Smithsonian Institution

Fiscal Year 2021

Budget Justification to Congress

February 2020

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION (SI)

Fiscal Year 2021 Budget Request to Congress

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Overview ....................................................................................................1

FY 2021 Budget Request Summary...........................................................5

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

Summary of FY 2021 Changes and Unit Detail........................................11

Fixed Costs

Salary and Related Costs ...................................................................14

Utilities, Rent, Communications, and Other ........................................16

Summary of Program Changes................................................................19

No-Year Funding and Object-Class Breakout ..........................................23

Federal Resource Summary by Performance/Program Category ............24

MUSEUMS AND RESEARCH CENTERS

Enhanced Research Initiatives ...........................................................26

National Air and Space Museum ........................................................28

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory ............................................36

Major Scientific Instrumentation..........................................................41

National Museum of Natural History ...................................................47

National Zoological Park.....................................................................55

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center ....................................65

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.............................................69

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery/Freer Gallery of Art ....................................78

Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.............................................86

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.....................................91

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden..........................................95

National Museum of African Art ........................................................101

Anacostia Community Museum ........................................................108

Archives of American Art ..................................................................114

National Museum of African American History and Culture ..............118

National Museum of American History, Behring Center ...................124

National Museum of the American Indian .........................................135

National Portrait Gallery....................................................................139

National Postal Museum...................................................................147

Smithsonian American Art Museum..................................................152

MISSION ENABLING

Outreach...........................................................................................158

• The SI Affiliations and Traveling Exhibition Service; the SI Center for

Learning and Digital Access; Fellowships and Internships; and the SI

Scholarly Press

Communications ...............................................................................164

Institution-wide Programs .................................................................167

• Research Equipment Pool............................................................... 168

• Information Resources Management Pool ...................................... 169

• Latino Initiatives Pool....................................................................... 169
• Collections Care and Preservation Fund......................................... 170

• Asian Pacific American Initiative Pool.............................................. 172

• American Women’s History Initiative ............................................... 172

Smithsonian Exhibits.........................................................................174

Museum Support Center...................................................................177

Museum Conservation Institute ........................................................179

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives..................................................184

Office of the Chief Information Officer...............................................188

Administration ...................................................................................190

• The offices of the Secretary; the Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating 

Officer; the Under Secretary for Museums and Culture; the Under 

Secretary for Science and Research; the Under Secretary for 

Education; the Under Secretary for Administration; and the central 

activities of diversity, human resources, financial/contract management, 

and legal services.

Office of the Inspector General .........................................................194

Facilities Maintenance ......................................................................196

Facilities Operations, Security, and Support.....................................199

FACILITIES CAPITAL

Overview ................................................................................................203

Summary Tables ....................................................................................206

Revitalization Projects............................................................................209

National Air and Space Museum ......................................................209

Smithsonian Institution Building (Castle)...........................................212

National Zoological Park...................................................................213

National Museum of Natural History .................................................228

National Museum of American History..............................................234

National Museum of the American Indian .........................................237

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden........................................240

Quadrangle.......................................................................................243

Donald W. Reynolds Center .............................................................246

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute...........................................247

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory ...........................................251

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center ..................................254

Suitland Collections Center...............................................................257

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum...................................261

Freer Gallery of Art ...........................................................................264

Transfer Switch/Fire-Alarm Panel Replacements .............................265

Multiple Location Revitalization Projects...........................................267

Facilities Planning and Design ...............................................................268

APPENDIX

Organization Chart .................................................................................269

Visitation Chart.......................................................................................270

Trust Funds Summary............................................................................271

Appropriation Language and Citations ...................................................273

Inspector General Management Response............................................282

Adjustments to FY 2020 Funding ...........................................................290
1

DAWNING OF A NEW ERA: A VISION FOR THE SMITHSONIAN’S FUTURE

History has an extraordinary power to contextualize and help us understand our 

current moment in time. As a historian and in my varied roles at the Smithsonian, 

including now as its Secretary — overseeing 155 million objects, 6,200 employees and 

7,300 volunteers working across 19 museums, 21 libraries, nine research centers, and 

the National Zoo — I have witnessed what an immense gift the Smithsonian has been to 

our nation and our world. We are grateful for the long-standing support that we have 

received from the American people, Congress, and the Administration, since that support 

has enabled the Institution to fulfill its mission to increase and diffuse knowledge.

The Smithsonian represents much more than history. We have always proudly 

looked toward the future, celebrating contemporary developments and contemplating 

their potential impacts on our future. We represent a balance between tradition and 

innovation: honoring the past while actively impacting the present and future with worldclass scholarly and educational achievements. As we at the Smithsonian prepare to 

celebrate our 175th anniversary in 2021, we see the incredible opportunities that lie 

ahead of us. We will use our vast repository of treasures, research, data, and 

scholarship to improve communities locally and globally, embodying the promise of 

“greater reach, greater relevance, and profound impact” embedded in our strategic plan.

Greater Reach

A key component of having greater reach is continuing the Smithsonian’s 

transformation into a virtual museum. Nothing replaces the authentic objects we display, 

but by using all the digital tools available to us, we can ensure that our treasures reach

millions across the country and the globe who cannot visit us in person. We have 

already done impressive work in the digital realm. In FY 2019, our websites attracted 

more than 154 million visitors, we had more than 17 million social media followers, and 

our Smithsonian podcast Sidedoor has been downloaded more than 3 million times by

people in all 50 states and more than 146 countries.

For years, we have digitized our objects, specimens, archival materials, and 

library books to make them more accessible to the public. Our museums and libraries 

have created digital images for more than five million objects, specimens and books, 

and electronic records for more than 33 million artifacts and items in the national 

collections. Our Digitization Program Office has created 3D digital images for collection 

objects people can access, explore, and even print, such as the Apollo 11 command 

module, Columbia. In March of 2019, the Smithsonian partnered with Google Arts and 

Culture on their digital content hub, “Once Upon a Try,” featuring 6,000 digital assets 

from the National Air and Space Museum and digital exhibits from the National Zoo and 

the National Museum of American History’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention 

and Innovation. And in February of 2020, we are announcing a new initiative that will 

make the Smithsonian a leader among cultural institutions by freely sharing millions of 

digital assets with the world. 
2

To expand on all these efforts, I envision an Institution-wide initiative that will 

allow audiences to experience our world-renowned scholarship, research, and 

collections in new and exciting ways. This initiative will be organized around themes 

such as democracy, race, innovation, and identity. By seeking out more innovative 

partnerships that leverage state-of-the-art resources, we can scale up our use of 

groundbreaking technology and reach new audiences worldwide.

Greater Relevance

One of the Institution’s greatest strengths is our ability to engage people in 

meaningful dialogue. The National Museum of African American History and Culture 

exemplifies that capacity. Since its inception, the Museum has fostered a national 

discussion about issues of race, identity, and community that resonates with modern 

audiences. It has held symposia that examined the legacy of Civil War monuments and 

racialized mascots. It has inspired the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Department 

to implement training at the Museum to help all its officers improve community relations 

between police and citizens.

Across the Smithsonian, we can have a similar influence on the national 

discourse. Our world-class scholars, researchers, historians, curators, and educators 

speak directly to contemporary issues such as pandemic disease, climate change, social 

equity, and cultural heritage and patrimony. We have a well-earned reputation as honest 

brokers of knowledge across many fields of expertise. As the leader of an influential 

scientific, cultural, and educational institution, I believe it is essential for us to exercise 

our power to bring people together to share big ideas and conflicting perspectives. In this 

way, the Smithsonian can increase the public’s ability to understand our universe, our

history, and our shared future. Doing so will also allow us to reach a younger audience

that expects us to exert our strengths for the common good.

Profound Impact

The Smithsonian has a long history of being a trusted educational resource. When 

the Institution was founded, there was discussion about whether it would be established 

as a university. That did not come to pass, but the “diffusion” part of James Smithson’s 

original vision — sharing knowledge — is still central to our mission as we continue to 

embody the ethos “learn something, teach something.”

Today, we have many education, learning, and discovery spaces in our 

museums and research centers. Our Leadership and Assistance for Science Education 

Reform (LASER) program, STEM curriculum, and digital resources from the 

Smithsonian Science Education Center have supported STEM teaching and learning in 

nearly 1,700 districts in every U.S. state and 29 countries since its founding. The 

Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access Learning Lab website offers 

teachers and students free digital access to more than one million resources from 

across the Institution. Smithsonian Affiliate museums host speakers, traveling 
3

exhibitions, and webinars, bringing educational offerings into many communities across 

the country and addressing the needs of numerous underserved audiences. In FY 2019, 

the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service took large and small exhibitions 

to regional museums and provided many educational materials to schools and libraries

nationwide. 

Building on this history and reputation, I plan to take the necessary steps to apply 

innovative thinking to ensure that we are a national leader in pre-K–12 education as well 

as lifelong learning. My goal is for the Smithsonian to reach every classroom in 

America. Educational materials based on our science and scholarship can enhance the 

ways students and teachers engage in 21st-century learning. We are developing a 

model of the future of education and museums through a collaboration with the 

Washington, DC, public school system. Sharing that work nationwide and abroad while

drawing on best practices and lessons learned will expand our impact and help us make 

the most effective use of our resources.

Looking Ahead

The Smithsonian’s programming accomplishments in 2019 underscored the 

incredible impact the Institution has. The National Museum of Natural History opened its 

David H. Koch Hall of Fossils — Deep Time exhibition; the Smithsonian American 

Women’s History Initiative amplified the voices of women and inspired people 

everywhere; our Year of Music showcased our incredible music collections with daily 

music programming; and the National Air and Space Museum celebrated the 50th

anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing with a number of magnificent events. The

Institution also continued its pioneering research, exemplified by the Smithsonian

Astrophysical Observatory-led collaborative international project, the Event Horizon 

Telescope, an array of radio telescopes that produced the first-ever image of a black 

hole, an achievement that won the prestigious 2020 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental 

Physics.

Achievements like these are the reason I felt so excited when I became the 14th 

Secretary of the Smithsonian. It was like I was a kid again, visiting the Institution for the 

first time in the mid-1960s. Returning home to New Jersey by car after a family 

vacation, I was too young to understand why we could not stop at many historic sites I 

wanted to visit in the still-segregated South. When we drove through Washington, DC,

though, we stopped at the Smithsonian. 

