A visit to any of the Smithsonian's 16 museums and galleries or the National Zoo is an adventure into the world's largest museum complex. The Smithsonian Institution holds more than 140 million artifacts and specimens in trust for the American people. The Institution, also a center for research, is dedicated to public education, national service, and scholarship in the arts, sciences, and history. The Smithsonian was established in 1846 with funds bequeathed to the United States by James Smithson, an English scientist, for the increase and diffusion of knowledge. The author, Frederick Joseph A...