Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
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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 | 7.3 million (2014) |
| 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. With free admission and open doors 364 days a year, it is the third most visited museum in the world, the most visited natural history museum in the world, and the most visited museum (of any type) in North America. 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. With 8 million visitors in 2013, it is the most visited of all of the Smithsonian museums and 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.
Congress authorized construction of a new building on June 28, 1902. On January 29, 1903, a special committee composed of members of Congress and representatives from the Smithsonian's board of regents published a report asking Congress to fund a much larger structure than originally planned. The regents began considering sites for the new building in March, and by April 12 settled on a site on the north side of B Street NW between 9th and 12th Streets. The D.C. architectural firm of Hornblower & Marshall was chosen to design the structure. Testing of the soil for the foundations was set for July 1903, with construction expected to take three years.
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