The results are in! The number of 2019 visits to each of the Smithsonian Institutions have been tallied and reported. Can you guess which of your favorite Smithsonian museums had the most visits?
How are Visits Counted?
Smithsonian security officers use hand clickers to count everyone entering (although in some museums, visitors are counted when they leave the museum) through public entrances. Someone visiting three different Smithsonian museums on any given day will be counted three times. Consequently, the Smithsonian Institute always refers to the numbers below as "visits" rather than "visitors.
2019 Visits:
According to the Newsroom of the Smithsonian, the most popular museum in 2019 was the iconic National Museum of Natural History with 4.2 million visits, followed by the National Air and Space Museum (3.2 million), National Museum of American History (2.8 million), National Museum of African American History and Culture (2 million), the Smithsonian American Art Museum (2 million), and the National Zoo (1.8 million).
Total visits to the Smithsonian Museums were down in 2019 from 28.5 million visits in 2018 to 22.1 million visits in 2019. The full 2019 visitor stats are listed below or can be found on the Smithsonian Newsroom website.
Totals for 2019:
| Smithsonian American Art Museum (With the Renwick Gallery) | 2M |
| National Portrait Gallery | 1.1M |
| National Museum of African American History and Culture | 2M |
| National Museum of African Art | 129,572 |
| National Air and Space Museum | 3.2M |
| National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center | 1.3M |
| National Museum of American History | 2.8M |
| National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, D.C.) | 960,933 |
| National Museum of the American Indian Heye Center (New York City) | 348,599 |
| Anacostia Community Museum | 8,034 |
| Arts and Industries Building | 25,967 |
| Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum | 263,637 |
| Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden | 891,114 |
| National Museum of Natural History | 4.2M |
| Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum | 314,068 |
| S. Dillon Ripley Center | 144,169 |
| Smithsonian Institution Building, "The Castle" | 965,512 |
| Arthur M. Sackler Gallery | 148,242 |
| Freer Gallery of Art | 298,094 |
| National Postal Museum | 501,204 |
| National Zoo | 1.8M |
| Total Visits in 2019 | 22.1M |
To plan your trip to Washington, D.C. in 2020, contact our experienced travel consultants and browse our sample school trip itineraries.
