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Smithsonian Institution, research and education center, at Washington, D.C.; founded 1846 under terms of the will of James Smithson of London, who in 1829 bequeathed his fortune to the United States to create an establishment for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." The institution began as a museum and today "the nation's attic" is the largest museum in the world. A vast complex, it includes the Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture; the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery; the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage; the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum (New York City); the Freer Gallery of Art; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; the National Air and Space Museum; the National Museum of African Art; the National Museum of American Art; the National Museum of American History; the National Museum of Natural History; the National Museum of the American Indian; the National Portrait Gallery; the National Postal Museum; the National Zoological Park; the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center; the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute; and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is an independent bureau within the institution, and the National Gallery of Art is an affiliate of the Smithsonian.
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