Smithsonian
Official
Mission Statement
The increase and diffusion of knowledge.
Knowledge & Information
Smithsonian is a complex of museums research centers and library preserving heritage and advancing knowledge in various disciplines.
Education
Headquartered in:
United States
Year founded:
1846
Nonprofit / Charity
Established
5,001–10,000
employees
Mission Themes
Knowledge & Information
Providing insight, data, education, or understanding.
Themes are a set of 33 tags that describe what a mission statement represents, enabling rapid understanding, discovery, and comparison.
If any of the information looks incorrect, please reach out with an update.
The
Smithsonian
mission statement was last checked on
January 15, 2026