My dad explained that we could visit here and not worry about being turned away 

because of race. It was a revelation to a youngster curious about history and the world: 

the Smithsonian was a place where anyone, regardless of who they were, could 

become something more than who they had been. A place of vast potential, where you 

were only limited by your imagination.
4

Today, I am confident that the future of the Smithsonian holds even greater gifts

for the American people. We can build on our impressive legacy of scholarship, 

collections preservation expertise, innovative exhibitions, and education in the fields of 

history, the arts, culture, and the sciences to be even more relevant and valuable to the 

American people. To do so, however, we must become a nimbler institution that 

maximizes the use of technology to serve 21st-century audiences, one that applies its

research and collections to help Americans better understand ourselves and the world. 

As we approach the cusp of our 175th anniversary, with the continued support of 

the Administration, Congress, and the American people, I have no doubt we will achieve 

our goals. The Smithsonian will continue to welcome everyone to learn, marvel, and 

imagine, using our creativity and intellectual capital for the good of society. And we will 

commit enthusiastically to the project of transforming this hallowed Institution into a 

cauldron of ideas, innovation, and understanding, one in which our return on the 

nation’s investment is proven for generations to come.
5

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

FY 2021 BUDGET REQUEST SUMMARY

Account

FY 2019

Enacted

FY 2020

Enacted

FY 2021

Request

Salaries and Expenses 

Facilities Capital 

Total

$739,994,000

$303,503,000

$1,043,497,000

793,658,000

$253,700,000

$1,047,358,000

$820,313,000

$290,000,000

$1,110,313,000

For fiscal year (FY) 2021, the Smithsonian’s request to fund operating expenses 

and revitalization of the Institution’s physical infrastructure is $1,110.3 million. The 

total amount includes $820.3 million for Salaries and Expenses (S&E) and $290.0

million for the Facilities Capital account. A detailed summary of the changes

requested is provided in the table at the end of this section.

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

FIXED COSTS INCREASES

• Salaries and Related Costs (+$21,043,000) — This funds the annualization and 

unfunded 3.1 percent pay raise (3.52 percent in the Washington, DC area)

effective in January of 2020. The request also includes a projected 1.0 percent

civilian pay raise effective in January of 2021.

It is critical that the congressionally mandated pay increase be fully funded to 

ensure efficient operations of all Smithsonian museums, research centers, and 

units. The recent 3.52 percent pay raise that was authorized for 2020 required

Smithsonian units to absorb this increase within existing budget allocations. Most 

units use more than 90 percent of their funds for salaries and benefits. Without 

additional funding to support pay raises, Smithsonian units must reduce current 

staff through retirements and separations to fund the pay increase for other 

existing employees. This leads to erosion of adequate staffing and a lack of

professional personnel to take proper care of our nation’s precious collections. It 

also leads to mismatches in skills and makes it much more difficult to take on new 

initiatives or priorities. The Institution has experienced the loss of numerous

essential personnel who could not be replaced because of insufficient unit 

funding. The unfunded pay raise will only exacerbate the problem. In addition to 

requesting funds for the prior pay raise, the Institution is requesting funds for

collections, exhibit support, and education staffing to fill these much-needed 

positions.

In addition to the unfunded pay raises in 2020, the Institution is absorbing the 2.3 

percent increase ($8.7 million) for the employer contribution to the federal 

retirement plan that became effective on October 1, 2019.
6

• Non-pay Fixed Items (+$2,675,000) — The Institution requests additional 

funding, largely for inflation-related increases in utilities, software licenses, 

and other operating costs. Details are provided in the S&E section of this 

budget submission.

PROGRAM INCREASES

UNDERSTAND AND IMPACT 21st CENTURY AUDIENCES

• Exhibit Support (+$843,000) — The Institution requests funding (+$843,000) to 

support the numerous exhibitions. The Smithsonian has a long tradition of raising 

private funds to design and install new exhibitions. For generations, these 

exhibitions have been the reason why millions of visitors have come to the National 

Mall. However, the Institution requires federal funding to manage these exhibits 

and to leverage the private funding necessary to install and maintain these 

exhibitions. In addition, the success of these exhibitions requires investment. The 

requested funding increase will improve efforts to maintain existing and new 

exhibitions at a standard that reflects a world-class institution. 

• Education (+$500,000) — The Smithsonian has a long history of being a trusted 

educational resource. The Institution provides authentic and inspiring science, 

technology, engineering, art, and mathematics experiences for teachers and 

students by drawing on the scientific and engineering assets of the federal 

Government, including scientists, laboratories, satellites, museums, and research 

centers. The Institution is dedicated to ensuring we are a national leader in K–12 

education, bringing the research and collections of the Smithsonian into 

classrooms across the nation. In addition, the Smithsonian plans to develop a 

model of the future of education and museums, through a collaboration with the 

Washington, DC public school system, and share the results of that work 

nationwide and abroad.

PRESERVE OUR NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE

• Collections Staffing (+$1,128,000) — Currently, the Institution has insufficient 

staff to provide optimal care for its collections, and is hindered in strengthening 

and sharing its collections with diverse national and international audiences. The 

Smithsonian needs these requested funds to rebuild its curatorial and collections 

management staffing in support of excellent research; improve exhibitions and 

digitization of the nation’s vast collection of artifacts; and fully realize the benefits 

of the Institution’s facilities infrastructure investments.
7

• Animal Welfare (+$466,000) — Funding is requested to provide specialized 

animal care exhibits support. Maintaining animal habitats and providing 

specialized items for animals’ health and well-being are not just recommended 

best practices, but required by oversight and regulatory entities. Maintaining 

these standards is essential to safely and humanely house our living collections 

while also safeguarding the public and staff. Without the additional resources 

for both the operations and specialized exhibits support, the quality of scientific 

research and animal care will be diminished.

FACILITIES CAPITAL PROGRAM

The request for the Facilities Capital Program ($290,000,000) is essential to 

arrest the deterioration of some of the Smithsonian’s oldest and most visited buildings 

and maintain the current condition of other facilities through systematic renewal and 

repair. This amount will allow the Facilities Capital Program to address all of the 

Institution’s top-priority projects that are ready to begin renovation in FY 2021.

For FY 2021, the requested funds will enable the Institution to continue the major 

renovation project at the National Air and Space Museum ($55.0 million) and begin 

major renovations at the Smithsonian Institution Building or (Castle, $52.5 million).

The Castle is the Institution’s first home, its symbolic heart, and the public’s 

doorway to the Smithsonian Institution through the Information Center there. In addition, 

the Castle has historic architectural and institutional significance and is listed by the 

Department of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark. The Castle was built in 1855

and was last renovated more than 50 years ago. Because the Castle is in significant 

disrepair, and is at risk of catastrophic systems failure, the building will soon pose a 

safety hazard to the public and staff if the project does not move forward.

The request will also continue major revitalization work at the National Zoological 

Park ($24.95 million); the National Museum of Natural History ($13.4 million); the 

National Museum of American History ($7.9 million), and the National Museum of the 

American Indian ($7.5 million). In addition, these funds will allow the Smithsonian to 

perform essential revitalization work at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden 

($16.3 million); Quadrangle ($6.1 million); Donald W. Reynolds Center ($3.5 million); 

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute ($4.5 million); Smithsonian Astrophysical 

Observatory ($3.4 million); Smithsonian Environmental Research Center ($5.9 million); 

Suitland Collections Center ($9.0 million); Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

($5.1 million); Freer Gallery of Art ($2.5 million); and fire-alarm replacement ($4.65

million). The request also provides for important revitalization projects throughout the 

Institution, program support, and projects costing under $1 million each ($16.9 million). 

Furthermore, this request accounts for planning and design of future projects ($50.9

million), including at the Castle and the Arts and Industries Building at $27.0 million. 

Details are provided in the Facilities Capital section of this budget request.
8

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

FY 2021 BUDGET SUMMARY

BY APPROPRIATION ACCOUNT

SALARIES AND EXPENSES FTEs Amount

FY 2020 Enacted 4,261 $793,658,000

FIXED COSTS INCREASES 23,718,000

Salaries and Related Costs 0 21,043,000

Utilities, Communications, and Other 0 2,675,000

PROGRAM INCREASES

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences 9 1,343,000

Exhibit Support 6 843,000

Education 3 500,000

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage 8 1,594,000

Collections Staffing 6 1,128,000

Animal Welfare 2 466,000

Total FY 2021 Salaries and Expenses 4,278 $820,313,000
9

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

FY 2021 BUDGET SUMMARY

BY APPROPRIATION ACCOUNT

FACILITIES CAPITAL FTEs Amount

FTEs in Base 48

Revitalization

National Air and Space Museum 55,000,000

Smithsonian Institution Building (Castle) 52,500,000

National Zoological Park 24,950,000

National Museum of Natural History 13,400,000

National Museum of American History 7,900,000

National Museum of the American Indian 7,500,000

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden 16,300,000

Quadrangle 6,100,000

Donald W. Reynolds Center 3,500,000

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 4,500,000

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory 3,400,000

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center 5,900,000

Suitland Collections Center 9,000,000

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum 5,100,000

Freer Gallery of Art 2,500,000

Fire-Alarm Panel Replacements 4,650,000

Multiple Location Revitalization Projects 16,900,000

Facilities Planning and Design 50,900,000

Total FY 2021 Facilities Capital 48 $290,000,000

FY 2021 REQUEST, ALL ACCOUNTS 4,326 $1,110,313,000
10
11

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

SALARIES AND EXPENSES (S&E)

FY 2021 Congressional Request

FTEs Amount

FY 2020 Enacted 4,261 $793,658,000

Fixed Costs Increases

 Salaries and Related Costs 0 21,043,000

 Utilities, Communications, and Other 0 2,675,000

Total Fixed Costs Increases 23,718,000

Program Increases

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences 9 1,343,000

 Exhibit Support 6 843,000

 Education 3 500,000

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage 8 1,594,000

 Collections Staffing 6 1,128,000

 Animal Welfare 2 466,000

Total Program Increases 17 2,937,000

Total Increases 17 26,655,000

Total FY 2021 Salaries and Expenses 4,278 $820,313,000
FTE = Full-Time Equivalent

