Official Guide to the Smithsonian, 5th Edition

By Smithsonian Institution and Smithsonian

Book Overview

The go-to guide for visitors who want to maximize their experience at the Smithsonian's 19 museums and National Zoo

The Smithsonian holds more than 155 million artifacts and specimens in its trust. The Official Guide to the Smithsonian makes navigating the world's largest museum complex more efficient and fulfilling. Featuring a huge amount of history, highlights, and pertinent museum information, the colorful guide is designed to enrich time spent in the Smithsonian's incredible galleries and museums on the National Mall, the Washington metropolitan area, and New York City.

The new 2021 edition features major updates for all the museums. This includes a full treatment of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the most recent Smithsonian museum, as well as the Deep Time hall at the National Museum of Natural History, their new fossil hall that displays towering fossils of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures to explore the epic story of Earth.

Each detailed section presents the history of the museum and offers a fully illustrated, gallery-by-gallery tour. It also includes all the practical information such as location, hours, phone numbers, public transportation, services, tours, dining, gift shops, special attractions for children, and website addresses. With so much to see and do across the vast Smithsonian collections, this is the definitive source of information in one place.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 158834682X
• ISBN13: 9781588346827
• Release Date: July 2021
• Publisher: Smithsonian Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Not close to what I expected very disappointed.

I hated the false information 😒

A good guide

We live in DC, so a pocket guide to the Smithsonian never goes to waste here.

A Must Have!!

I found this book to be incredibly helpful in giving me some background to what I can expect at the Smithsonian. Being on a tight schedule, I know I can't see everything, and this book helped me to create my "must see" list!

Monique'a review

The guide is in excellent condition. And if you can't go to the Smithsonian, this certainly is the second best way to visit.

Official Guide to the Smithsonian

This guide was purchased for a 12 year old who will be visiting the Smithsonian for the first time. I have visited the Smithsonian several times and feel this guide will be very helpful.

What You Would Expect

This book is just what you would expect from the Smithsonian, 224 pages of glossy pictures that leave you wanting more. The _Guide_ starts with about 35 pages of useful information such as how to get around DC and some of the history of the Smithsonian Institution. Then comes a quick survey of the different museums starting with that favorite, the Air and Space Museum, which is the home of the Wright Brothers first flying aircraft. And don't forget the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport or you will miss a proto-type space shuttle. After surveying the rest of the Smithsonian museums near the National Mall, the _Guide_ includes a few other attractions in DC such as the National Zoological Park. A few noteworthy mentions in NYC round out the _Guide_. Of course, you could spend your entire two week vacation at the Smithsonian and never see it all. (Do an online search to see how big it is.) If you use the _Guide_ to plan a trip to DC, one thing I might suggest is that you learn to use the Metro (subway) system. The _Guide_ mentions it, but it is too bad that a map of the Metro system was not included. (Get one online.) If you buy the _Guide_ in order to remember a trip to DC, one thing that will quickly catch your attention is that the National Museum for the American Indian mentioned is the one in NYC. Either way, the _Guide_ is well worth it.