today as the Smithsonian Castle. A formal exhibit hall opened in 1858. The growing collection led to the construction of a new building, the National Museum Building (known today as the Arts and Industries Building). Covering a then-enormous 2.25 acres (9,100 m2), it was built in just 15 months at a cost of $310,000. It opened in March 1881.
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