 Pay & 

Benefits 

 Rent & 

Utilities 

 Fixed 

Other 

Page # FTEs $000 FTEs $000 FTEs $000 FTEs $000 $000 $000 $000 FTEs $000

MUSEUMS AND RESEARCH CENTERS

 28 National Air and Space Museum 151 20,110 151 20,110 151 20,110 151 21,240 960 0 170 0 0

 FY 2021 Hazy Insurance 170

 36 Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory 99 24,593 99 24,745 99 24,745 99 25,431 686 0 0 0 0

 41 Major Scientific Instrumentation 0 4,118 0 4,118 0 4,118 0 4,118 0 0 0 0 0

 26 Universe Consortium 0 184 0 184 0 184 0 184 0 0 0 0 0

 47 National Museum of Natural History 315 49,789 315 49,789 315 49,789 317 52,130 1,932 0 0 2 409

 FY 2021 Collections Scholarship/Managers 2 409

 54 National Zoological Park 215 27,566 215 28,066 215 28,066 217 30,105 1,373 0 200 2 466

 FY 2021 Animal Welfare 200 2 466

 65 Smithsonian Environmental Research Center 32 4,227 34 4,357 34 4,472 34 4,670 198 0 0 0 0

 FY 2020 Revised - operational support see page 290 115

 69 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 191 14,486 191 14,702 191 14,702 191 15,543 841 0 0 0 0

 26 Biodiversity Consortium 0 1,543 0 1,543 0 1,543 0 1,543 0 0 0 0 0

 78 Arthur M. Sackler Gallery/Freer Gallery of Art 45 6,273 45 6,273 45 6,273 45 6,541 268 0 0 0 0

 86 Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage 17 3,184 17 3,484 17 3,484 17 3,600 116 0 0 0 0

12

 91 Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

36 5,086 36 5,086 36 5,086 36 5,235 149 0 0 0 0

 95 Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden 37 4,544 37 4,544 37 4,544 41 5,051 151 0 0 4 356

 FY 2021 Exhibit Support 4 356

 101 National Museum of African Art 28 4,654 31 4,854 31 4,854 31 5,022 168 0 0 0 0

 26 World Culture Consortium 0 792 0 792 0 792 0 792 0 0 0 0 0

 108 Anacostia Community Museum 19 2,405 19 2,405 19 2,490 20 2,723 83 0 0 1 150

 FY 2020 Revised - operational support see page 290 85

 FY 2021 Exhibit Support 1 150

 114 Archives of American Art 17 1,933 17 1,933 17 1,933 17 2,011 78 0 0 0 0

 118 National Museum of African American History & Culture 152 32,617 152 33,117 152 33,117 152 34,023 906 0 0 0 0

 124 National Museum of American History, Behring Center 164 25,373 165 25,478 165 25,478 167 26,899 1,060 0 0 2 361

 FY 2021 Collections Scholarship/Managers 2 361

 135 National Museum of the American Indian 206 33,648 206 33,648 206 33,885 206 34,982 1,097 0 0 0 0

 FY 2020 Revised - Security at NMAI, NY see page 290 237

 139 National Portrait Gallery 56 6,556 56 6,646 56 6,646 57 7,060 256 0 0 1 158

 FY 2021 Collections Scholarship/Managers 1 158

 147 National Postal Museum 6 1,581 6 1,581 6 1,831 6 1,865 34 0 0 0 0

 FY 2020 Revised - Security at Postal Museum see page 290 250

 152 Smithsonian American Art Museum 89 10,389 89 10,389 89 10,412 90 11,089 477 0 0 1 200

 FY 2020 Revised - Unit Rent see page 290 23

 FY 2021 Collections Scholarship/Managers 1 200

 26 American Experience Consortium 0 600 0 600 0 600 0 600 0 0 0 0 0

Total for Museums and Research Centers 1,875 286,251 1,881 288,444 1,881 289,154 1,894 302,457 10,833 0 370 13 2,100

Enacted Revised

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

Unit Detail of the FY 2019 Enacted, FY 2020 Enacted/Revised and FY 2021 Request ($s in Thousands)

FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 ANALYSIS OF CHANGE

Enacted Request (FY 2021 Increases)

Program 

Change

FY 2020
FTE = Full-Time Equivalent

 Pay & 

Benefits 

 Rent & 

Utilities 

 Fixed 

Other 

Page # FTEs $000 FTEs $000 FTEs $000 FTEs $000 $000 $000 $000 FTEs $000

Enacted Revised

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

Unit Detail of the FY 2019 Enacted, FY 2020 Enacted/Revised and FY 2021 Request ($s in Thousands)

FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 ANALYSIS OF CHANGE

Enacted Request (FY 2021 Increases)

Program 

Change

FY 2020

MISSION ENABLING

Program Support and Outreach

 158 Outreach 64 9,333 64 9,333 64 9,333 64 9,804 284 0 0 0 187

 FY 2021 Exhibit Support 187

 164 Communications 23 2,839 23 2,839 23 2,839 23 2,947 108 0 0 0 0

 167 Institution-wide Programs 0 16,784 0 23,284 0 23,284 0 23,284 0 0 0 0 0

 174 Smithsonian Exhibits 28 3,169 28 3,169 28 3,169 28 3,308 139 0 0 0 0

 177 Museum Support Center 18 1,906 18 1,906 18 1,906 18 1,967 61 0 0 0 0

 179 Museum Conservation Institute 22 3,359 22 3,359 22 3,359 22 3,503 144 0 0 0 0

 184 Smithsonian Libraries and Archives 115 14,258 115 14,458 115 14,458 115 15,292 634 0 200 0 0

 FY 2021 Fixed Costs - Library Subscription Inflation 200

Subtotal, Program Support and Outreach 270 51,648 270 58,348 270 58,348 270 60,105 1,370 0 200 0 187

 188 Office of the Chief Information Officer 105 52,509 107 54,247 107 54,447 107 56,110 887 776 0 0 0

 FY 2020 Revised - USF&A Privacy Office see page 290 200

 FY 2021 Fixed Costs - Communications 776

 190 Administration 189 36,255 198 37,324 198 36,924 202 38,714 1,140 0 0 4 650

 FY 2020 Revised - ACM support see page 290 -85

 FY 2020 Revised - SERC support see page 290 -115

 FY 2020 Revised - USF&A Privacy Office see page 290 -200

 FY 2021 Education - US for Education 3 500

 FY 2021 Exhibit Support - APAC 1 150

 194 Office of the Inspector General 24 3,538 27 4,077 27 4,077 27 4,231 154 0 0 0 0

Facilities Services

 196 Facilities Maintenance 483 79,545 492 114,545 492 114,545 492 115,999 1,454 0 0 0 0

 199 Facilities Operations, Security, and Support 1,286 230,248 1,286 236,673 1,286 236,163 1,286 242,697 5,205 1,329 0 0 0

 FY 2020 Revised - Unit Rent SAAM see page 290 -23

 FY 2020 Revised Security at Postal Museum see page 290 -250

 FY 2020 Revised Security at NMAI, NY see page 290 -237

 FY 2021 Utilities 1,329

Subtotal, Facilities Services 1,769 309,793 1,778 351,218 1,778 350,708 1,778 358,696 6,659 1,329 0 0 0

Total for Mission Enabling 2,357 453,743 2,380 505,214 2,380 504,504 2,384 517,856 10,210 2,105 200 4 837

SALARIES AND EXPENSES TOTAL 4,232 739,994 4,261 793,658 4,261 793,658 4,278 820,313 21,043 2,105 570 17 2,937

 203 FACILITIES CAPITAL 48 303,503 48 253,700 48 253,700 48 290,000

GRAND TOTAL, SMITHSONIAN 4,280 1,043,497 4,309 1,047,358 4,309 1,047,358 4,326 1,110,313

13
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SALARIES AND EXPENSES

FY 2019 Enacted $739,994,000

FY 2020 Enacted $793,658,000

FY 2021 Request $820,313,000

For FY 2021, the Institution requests $820.3 million in the Salaries and 

Expenses (S&E) account. Within the total increase requested, approximately 89 percent

is attributable to fixed costs for sustaining base operations (pay, utilities, and other 

costs), and the remainder is for priority requirements throughout the Institution.

FIXED COSTS

SALARY AND PAY-RELATED COSTS (+$21,043,000) — The Institution 

requests an increase of $21.043 million for congressionally mandated pay increases and 

pay-related costs. The request includes resources to partially fund the 3.52 percent pay 

raise effective in January of 2020 and a one percent increase effective in January of 2021.

Funding the congressionally mandated pay increases is critical for efficient operations.

Salary and Pay Related Costs: Request

▪ Unfunded January 2020 pay raise (at 3.1% for 3/4 year) $10,794,000

▪ Unfunded Employer Federal Retirement Plan Contribution 1,754,000

▪ Annualization of January 2020 pay raise (at 3.1% for 1/4 year) 4,086,000

▪ January 2021 pay raise (at 1.0% for 3/4 year) 4,466,000

▪ Workers’ Compensation -57,000

Total $21,043,000

• Unfunded January 2020 Pay Raise (+$10,794,000) — This provides partial funding

for the 3.52 percent pay raise in January of 2020 for three-quarters of a fiscal year. 

• Unfunded FY 2020 Employer Contribution for the Federal Retirement Plan 

(+$1,754,000) — This partially funds the mandated 2.3 percent increase to the 

employer contribution to the Federal Retirement Plan that went into effect on 

October 1, 2019. Federal agencies were notified of this change in June of 2019 

and, therefore, funding was not included in the FY 2020 congressional budget 

request. The full-year impact for this unfunded increase is $8,746,000.

• Annualize January 2020 Pay Raise in FY 2021 (+$4,086,000) — This provides 

for partial funding of the annualization of the January 2020 pay raise of 3.52

percent for one-quarter of a fiscal year in FY 2021 (October to December 2020).

• Proposed January 2021 Pay Raise (+$4,466,000) — This provides for a 

proposed 1.0 percent pay raise in January 2021 for three-quarters of a year.

