The Checkiday.com website said that today is Smithsonian Day but it didn't give any details so we had do some searching.
First we found a Today in History article that said that today (August 10) in 1846 the Smithsonian Institution was "officially chartered by Congress."
We did a little more searching and found a website called The Florida Center for Instructional Technology that mentioned why August 10 would be Smithsonian Day.
What's really cool about this website is that is has tons of photos from the Smithsonian that you can use for school.
Next we went to the Smithsonian's website to find out a little more. A British scientist named James Smithson gave money to the United States to create the Smithsonian Institute, "an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge." The money, which was about $500,000, was given to the US when he died in 1829. An Act of Congress was signed on August 10, 1846 to officially establish the Smithsonian Institution.
According to the website, "the Smithsonian is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex with 19 museums, the National Zoo, and nine research facilities."
Here's a cool fact we found. They estimate that 95% of the Smithsonian's collection is in storage instead of being on display.
PBS also did a news story today about how the Smithsonian is trying to open back up during this pandemic.
Since I won't be able to go there anytime soon, I'll just enjoy their online resources.
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