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David Fallin, age 8, of Houston, Texas, for his question:

What is the Smithsonian Institution?

Suppose somebody gave you half a million dollars to spend on gathering information and sharing the knowledge with everyone else. Make a list of the fascinating things you would do. Way back in the 1800s, someone did make such a gift, though not to one person. He was an English scientist who called himself James Smithson. And his gift was offered to the U.S. Government. The money was to be spent on the Smithsonian Institution in Washington for increasing and spreading knowledge among all mankind.

In September of 1838, the clipper ship Mediator arrived from England with a cargo of 104,960 pounds in gold sovereigns. The metal was remade into 508,318 American dollars at the Philadelphia mint. In 1867, another $26,210 was added to the original amount. This gift was left to the U.S. Government by James Smithson, who never visited America. Some people thought that America should not accept it. But John Quincy Adams persuaded the Congress to take it and use it as James Smithson requested.

From the very beginning, the fund was wisely invested to yield interest and many people have added to it with gifts and contributions. The Congress set up a board of regents to run the famous Smithsonian Institution which was founded in Washington, D.C. Most of the first projects were collections of interesting items displayed to the public. There were collections of fossils, plants and animals, artwork and Indian life. From the start, the most popular one was the Smithsonian's collection of interesting inventions.

Of course, there are other ways to gather and spread information. In 1846, the Institution set up a plan to organize weather information. Through the years it has helped a multitude of research projects, often with universities and medical centers. It has also sent science teams on interesting missions around the world. The Institution also publishes this and other science information for people of all nations.

The Smithsonian is a model of well run institutions and the government has entrusted it to run many of our collections of national treasures. The Institution now administers our National Art Gallery of priceless paintings and the National Portrait Gallery, also the National Museum and the Museum of Natural History. That fascinating  collection of inventions, now much bigger, is in the Museum of History and Technology. Smithson's original bequest has grown with interest and donations. However, though the Institution is not a federal agency, the government pays it to administer and tend our national treasures.

The original building still stands in the heart of Washington, near the national galleries and museums. Of course, the thriving Institution has outgrown its original space. Its Astrophysical Observatory is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its Canal Zone Biological Area is in the Panama Canal Zone. Soon its board of regents will administer a new national building in Washington    the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Meantime, other projects continue. Certainly James Smithson's generous gift has been most wisely managed and spent just as he wished.

 

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