• Workers’ Compensation (-$57,000) — This supports the provisions of Section 

8147(b) of Title 5, United States Code. The Workers’ Compensation bill for 

FY 2021 is $2,918,000, based on a Department of Labor invoice for costs 

incurred from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019. This represents a decrease of 

-$57,000 from the FY 2020 Workers’ Compensation costs ($2,975,000).
15

FY 2021 Increased Pay Costs (Dollars in Thousands)

Line Item

FY 2020

Pay Raise

and 

Retirement 

Contribution

FY 2021

Pay Raise and

FY 2020 Pay 

Raise 

Annualization

FY 2021 

Total Pay 

National Air and Space Museum 568 392 960

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory 433 253 686

National Museum of Natural History 1,220 712 1,932

National Zoological Park 714 659 1,373

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center 125 73 198

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 342 499 841

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery/Freer Gallery of Art 169 99 268

Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage 73 43 116

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum 93 56 149

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden 95 56 151

National Museum of African Art 106 62 168

Anacostia Community Museum 52 31 83

Archives of American Art 49 29 78

National Museum of African American History and Culture 572 334 906

National Museum of American History, Behring Center 669 391 1,060

National Postal Museum 21 13 34

National Museum of the American Indian 693 404 1,097

National Portrait Gallery 161 95 256

Smithsonian American Art Museum 301 176 477

Outreach 176 108 284

Communications 64 44 108

Museum Support Center 38 23 61

Museum Conservation Institute 90 54 144

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives 376 258 634

Smithsonian Exhibits 87 52 139

Office of the Chief Information Officer 561 326 887

Administration 753 387 1,140

Inspector General 96 58 154

Facilities Maintenance 562 892 1,454

Facilities Operations, Security, and Support 3,289 1,916 5,205

Total Pay-Related Costs 12,548 8,495 21,043
16

UTILITIES, POSTAGE, RENT, COMMUNICATIONS, AND OTHER 

FIXED COSTS (+$2,675,000) — For FY 2021, the Institution requests an

increase of $2,675,000 for utilities and other fixed-cost accounts, as detailed in the 

chart below. The requested increase reflects consumption and rate changes in the 

utilities accounts and increases for Communications and Other Support to provide 

for fixed software licensing and maintenance costs, inflationary increases for library 

subscriptions, and to meet compliance requirements.

The following table displays the estimates for FYs 2020 and 2021. The details

that follow address the specific changes affecting the FY 2021 accounts.

Federal Utilities, Postage, Rent, Communications, and 

Other Fixed Costs

FYs 2020–2021

(Dollars in Thousands)

FY 2020

Estimate

FY 2021

Estimate Change

Utilities:

Electricity 20,517 20,517 0

Chilled Water 3,004 3,090 86

Steam 8,492 8,492 0

Natural Gas 3,118 3,118 0

DC Gov’t Water/Sewer 5,888 7,131 1,243

Other Water and Fuel Oil 1,236 1,236 0

Subtotal, Utilities 42,255 43,584 1,329

Postage 1,461 1,461 0

Motor Fuel 370 370 0

Rental Space:

Central 43,207 43,207 0

Unit 5,793 5,793 0

Subtotal, Rent 49,000 49,000 0

Communications 20,712 21,488 776

Other Support 3,920 4,490 570

Total $117,718 $120,393 $2,675
17

UTILITIES (+$1,329,000) — Justified here, but included in the Facilities 

Operations, Security, and Support line item, are requested changes to cover the 

costs of energy and water. The request includes the following:

• Electricity ($0) — Electricity is used to operate the Smithsonian’s large 

infrastructure. The major use of electricity is for air-conditioning that provides 

essential climate control to protect the priceless national collections as well as ensure 

the comfort of visitors and staff. There are no anticipated changes in FY 2021.

• Chilled Water (+$86,000) — Chilled water costs represent actual chilled water 

usage supplied by the General Services Administration’s (GSA) central plant to 

the Smithsonian’s south Mall facilities. An increase of $86,000 is anticipated due 

to a rate increase of 2.6 percent in FY 2021.

• Steam ($0) — The Smithsonian uses steam for heating and humidification, and to 

produce hot water for facilities on the Mall and in New York City. There are no 

anticipated changes in FY 2021.

• Natural Gas ($0) — The Smithsonian uses natural gas and propane for heating and 

generating steam. There are no anticipated changes in FY 2021.

• DC Water and Sewer (+$1,243,000) — Funds cover the costs of both water and 

sewer services provided by the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority 

(DCWSA). The net increase includes rate and billing adjustments transmitted by 

DCWSA to the Smithsonian in July of 2019 (+$1,196,000), as well as a delay in 

the full recognition of the National Zoo’s Energy Savings Performance Contract

savings (+$47,000).

• Other Water and Fuel Oil ($0) — Funds provide water service for facilities 

outside of Washington, DC, and fuel oil used in dual-fuel boilers and generators 

for emergency power. There are no anticipated changes in FY 2021.

POSTAGE AND MOTOR FUEL ($0) — Funds provide for all official domestic and 

international mail services and for motor fuel that powers the Smithsonian’s motor 

vehicle fleet and scientific research vessels. No increases are requested in FY 2021.

RENTAL SPACE ($0) — No increase is requested for rental space because of the 

anticipated purchase of an Administrative Headquarters Building in the Washington, 

DC area and the subsequent savings in FY 2021. These savings are expected to

offset any anticipated rent escalation costs in other leased properties in FY 2021.

COMMUNICATIONS (+$776,000) — The communications base supports the 

operations of the Institution’s voice and data telecommunications infrastructure. The 

requested increase covers infrastructure upgrades and the higher cost of software 

and hardware maintenance fees for existing investments, as well as the expansion 

of central storage and backup systems used to house, manage, and protect the 
18

rapidly growing number of digitized collections assets. The Institution requests an 

increase to the base budget for these increases when they come due in FY 2021.

The increase will allow business-critical systems to remain current and under 

continual support by vendors, as well as offer functionalities that can improve and 

streamline business workflows to improve operational efficiency. The mandatory 

transition of data/Internet-leased lines will allow the Institution to replace outdated 

telecommunications technologies and take advantage of current ones that can 

provide faster connectivity and reduce redundancies. This is particularly important 

for far-flung Smithsonian research centers which require high-capacity 

telecommunications support.

These systems include the Institution’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) 

financial management system; data backup; cyclical replacement of network routers

and switches; server replacement; educational agreements to use common 

Microsoft products (such as Office and Windows); and many other systems. The 

requested increases will enable systems to stay current and cover rising annual 

maintenance and operating costs, cover the costs of the upgraded Internet2 

connection that allows the exchange of large datasets with external collaborators 

and sharing of high-resolution images and 3D models, and covers the annual 

recurring cost for a network connection to the Smithsonian Tropical Research 

Institute laboratories in Panama, many of which are difficult to physically access.

OTHER SUPPORT (+$570,000) — An additional $570,000 is requested to offset 

the effects of inflation and to cover other fixed costs. 

The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives requires additional funding to 

adequately address inflationary increases in library subscriptions (+$200,000). This 

increase will enable the Libraries and Archives to cover the extraordinary inflation 

costs of purchasing journals and electronic databases, which are essential to support 

the Institution’s many research programs and scientists.

The Institution also requests an increase (+$170,000) to support the must-pay 

service costs at the Udvar-Hazy Center (UHC). The Metropolitan Washington Airports 

Authority (MWAA) service contract provides essential police, fire, and emergency 

ambulance services for the Center.

In addition, the Institution requests an increase (+$200,000) to cover the 

higher costs for animal food and medicine at the National Zoo. The cost to sustain 

animal care operations increases annually due to market availability and 

environmental trends. The cost to feed the animals has increased more than 30

percent because some of the food supply was previously donated. Other inflationary 

factors include: the increased cost for specialized diets for the aging and sick 

animals; the increased cost of making hay due to seasonal variables (excessive rain 

or heat); and the greater cost of pharmaceuticals, laboratory services, and routine 

medical care for animals.
19

SUMMARY OF FY 2021 S&E PROGRAM INCREASES

FY 2020 

Base

($000s)

FY 2021 

Program

Increase 

($000s)

FY 2021 

FTE 

Increase 

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences +1,343 +9

• Exhibit Support 60,992 +843 +6

• Education 20,701 +500 +3

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage +1,594 +8

• Collections Staffing 70,657 +1,128 +6

• National Zoo — Animal Welfare 28,066 +466 +2

Total S&E Program Increases +$2,937 +17

Note: For a complete list of program categories, see page 25.

UNDERSTAND AND IMPACT 21st CENTURY AUDIENCES

Category

FY 2021 

Program

Increase ($000s)

FY 2021 FTEs

Increase

IMPACT 21st CENTURY AUDIENCES

• Exhibit Support +843 +6

• Education +500 +3

Total Increase +$1,343 +9

Exhibit Support — FY 2020: ($60,992,000); FY 2021 Increase: (+$843,000, +6 FTEs)

The Smithsonian has a long tradition of raising private funds to design and 

install new exhibitions. For generations, these exhibitions have been the reason why 

millions of visitors have come to the National Mall. However, the Institution requires 

federal funding to manage these exhibits and to leverage the private funding 

necessary to install and maintain these exhibitions. Specifically, funding would be 

provided to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (HMSG, +4 FTEs); the 

Anacostia Community Museum (ACM, +1 FTE); the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition 

Service (SITES); and the Asian Pacific American Center (APAC, +1 FTE).

The funding would enable HMSG to convert four temporary employees who

support the Museum’s exhibitions to more efficiently fabricate and install exhibition 

cabinetry, mounts, and audiovisual equipment, while also keeping compensation 

competitive with similar positions in comparable museums and galleries. The ACM 

requires an additional federal employee to support its numerous exhibits on the local 

community experiences. SITES requires additional resources for its popular Museum 
20

on Main Street program that provides outstanding exhibitions in support of rural 

American small towns. The APAC requires additional resources to continue to expand

the Asian Pacific American presence in the Smithsonian’s presentation of and research 

into the American experience. 

Education — FY 2020: ($20,701,000); FY 2021 Increase: (+$500,000, +3 FTEs)

The Smithsonian has a long history of being a trusted educational resource. 

The Institution provides authentic and inspiring science, technology, engineering, art, 

and mathematics (STEAM) experiences for teachers and students by drawing on the 

scientific and engineering assets of the federal Government, including scientists, 

laboratories, satellites, museums, and research centers. Accordingly, the 

Smithsonian requests funding (+$500,000 and +3 FTEs) to translate our nation’s 

treasures and stories through digital technology and cultivate the next generation of 

STEAM and history learners by sharing high-quality education content aligned with 

national education priorities. As we continue to make new discoveries, we must 

share them with future generations. The Institution is dedicated to ensuring we are a 

national leader in K–12 education, bringing the research and collections of the 

Smithsonian into classrooms across the nation through comprehensive, standardsaligned programming. Educational materials based on our science and scholarship

can profoundly affect how students and teachers engage in 21st-century learning.

