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50 free Smithsonian trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Smithsonian trivia quiz begins with the oddest origin story in American culture: a British chemist who never set foot in the United States left his fortune to found an establishment in Washington "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge", and Congress spent eight years arguing about what that meant. From there it moves through the Castle, the Board of Regents, Joseph Henry and the Megatherium Club, the Arts and Industries Building and Alexander Graham Bell's trip to Genoa to bring Smithson's bones home. The museum questions cover the Air and Space Museum's Wright Flyer, Spirit of St. Louis and Apollo 11 capsule, the Natural History Museum's Hope Diamond, the American History Museum's Star-Spangled Banner and Greensboro lunch counter, the National Zoo's pandas, the Freer, the Hirshhorn, the Postal Museum and the newest buildings on the Mall. Numbers questions test the collection size, visitor totals, budget and how little is actually on display. Difficulty runs from easy to expert and is shown on every question. Every answer was checked against a reference page and each question carries its citation. Try our Washington, D.C. and famous museums quizzes next.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01How many museums does the Smithsonian Institution operate?
21
Along with 21 libraries, 14 research and education centres and a zoo, mostly in Washington, D.C.
Q 02The Smithsonian is named after its founding donor, a scientist of which nationality?
British
James Smithson was a chemist and mineralogist who published for the Royal Society and gave his name to the mineral smithsonite.
Q 03For what stated purpose did James Smithson's will fund an establishment in the US capital?
The increase and diffusion of knowledge
Congress spent eight years arguing over how to interpret the vague mandate.
Q 04How many times did James Smithson visit the United States?
Never
He died in Genoa in 1829, and his estate only passed to the US after his nephew died childless in 1835.
Q 05James Smithson was the illegitimate son of which English nobleman?
The 1st Duke of Northumberland
He was born secretly in Paris as Jacques-Louis Macie and took his father's original surname only in 1800.
Q 06Which mineral, once called calamine, was renamed in James Smithson's honour?
Smithsonite
He studied its use in making brass, among subjects ranging as far as coffee making.
Q 07In which Italian city did James Smithson die in 1829?
Genoa
Alexander Graham Bell, then a Smithsonian regent, travelled there in 1903 to exhume the body and bring it to Washington.
Q 08How was Smithson's bequest physically delivered to the United States in 1838?
As 105 sacks of gold sovereigns
Diplomat Richard Rush brought back 104,960 sovereigns, worth about $500,000 at the time.
Q 09The Treasury invested Smithson's money in bonds of which state, which then defaulted?
Arkansas
John Quincy Adams persuaded Congress to restore the lost funds with interest.
Q 10Which former president, then a congressman, fought to preserve Smithson's fund for an institution of learning?
John Quincy Adams
He was a Massachusetts representative at the time.
Q 11Which president signed the legislation establishing the Smithsonian on August 10, 1846?
James K. Polk
It was set up as a trust instrumentality, not formally part of any of the three branches of government.
Q 12Who was the Smithsonian's first secretary?
Joseph Henry
He wanted a centre for scientific research, but the institution also became the depository for government collections.
Q 13What is the nickname of the Smithsonian Institution Building, opened in 1855?
The Castle
James Renwick Jr. designed it in Seneca red sandstone in the Norman Revival style, and Smithson's crypt is inside.
Q 21The 1964 Smithsonian building designed by McKim, Mead & White opened under what name?
Museum of History and Technology
It was renamed in 1980 and was designed by McKim, Mead & White.
Q 22Which flag sits in a climate-controlled chamber at the National Museum of American History?
The Star-Spangled Banner
The museum also holds Lincoln's stovepipe hat, Judy Garland's ruby slippers and the original Teddy bear.
Q 23A lunch counter from which city is a signature civil-rights artefact at the Smithsonian?
Greensboro
Q 14What kind of stone is the Smithsonian's original 1855 building made from?
Seneca red sandstone
It was the first Smithsonian museum building and became a National Historic Landmark in 1965.
Q 15What was the name of the group of young scientists drawn to the Smithsonian between 1857 and 1866?
The Megatherium Club
They took the name from the giant extinct ground sloth.
Q 16Which 1876 event's profits funded the Smithsonian's first expansion, the Arts and Industries Building?
The Philadelphia Centennial Exposition
Congress had promised a new building if the exposition made enough money, and it opened in 1881.
Q 17Which famous landscape architect designed the National Zoological Park, opened in 1889?
Frederick Law Olmsted
Secretary Samuel Langley and conservationist William Temple Hornaday drew up the plans with him.
Q 18Which animals are the best-known residents of the National Zoo?
Giant pandas
Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, on loan from China, produced four surviving cubs before returning home in 2023.
Q 19How large is the National Zoo's main campus in Rock Creek Park?
163 acres
Its Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, covers a further 3,200 acres.
Q 20Which Detroit philanthropist's donation created the gallery that opened in 1923 and still bears his name?
Charles Lang Freer
It was among the Smithsonian's first major gifts from a private individual.
Julia Child's kitchen and the John Bull locomotive are among the museum's other famous exhibits.
Q 24Which Smithsonian institution is the largest by floor area and opened on July 1, 1976?
National Air and Space Museum
It opened at the height of the Bicentennial under director Michael Collins, who had flown to the Moon on Apollo 11.
Q 25Which Apollo 11 astronaut was director of the Air and Space Museum when its building opened?
Michael Collins
The museum was established in 1946 as the National Air Museum and renamed during the space race.
Q 26What was the name of the Apollo 11 command module held on the National Mall?
Columbia
John Glenn's Friendship 7 capsule and Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis are displayed nearby.
Q 27Which television prop is part of the Air and Space collection?
The starship Enterprise model from Star Trek
Curators restored the large model from the original series in 2016.
Q 28Near which airport is the Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center?
Dulles International
It opened on December 15, 2003, funded by a private donation, in Chantilly, Virginia.
Q 29How many carats is the Hope Diamond, the star of the National Museum of Natural History?
45.52
Jeweller Harry Winston donated it in 1958 after buying it from the estate of socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean.
Q 30Which jeweller donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian in 1958?
Harry Winston
He had toured the stone for several years and set it in a necklace before giving it away.