Part of the Smith­son­ian Insti­tu­tion, this muse­um first opened in 1910. It cov­ers 1.5 mil­lion square feet with 325,000 square feet of exhi­bi­tion and pub­lic space, which is ded­i­cat­ed to nat­ur­al his­to­ry, with a huge col­lec­tion of spec­i­mens, includ­ing plants, ani­mals, fos­sils, rocks and mete­orites, as well as cul­tur­al arte­facts.