Building on the Smithsonian’s history and reputation, and the leveraging of 

private funds, the Institution will develop a model of the future of education and 

museums, through a collaboration with the Washington, DC public school system. 

Sharing that work nationwide and abroad while drawing on best practices and 

lessons learned will expand our impact and help us make the most effective use of 

our resources.
21

PRESERVE OUR NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE

Category

FY 2021

Program

Increase ($000s) 

FY 2021

FTEs

Increase

PRESERVE OUR NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE

• Collections Staffing +1,128 +6

• Animal Welfare +466 +2

Total Increase +$1,594 +8

Collections Staffing — FY 2020: ($70,657,000); FY 2021 Increase: (+$1,128,000, +6

FTEs)

Collections stewardship is a key component and core priority of the Smithsonian’s 

Strategic Plan. Assembled throughout the Institution’s history, Smithsonian collections are 

fundamental to carrying out the Institution’s mission and serving as the intellectual capital

for scholarship, exhibition, and education. The proper management, documentation, 

preservation, and accessibility of collections are essential to the nation’s research and 

education infrastructure, enabling researchers to address such significant challenges as 

the spread of invasive species and the loss of biological diversity and its impact on global 

ecosystems and human welfare. 

Likewise, collections stewardship — the systematic development, 

documentation, management, preservation, and use of collections — is not a single 

process or procedure but a series of components which are interwoven, 

interdependent, and ongoing. Because collections stewardship is fundamental to the 

Smithsonian’s mission, there is a vital need for additional resources to accomplish 

basic collections management activities for accountability, preservation, storage, 

digitization, and accessibility of the collections. The Institution must also substantially 

improve its collections scholarship to ensure that our vast collections are properly 

exhibited and interpreted for the Smithsonian’s worldwide audiences, including the 

scientific community. 

Although the Institution has many staffing needs, curatorial and collections 

management staffing is the top priority. Museums require additional staff to research 

and write educational materials that convey cultural context and meet curriculum 

standards, design curriculum and learning activities, and develop and maintain a 

dynamic and functional publications distribution system.

In pursuit of the requested funds, the Institution is following a balanced 

strategy, using both federal and trust support to stop further base erosion and begin 

rebuilding the curatorial staff. Even though it is difficult to raise private funds for this 

effort, each museum is committed to match federal support with private resources 

for this essential program. We have had some success with this approach so far, 

and have funded 17 endowed curatorial positions as part of our national campaign. 

Our donors have expressed their support for this balanced strategy of leveraging 
22

their donations with an equal federal commitment to restore the scholarly foundation 

of the Institution.

Several recent Inspector General collections stewardship audit reports have 

identified a vital need to fill high-priority positions to care for and preserve 

collections, ensure full inventory control over collections, provide proper preservation 

of collections at risk, and support a robust digitization program to make collections 

available online to national and international communities. Consequently, museums 

require additional staff to: assist with research and public collections inquiries; 

expand loan and digitization capacities to meet the growing demand for physical and 

digital access to collections; conserve fragile and at-risk collections, including timebased media and digital art; research and process new acquisitions and backlogs; 

meet the growing requirements of upcoming exhibitions; improve collections 

emergency management and professional development training; and achieve and 

sustain inventory and preservation controls to support collections stewardship.

In particular, museums and offices requesting collections management funding

include the National Museum of American History (+2 FTEs); the National Museum of 

Natural History (+2 FTEs); the National Portrait Gallery (+1 FTE); and the Smithsonian 

American Art Museum (+1 FTE). This collections staffing request specifies the 

necessary federal support to begin recovering from the loss of curatorial and 

collections management staff in several of the Smithsonian’s most popular museums 

and galleries.

Animal Welfare — FY 2020: ($28,066,000); FY 2021 Increase: (+$466,000, +2

FTEs) 

The National Zoological Park (NZP) is requesting resources (+$466,000 and +2

FTEs) to provide specialized animal care exhibits support. Living collections require 

specialized support which must meet certain mandatory standards. NZP’s species 

collection and their requirements are highly varied, from Asian elephants and giant 

pandas to endangered corals and extinct-in-the-wild frogs. Most of the Smithsonian 

living collections are housed indoors, but the Zoo’s 163-acre park includes a 

significant number of outdoor habitats, and has unique needs for some of its animals, 

such as shade structures for bison and climbing structures for great apes. Equally 

important, the Zoo has to maintain miles of animal containment, with standards 

continually being improved and updated as they are tested by the animals 

themselves, resulting in increased height recommendations for cheetah fences, or 

increased cabling to calf-proof the Elephant Trails exhibit.

Maintaining animal habitats and providing specialized items for animals’ health 

and well-being are not just recommended best practices, but required by oversight 

and regulatory entities such as the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). These standards are essential to safely and 

humanely house our living collections while safeguarding the public and staff. Without 

the additional resources and specialized exhibits support, the quality of both research 

and animal care will be diminished.
23

NO-YEAR FUNDING — The following table provides the FY 2020 and

FY 2021 Salaries and Expenses requests for No-Year Funding.

No-Year Funding Request

(Dollars in Thousands)

Salaries and Expenses FY 2020

Estimate

FY 2021 

Request

Change from 

FY 2020

No-Year Funds

National Museum of Natural History

 Exhibition Reinstallation 954 954 0

 Repatriation Program 1,401 1,450 +49

Major Scientific Instrumentation 4,118 4,118 0

Collections Acquisition 435 435 0

Total, No-Year Funds $6,908 $6,957 +$49

OBJECT-CLASS FUNDING — The following table provides an object-class 

breakout of resources for the Salaries and Expenses account.

Object-Class Request

(Dollars in Millions)

Salaries and Expenses FY 2020

Estimate

FY 2021

Request

Change from 

FY 2020

Salaries and Benefits 484 494 +10

Travel and Transportation 7 7 0

Rent, Utilities, Communications, 

and Other

96 98 +2

Other Services 162 175 +13

Supplies and Materials 21 22 +1

Equipment 22 22 +0

Land and Structures 2 2 +0

Total, Object-Class Funds $794 $820 +$26
24

FEDERAL RESOURCE SUMMARY BY PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE

AND PROGRAM CATEGORY

The Smithsonian has developed its FY 2021 budget request by reviewing all 

resources and identified increases or decreases, in relation to the Institution’s 

performance plan and overall Strategic Plan. 

The Institution’s program performance goals and objectives are aligned with the 

program categories used in the federal budget and the Institution’s financial accounting 

system. This enables the Institution to more clearly demonstrate the relationship 

between dollars budgeted and results achieved.

The table below summarizes the request by program category and details the pay 

increases and program changes. The table on the following page summarizes the 

Institution’s FY 2020 and FY 2021 estimates and the proposed changes by strategic 

goal, performance objective, and program category. 

FY 2021 Congressional Budget

Federal Resources by Program Category

($s in 000s)

Pay Rent/ 

Utilities

Other 

Fixed

Program 

Increase

Total 

Change

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 $000 $000 $000 $000 $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 562 94,710 562 98,061 0 3,351 3,351 3,351

Expand Digital Technologies 91 16,530 91 17,113 0 583 583 583

Impact 21st Century Audiences 707 108,946 716 114,277 9 5,331 3,988 5,331

Public Programs 124 27,253 124 27,936 0 683 683 683

Exhibitions 428 60,992 434 64,266 6 3,274 2,431 843 3,274

Education 155 20,701 158 22,075 3 1,374 874 500 1,374

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage 2,295 433,114 2,303 445,988 8 12,874 9,951 12,874

Collections 447 70,657 455 75,137 8 4,480 2,886 1,594 4,480

Facilities and Safety 1,142 268,471 1,142 273,989 0 5,518 4,189 1,329 5,518

Security 706 93,986 706 96,862 0 2,876 2,876 2,876

Enable Responsive Administration 606 140,358 606 144,874 0 4,516 3,170 1,346 4,516

Total 4,261 793,658 4,278 820,313 17 26,655 21,043 1,329 1,346 2,937 26,655

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change Performance Objective and Program Category 

Federal Resources by Performance Objective and Program Category

Salaries and Expenses ($'s in thousands)
25

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in impactful scientific research and discovery 423 71,145 423 73,654 0 2,509

Engage in vital arts and humanities research 139 23,565 139 24,407 0 842

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 91 16,530 91 17,113 0 583

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 124 27,253 124 27,936 0 683

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 428 60,992 434 64,266 6 3,274

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 155 20,701 158 22,075 3 1,374

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 447 70,657 455 75,137 8 4,480

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities operations and provide 

a safe and healthy environment 1,142 268,471 1,142 273,989 0 5,518

Security

Provide world-class protection for Smithsonian 

facilities, collections, staff, visitors and volunteers 706 93,986 706 96,862 0 2,876

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 502 94,259 502 97,297 0 3,038

Information Technology

Improve the Institution's information technology 

systems and infrastructure 104 46,099 104 47,577 0 1,478

Total 4,261 793,658 4,278 820,313 17 26,655

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change Performance Objective and Program Category 

Salaries and Expenses ($'s in thousands)

Federal Resources by Performance Objective and Program Category
26

ENHANCED RESEARCH INITIATIVES

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 0 3,119 0 0 0 0 0 0

FY 2020

ENACTED 0 3,119 0 0 0 0 0 0

FY 2021

REQUEST 0 3,119 0 0 0 0 0 0

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Smithsonian’s enhanced research initiatives provide an overarching 

framework for Smithsonian programs and operations. Meeting these challenges will

enable the Institution to integrate the work of many disciplines within the 

Smithsonian museums and cultural and research centers, as well as broaden our

external collaborations. The programs are grounded in research and emphasize 

complementary education and outreach; together, they influence how the 

Smithsonian directs its resources and focuses its energies. The Smithsonian has 

developed and implemented initiatives to advance cross-disciplinary, integrated 

scholarly efforts across the Institution. Using a competitive internal process, the 

Smithsonian is distributing externally raised funds designated for the purpose of 

advancing research, broadening access, revitalizing education, and encouraging 

new ways of thinking that involve emerging technology. The funding may also help 

to leverage additional resources, both internal and external, thereby amplifying the 

scope and breadth of cross-cutting research initiatives. Funds are distributed 

through existing Smithsonian units with subject-matter expertise to make the most of 

the actual expenditures in the areas being supported.

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in impactful scientific research and discovery 0 1,727 0 1,727 0 0

Engage in vital arts and humanities research 0 792 0 792 0 0

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 0 600 0 600 0 0

Total 0 3,119 0 3,119 0 0

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
27

Although there are no specific units primarily associated with these

initiatives, all Smithsonian museums, research centers, and offices will look for 

opportunities to integrate the goals and objectives into their activities and 

programs.

The FY 2021 budget request includes no increase. Below is a summary of 

the FY 2021 Enhanced Research Initiatives budget.

Programs

FY 2020

Enacted

$000s

FY 2021

Request

$000s

Universe 184 184

Biodiversity 1,543 1,543

World Cultures 792 792

American Experience 600 600

 Total $3,119 $3,119
28

NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019 

ENACTED 151 20,110 67 8,207 35 12,894 5 814

FY 2020

ENACTED 151 20,110 73 9,735 37 10,478 2 285

FY 2021

REQUEST 151 21,240 73 9,695 37 10,425 2 285

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in impactful scientific research and discovery 9 1,505 9 1,562 0 57

Engage in vital arts and humanities research 24 3,786 24 3,939 0 153

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 2 367 2 380 0 13

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 15 1,714 15 1,809 0 95

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 28 3,177 28 3,355 0 178

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 7 1,000 7 1,045 0 45

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 45 4,537 45 4,822 0 285

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities operations and provide 

a safe and healthy environment 2 318 2 331 0 13

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 13 3,036 13 3,289 0 253

Information Technology

Improve the Institution's information technology 

systems and infrastructure 6 670 6 708 0 38

Total 151 20,110 151 21,240 0 1,130

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
29

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM) collects, 

preserves, studies, and exhibits artifacts and works of art related to the history, 

culture, and science of aviation and spaceflight and the study of the universe. Its 

cutting-edge research and outreach activities serve multiple audiences within and 

beyond its walls. The Museum commemorates the past and is committed to 

educating and inspiring the next generation of innovators and explorers to study 

and apply science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) to create the 

future.

NASM is administered as one Museum with multiple locations: the National 

Mall Building (NMB); the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (UHC) in Chantilly, Virginia; 

and the Paul E. Garber Facility in Suitland, Maryland. The first module of the Dulles 

Collections Center, adjacent to the UHC, was completed in January of 2019 and is 

providing state-of-the-art storage for NASM collections. As of the end of December 

2019, the Dulles Collections Center is 90 percent filled with artifacts that were 

moved out of the NMB due to ongoing construction activities. 

The Museum provides access to the nation’s and the world’s aviation and 

spaceflight history to millions of on-site guests from all parts of the globe each year, 

making it among the most visited museums in the world. In addition, NASM draws 

more than 11 million virtual guests to its website, broadcast/webcast educational 

programming, and social media. In 2019, the Museum also led the national 

celebration of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, inspiring more than one

million people who attended its anniversary events on the National Mall and within 

the Museum.

In FY 2021, NASM is continuing to collect and preserve the nation’s key 

international aviation and space artifacts and archival material, and to perform 

original research and reference support in aviation, space history and planetary 

science to support its broad array of exhibitions, programs, publications, and 

education and outreach activities. To accomplish its public service mandate and 

reach diverse audiences, the Museum draws upon a mixture of in-house and

contracted resources, and a large corps of volunteers and docents. While 

continuing to host millions of visitors, the NMB is being completely renovated. We 

are transforming all exhibits and public spaces of America’s favorite Museum to 

make NASM more than a destination to visit. In Museum exhibits, we will 

immerse visitors in the stories of the people of all backgrounds who broke 

barriers, defied what was thought possible and changed the world, to inspire a 

new generation to accomplish equally amazing feats. Beyond the walls of 

NASM’s buildings, digital offerings will allow anyone anywhere to take a path that 

engages them through the Museum’s collection and stories, provides resources 

to students, teachers and researchers, and integrates with the in-Museum 

experience to amplify its impact.

The primary focus for the Museum in FY 2021 and the coming years is on 

the revitalization of the NMB and the transformation of all of the NMB exhibits. 
30

Planning for artifact movement as part of the revitalization and transformation 

resulted in a detailed plan to relocate and conserve/preserve more than 4,000 

artifacts. This has involved steadily moving artifacts to the Mary Baker Engen 

Restoration Hangar and Emil Buehler Conservation Lab at the UHC for 

treatment, and more than 1,700 collections objects have already been relocated.

To support the revitalization schedule, NASM first closed three galleries in the 

Museum in December of 2018 and since then has closed the remainder of the 

west half of the building, including the museum store, planetarium, and south 

(Independence Avenue) entrance. Flight simulators have been relocated to the 

active side of the Museum and temporary Museum shops (one on the ground 

floor and a second on the second floor) are in use on the east end of the 

Museum.

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $1,130,000. The 

request includes an increase of $960,000 for necessary pay and other related 

salary costs for existing staff funded under this line item, and $170,000 in fixed 

costs to support the service contract at the Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

Public Engagement — NASM continues to reach diverse audiences through 

exhibitions, educational programming, research reference support, publications, 

and electronic outreach. In FY 2021, we are using our transformation as an 

opportunity to redefine and strengthen the Museum’s role as a learning facilitator 

and convener through the exploration of new initiatives that continue to put the 

audience at the center of the experience. Taking inspiration from recent successful 

endeavors like the SHE Can Camp and the Teacher Innovator Institute, senior 

leadership is designing a national education strategy that is poised, in the next 20 

years, to help build a nation of innovators and explorers via immersive experiences 

inspired by real-world issues and rooted in national learning standards to foster

critical thinking skills. Developing these skills ensures a strong, forward-thinking and 

diverse STEM workforce that not only further advances America’s legacy as home 

to the world’s greatest innovators, but also ensures the face of the workforce

reflects that of our population.

Recognizing that we are both a national and a community Museum, in 

FY 2021, NASM will continue to develop an arc of engagement that engages 

learners beginning at pre-kindergarten through to adulthood. We will continue to

work with educators to build their capacity in teaching science and science-related 

concepts through high-quality professional development opportunities, including a 

two-week residential program that includes school-year support. NASM will expand 

upon camp offerings to include moonshot-inspired design and engineering 

challenges that are rooted in and have the potential to solve real-world problems.

We will build upon the success of our reserved student programs to inspire the next 

generation of innovators and explorers. We are also inviting local and tourist 

families, as well as young adults, to create lifelong relationships that will help bring 

relevance to the generations who did not experience many key aviation and space 

milestones in their lifetimes.
31

In FYs 2020 and 2021, NASM staff and volunteers are continuing to provide 

a variety of Museum programs. NASM Education provides daily activities — such 

as audio tours, lectures, hands-on science activities, and science demonstrations 

which reach hundreds of thousands of guests. The Museum also facilitates large, 

multi-faceted day-long events that can reach tens of thousands of diverse visitors in 

one day. In FY 2020, NASM will host its third Teacher Innovator Institute — a 

residential teacher professional development opportunity that is completely free to 

teachers, bringing back 60 educators from the last two years’ cohort to engage this 

year’s 30 educators. The aviation STEM camp will also run for a third year, 

providing opportunities for 60 participants from Title I schools to attend a two-week 

camp that explores careers in aviation, engineering design challenges, and the 

principles of flight, and even includes a 30-minute discovery flight with a certified 

flight instructor in a Cessna 160 light airplane. 

NASM continues to evolve the nature of its programming to complement the 

physical transformation of the Museum. These events span from evening lectures 

to innovative collaborations with external partners. In FY 2019, NASM led the 

national celebration of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 with a year of

programming, culminating with a week-long celebration at the Museum and on the 

National Mall. Across five nights in July, more than a half million people 

experienced the Museum’s projection of a Saturn V rocket onto the Washington 

Monument. Other events included a three-day festival hosted with the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the display of life-size Neil 

Armstrong statues at Major League Baseball parks across the country. In FY 2021, 

the Museum will build upon the exposure and excitement gained through programs 

such as Apollo 50, in an effort to increase the Museum’s value to existing 

audiences while using new and experiential programming techniques to reach new 

audiences. To do so, the Museum will grow its network of strategic external 

partnerships and build an identity that engages new and diverse audiences to 

become brand advocates. Priority projects in FY 2020 include the 75th anniversary 

of the ending of World War II, the third season of the Museum’s podcast AirSpace, 

and programming around Earth Optimism. 

The Museum continues to advance the two strategic goals of Preserving 

Our Natural and Cultural Heritage and Understanding and Impacting 21st Century 

Audiences by making collections, archival documents, and images available via 

publicly accessible websites. The NASM collections and archives databases 

contain extensive information on the history and provenance of each artifact and 

are an effective way to offer in-depth information to the public through electronic or 

digitized means. NASM’s electronic resources may also encourage more 

researchers to request access to the Museum’s archives and collections, and to 

make in-person visits to follow up on initial online research efforts. The NASM 

Archives set up workflows for attaching digital assets to the Smithsonian Online 

Virtual Archives (SOVA). More than 256,011 digital assets were attached to SOVA 

in FY 2019, resulting in a total of 329,755 digital assets currently available to the 

public. 
32

In FY 2021, NASM will continue to build on the success of its digitization 

program by making high-resolution images and information about our collections 

available to the public online. As part of the Smithsonian's new Open Access 

Initiative, the Museum will continually expand the number of collections and digital 

assets freely available to the public for any use. In addition, NASM will continue to 

conduct audience research and evaluate the impact of our online collections 

content with online visitors, making iterative enhancements to improve the user 

experience. The Museum will also continue to share behind-the-scenes views of 

our transformation process, panoramas inside famous aircraft and spacecraft, 

and pursue partnerships and digital storytelling efforts to engage a broader and 

more diverse audience.

Exhibitions — In FY 2021, the Museum will continue to ensure stewardship 

of and access to its peerless collection of aerospace artifacts and archival 

materials, and to produce expert scholarship and research, while developing 

content and scripts for the new galleries. In support of exhibit transformation, NASM 

will be finishing work on designs for 10 exhibits in the east end of the National Mall 

Building. These exhibits will include new designs for the space exhibitions Moving 

Beyond Earth, Explore the Universe, and Space Age and the interactive science 

gallery Textron How Things Fly, as well as the military aviation galleries for World 

War I, World War II, and Modern Military. The Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight

gallery will get an upgrade that will feature the Spirit of St. Louis airplane. Work will 

also be completed on the design of a new gallery for the east end, reflecting the 

new approaches to access to and use of outer space, the Future of Spaceflight 

gallery. The Museum also started the fabrication of the eight west-end exhibits with 

a projected installation start in FY 2021. These new exhibits include: Early Flight, A 

Nation of Speed, Exploring the Planets, America by Air, Tom Haas We All Fly,

Destination Moon, Wright Brothers, and One World Connected. In addition, NASM 

will enhance its vision of the Museum’s transformation by planning on a rotating

exhibition addressing topics related to innovation, What’s Next: Innovations in 

Aviation and Space Flight.

With the Museum under renovation and the Apollo exhibit closed during 

the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, NASM, in partnership with the 

Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), launched 

Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission traveling exhibit to bring the iconic 

Apollo 11 command module Columbia and dozens of other one-of-a-kind artifacts 

to four major cities: Houston; St. Louis; Pittsburgh and Seattle. In July of 2019, 

Destination Moon was on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle for the 50th 

anniversary of the moon landing. A fifth city, Cincinnati, was added to the 

schedule as a final stop from September of 2019 to February of 2020. Columbia

will return to NASM and be prominently displayed when the Destination Moon

gallery is completed and opened in 2022. 

Collections — NASM plans to enhance collaboration with private 

collectors and other Smithsonian museums by requesting loans of key artifacts to 

share with the public in new exhibits on the inspiring stories of America’s role in 

pioneering aeronautics and space exploration. While NASM has a substantial 
33

number of artifacts currently on loan to other museums, as well as the 

Destination Moon traveling show, it is expected that new or additional outgoing 

loans will need to be limited during the revitalization of the National Mall Building,

due to the sheer volume of work that this effort represents. NASM has refined 

tools and processes to coordinate loan transactions in support of the 

transformation, which will also make the Museum’s loan program more effective 

in the future. FY 2019 saw the addition to our collection of two major aircraft 

acquisitions, an EA-6B Prowler and a Cirrus general aviation airplane as well as 

a record-setting SpaceShipTwo rocket motor. 

Artifact logistics will be the biggest challenge throughout revitalization of the 

NMB and transformation of NASM exhibits. The Museum has more than 4,000 

artifacts affected during these moves. The reimagined NMB exhibits will require

artifact relocation to and from multiple NASM locations (that is, Garber, UHC, and 

the NMB), and will also include returning loaned objects, new loans from other 

institutions, and objects of all sizes. Approximately 3,300 objects will be re-installed 

into the Museum as part of the transformation, including many artifacts not 

currently on display at the NMB. Of the artifacts presently in the NMB, 

approximately 1,300 are not coming back into the building. Some will go into longterm storage in the new Dulles Collections Center (DCC) Storage Module or will be 

exhibited at UHC. 

Most of the artifacts will require some type of preservation or conservation 

efforts, and the collections staff has estimated how long the treatment times will be 

for each artifact. Total treatment of all the artifacts is estimated to take 

approximately 15,000 workdays, including conservation and preservation. This 

work is progressing with hundreds of artifacts already moved, treated, or in 

treatment. For example, the Wright Military Flyer has recently been relocated from 

the NMB to the UHC and is undergoing cleaning and conservation. 

NASM will continue the relocation of artifacts from the outdated, inadequate 

storage facilities at the Garber Facility to UHC, including documentation, digital 

imaging, re-housing for each artifact, and selected conservation as identified 

through triage. NASM will likely reach the capacity of available storage for mediumsize artifacts at UHC in FY 2020. NASM will store medium-sized artifacts at Garber 

until capacity at the DCC storage module begins to come available in 2024. 

Facilities — The Smithsonian Institution has completed construction of the 

first state-of-the-art storage module at the Dulles Collections Center adjacent to 

UHC. This building is serving as swing space for storing artifacts from the NMB as 

the Museum undertakes construction. In FY 2025, after completion of the NMB 

revitalization, this storage module will support the continued move of artifacts from 

the Garber Facility, but is only the first of five such buildings required to provide 

enough space to store all the artifacts remaining at the Garber facility. 

Having moved the artifacts out of the west half of the NMB, FY 2020 will see 

real progress on the NMB revitalization effort, which is estimated to account for

$500,000 of construction value every day. All staff moves in support of these first 
34

steps of revitalization were completed in FY 2018, including moving the 

advancement, curatorial and business operations staff to rented office space near 

the Museum, and permanently relocating the Archives and Smithsonian Library to 

the UHC. Staff who will remain in the NMB during the construction have been 

consolidated in the east half of the building to facilitate the renovation of staff 

spaces. In late FY 2021, these staff members will relocate into renovated staff 

spaces in the west half of the building. 

Scientific Research — To achieve the strategic goal of Enhanced 

Interdisciplinary Research, NASM’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies 

(CEPS) conducts original research related to planetary exploration, with an 

emphasis on the evolution of solid surfaces throughout the solar system. The 

CEPS also curates galleries and offers public programs in the planetary 

sciences. NASM scientists currently work as science team members for the Mars 

Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Express, Curiosity Mars rover, InSight Mars 

lander, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE), 

Europa Clipper, and the Dragonfly missions. NASM scientists analyze the data 

from these and other missions to solar system bodies, and convey this exciting 

information to the public. Original research and publications in scientific literature

concentrate on the National Research Council and NASA priorities to determine 

the origin of solar system bodies and habitable planets, with an emphasis on the 

past climate of Mars and icy moons with subsurface water in the outer solar 

system.

Historical Research — NASM continues to lead in the field of aerospace 

history by producing books, scholarly articles, and other publications, and by 

making presentations at professional conferences on the history of aerospace 

technology, aviation, aerodynamics, spaceflight, space sciences, and aviation and 

space art. Based on their research and expertise, the archives and curatorial staff 

will continue to evaluate potential acquisitions for the national collections and 

respond to numerous public inquiries. NASM will also continue to upgrade 

exhibitions dealing with aviation and spaceflight, thereby ensuring that current 

materials are available to the public.

Across NASM, our scientists and historians continue to lead the way in 

impactful and significant engagement and discussion, producing an average of 

more than 50 publications each year, many award-winning. For example, in FY

2019, the book, Reinventing the Propeller: Aeronautical Specialty and the Triumph 

of the Modern Airplane, by NASM curator Dr. Jeremy Kinney, won the American 

Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ 2020 Gardner-Lasser Aerospace History 

Literature Award. Dr. Thomas Watters, senior scientist in the CEPS, received the 

Smithsonian Secretary’s Distinguished Scholar in Science Award for his careerlong record of publications in planetary science. Other significant publications by 

NASM scholars in FY 2019 included Apollo to the Moon: A History in 50 Objects, 

by Teasel Muir-Harmony, with a forward by Apollo 11 astronaut and former NASM 

director Michael Collins; The Life and Science of Harold C. Urey, by Matthew 

Shindell; and Spaceflight: A Concise History, by Michael Neufeld.
35

Digital, Social Media, and Media Outreach — The Museum continues to 

expand its use of digital and social media outreach to share educational, 

collections and research information with the public and encourage their 

engagement with online assets, visiting the Museum, and participating in programs 

and events. Across all platforms, followers of the Museum increased more than 10

percent in FY 2019 to nearly three-quarters of a million, with more than 100 million 

impressions. Website visits increased by 10 percent to 11 million. In FY 2021, the 

Museum will focus on using analytic data to better deliver targeted content to 

students, teachers and other key audiences to ensure they have access to the 

Museum’s educational resources. This will enable NASM to reach both visitors to 

and residents of the region to provide timely information on visitation and 

programs.

The Museum also coordinates consistently with local, national and 

international media to ensure potential visitors are aware of the collections, 

educational offerings, research findings, and Museum events. During the month of 

the Apollo 11 50th anniversary celebrations, more than 5,000 stories were 

produced about the Museum, reaching a potential audience in the billions. 

Management — NASM will continue to pursue the strategic goal of Enabling 

Cost-Effective and Responsive Administration. In FY 2020, NASM is developing a 

new strategic plan that will ensure the Museum is positioned to maximize the 

opportunities provided by the revitalization and transformation of the National Mall 

Building. Additionally, NASM is pursuing diversity and inclusion initiatives to ensure 

that the Museum, its galleries, staff and volunteers reflect the population of the 

United States and the world. 

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support research, 

education, exhibitions, and fund raising, including salaries and benefits. 

Donor/sponsor-designated funds support costs related to specific programs and 

projects. A $250 million campaign to support the transformation of the National 

Mall Building and the reimagination of the 23 exhibits and presentation spaces is 

under way, with $115 million already secured. Private-sector support is also used 

to fund educational initiatives and public programs. Government grants and 

contracts support research and other scientific activities. Due to the closures of the 

revenue-generating activities and a reduced number of guests during the 

revitalization project at the National Mall Building, revenue generated by 

Smithsonian Enterprises has dropped and will continue to decline during the 

revitalization project. 
36

SMITHSONIAN ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY 

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED GOV’T GRANTS INTERAGENCY

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 99 24,593 102 24,640 10 7,658 241 77,815 1 212

FY 2020

ENACTED 99 24,745 101 22,370 10 9,026 222 79,729 1 217

FY 2021

REQUEST 99 25,431 101 22,370 10 9,026 222 79,729 1 217

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The mission of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is to advance 

the public’s knowledge and understanding of the universe through research and 

education in astronomy and astrophysics. The secondary mission is to be of service to 

the national and international astronomical communities, and to society in general, in 

areas associated with our primary mission. 

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in impactful scientific research and discovery 90 19,580 90 20,204 0 624

Engage in vital arts and humanities research

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 1 191 1 198 0 7

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities operations and provide 

a safe and healthy environment 0 312 0 312 0 0

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 8 4,462 8 4,517 0 55

Information Technology

Improve the Institution's information technology 

systems and infrastructure 0 200 0 200 0 0

TOTAL 99 24,745 99 25,431 0 686

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
37

The Observatory has an extraordinary record of achievement in developing and 

successfully implementing large, complex, and innovative observational and theoretical 

research projects. Additionally, SAO carries out investigative research performed by 

individual researchers and small groups. This broad range of activities creates the 

distinctive, fertile research environment that drives SAO’s success and makes the 

Observatory a recognized leader in the global astrophysical field of science.

SAO’s work directly supports the new Smithsonian Strategic Plan goal to “Drive 

large, visionary, interdisciplinary research and scholarly projects.” Within this goal,

SAO drives the Grand Challenge of “Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe,” by

calling for the Smithsonian to “advance knowledge at the forefront of understanding 

the universe and solid Earth.”

Founded in 1890, SAO is the largest and most diverse astrophysical research 

institution in the world. SAO has helped develop some of the world’s most 

sophisticated astronomical instruments, with high resolution at wavelengths across the 

electromagnetic spectrum, to probe the mysteries of the universe. Alone, and in 

powerful partnerships with the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Department of Energy, it has 

pioneered the development of orbiting observatories and large, ground-based 

telescopes; the application of computers to study astrophysical problems; and the 

integration of laboratory measurements and theoretical astrophysics. Observational 

data are gathered at SAO’s premier facilities: the Submillimeter Array (SMA) in 

Hawaii; and in Arizona the 6.5-meter diameter Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT), the 

Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS); and the 

specialized telescopes at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory. In addition, SAO 

conducts research with a broad range of powerful instruments aboard rockets, 

balloons, and spacecraft (most notably the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Spitzer 

Space Telescope, the Hinode Telescope, the Solar Dynamics Observatory, and the 

Parker Solar Probe); and at locations as diverse as the high plateaus of northern Chile 

and the Amundsen South Pole Station. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 

SAO collaborates with the Harvard College Observatory to form the Center for 

AstrophysicsHarvard and Smithsonian.

For more than 62 years, SAO astronomers and their colleagues have made 

revolutionary discoveries which have changed our fundamental understanding of the 

universe and our place in it. We have discovered and examined planets in orbits 

around other stars, watched as new stars are born, and discovered bizarre remnants 

of dead stars that emit vast quantities of x-rays. We have determined that the universe 

is 13.7 billion years old, and that it is populated with billions of galaxies, many of which 

have supermassive black holes at their centers. In addition, we have found convincing 

evidence that most of the matter in the universe is an unexpected mixture of some 

kind of unseen “dark matter,” with normal matter making up less than four percent of 

the total; and that the expansion of the universe is apparently accelerating, driven by a 

mysterious and invisible “dark energy.” At the same time, SAO astronomers work 

systematically on the vital basic research that seeks to explain the sun and its x-rayemitting corona, the nature of the solar system, the abundant elements in our Milky 
38

Way Galaxy, the gas and dust between the stars, the formation and evolution of 

galaxies, and other important questions about the nature of the universe.

Today, SAO continues to use advanced technologies to make new discoveries, 

leading to a coherent story of the cosmos from the Big Bang to intelligent life here on 

Earth.

SAO’s research is unique and world renowned because of the strength and 

diversity of its observers, theorists, instrument developers, engineers, and laboratory 

experimentalists, and because SAO emphasizes multiple strategies which draw from 

the strengths of both small projects and large research centers. Indeed, SAO’s 

extraordinary research success is partly the result of the rich cross-fertilization that its 

outstanding scholars bring to each other in a climate that nurtures collaborative 

excellence and sharing of ideas. 

SAO’s pre-eminence is underscored by the prominent role its scientists 

take in the consideration and establishment of national policy for astrophysics. 

For instance, Alexey Vikhlinin is co-chair of NASA’s Science and Technology 

Definition Team for the Lynx Mission Concept, one of four contenders for the 

highest-level recommendation in the upcoming National Academies of Science 

Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics. SAO scientists and engineers 

are engaged in key roles for two other mission concepts: the Origins Space 

Telescope, and the Large Ultraviolet, Optical and Infrared telescope. In addition,

SAO offers key advice and reviews to NASA for the James Webb Space 

Telescope.

Together with its partner, the Harvard College Observatory, SAO is the top 

choice of graduate- and postdoctoral-level young scientists for astrophysics. 

Continued federal support makes this leadership possible.

The FY 2021 budget request includes $686,000 for necessary pay and 

other related salary costs for existing staff funded under this line item.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

To achieve the goal of Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research, SAO scientists will 

make optimal use of various astronomical facilities to support their research, including 

the ground-based optical and radio telescopes owned and operated by SAO in 

Arizona and Hawaii, and space-based telescopes, most notably the Chandra X-ray 

Observatory, which is operated by SAO on behalf of NASA, NASA’s Solar Dynamics 

Observatory, and the Parker Solar Probe. SAO scientists also have research 

privileges at the two 6.5-meter Magellan telescopes in northern Chile (because of 

SAO’s partnership with the Harvard College Observatory). In addition, SAO scientists 

and engineers are leading the science operations team and carrying out a vital 

scientific research program in very high-energy astrophysics, with the VERITAS 

telescope in southern Arizona. SAO also collaborated with University of California at 

Los Angeles (UCLA) scientists to design and build a prototype for the Cerenkov 
39

Telescope Array, an international collaboration that will build upon VERITAS’ 

successes. These facilities enable SAO scientists to make substantial progress in 

answering fundamental questions about the origin and nature of the universe, 

including efforts to understand more about dark energy and dark matter, as well as 

questions about the formation and evolution of the Earth and similar planets. In 

addition, SAO scientists will continue their work on future space missions, 

collaborating with NASA and its research center on missions to study the sun, the xray universe, and the outer solar system.

SAO scientists are taking the lead in expanding the international Event Horizon 

Telescope (EHT), which draws radio telescopes around the globe into one network, 

including SAO’s SMA, to operate as one gigantic radio observatory to study the 

physics of the supermassive black holes at the centers of two galaxies: our own Milky 

Way and the giant galaxy M87. The iconic image of the M87 black hole, released to 

the world on April 10, 2019, is probably the most seen scientific image in history. 

SAO’s leadership in coordinating the project that produced the amazing picture 

directly contributed to the EHT being awarded the prestigious 2020 Breakthrough

Prize in Fundamental Physics. SAO is also collaborating with Taiwan’s Academia

Sinica, Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, to establish a radio observatory in 

Greenland. The telescope was delivered to Thule in 2016 and came online in 2018. 

This radio observatory played a crucial role in enabling the Event Horizon Telescope’s 

observations of M87.

SAO scientists and engineers also play leading roles in the development 

of new techniques and instrumentation for astronomy. Much of this effort is now 

directed toward enabling technologies for the next generation of major 

telescopes. SAO scientists and engineers took the lead in designing critical

elements of the Giant Magellan Telescope’s wavefront control system that allows 

the seven huge mirrors to work as a single optical element. SAO also continues 

to lead in the design and development of the first instrument that will be installed 

on the GMT: the GMT-Consortium Large Earth Finder (G-CLEF), which will 

enable astronomers to detect signs of life on planets orbiting nearby stars. SAO

scientists, working with a brilliant Harvard graduate student, are developing an 

extension for G-CLEF that will make it even more sensitive to evidence of life on 

planets orbiting nearby stars.

In addition, the SAO team delivered and now operates a major instrument

on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission. The Solar Wind Electrons, Alphas and 

Protons (SWEAP) is the only instrument on this mission that looks directly at the 

sun as the spacecraft approaches closer to the sun than any previous mission.

The Parker Solar Probe was launched from Cape Canaveral on August 12, 2018, 

and the mission and SWEAP are delivering exceptional scientific results.

SAO scientists take a leadership role in astrophysics by participating in or 

hosting national and international conferences (e.g., the American Astronomical 

Society, the International Astronomical Union, and the Astronomical Data Analysis 

Software and Systems conference series), by participating as keynote and/or invited 
40

speakers at such meetings, and by serving on a diverse range of astronomical and 

astrophysical review panels. SAO scientists will also continue to publish in leading 

peer-reviewed journals, such as the Astrophysical Journal, the Astronomical Journal, 

and Astronomy & Astrophysics. In addition, SAO developed and operates the 

Astrophysics Data System, which is recognized as a world leader in the dissemination 

of scientific literature about the cosmos.

SAO will achieve the strategic goal to Understand and Impact 21st Century 

Audiences by producing and delivering educational services and products rooted in 

SAO research to meet the educational needs of the Observatory’s learners. This 

sustained outreach effort gives SAO increased publicity and recognition.

The strategic goal of Enabling Cost-Effective and Responsive Administration

will be achieved by making SAO’s information technology (IT) infrastructure robust, 

reliable, and secure; maintaining a cooperative environment through communication 

and activities that underscore SAO’s special mission and each staff member’s 

contribution to its success; evaluating managers and supervisors on their compliance 

with applicable equal opportunity laws, rules, and regulations, and on the 

effectiveness of their efforts to achieve a diverse workforce; and facilitating the use of 

small, minority, women-owned, and other underused businesses in SAO’s 

procurement operations and business relationships. These management tools will 

continue to support and enhance SAO’s scientific and educational missions. 

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds come primarily from 

overhead charged on grants and contracts. SAO uses these funds to support 

administrative functions approved in the Indirect Cost Proposal submitted to the 

Department of the Interior, as required by 2 Code of Federal Regulations 200, Uniform 

Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal 

Awards. Donor/sponsor-designated funds come primarily from restricted gifts from 

individuals, foundations, and corporations, which are earmarked for particular 

purposes; restricted endowment funds; and non-Governmental grants and contracts. 

Government grants and contracts come from Government agencies for research in 

areas of SAO’s expertise. SAO often conducts this research in cooperation with 

governmental, academic, and research institutions in the United States and abroad.
41

MAJOR SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTATION

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL TRUST DONOR/SPONSOR

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS & 

CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 0 4,118 0 0 0 0 0 0

FY 2020

ENACTED 0 4,118 0 0 0 0 0 0

FY 2021

REQUEST 0 4,118 0 0 0 0 0 0

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/

Program Category

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research

Research

Engage in impactful scientific research and discovery 0 4,118 0 4,118 0 0

Total 0 4,118 0 4,118 0 0

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

Smithsonian science is engaged in research and discovery focused on the origin 

and evolution of the universe, the formation and evolution of Earth and similar planets, the 

origins and prevalence of life in the universe, the discovery and understanding of 

biological diversity, and the study of human diversity and cultural change.

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s (SAO) work directly supports the 

Smithsonian Strategic Plan’s goal to “Drive large, visionary, interdisciplinary research and 

scholarly projects.” Within this goal, SAO drives the Grand Challenge of “Unlocking the 

Mysteries of the Universe,” by calling for the Smithsonian to “advance knowledge at the 

forefront of understanding the universe and solid Earth.”

The Smithsonian uses its no-year funding from the Major Scientific Instrumentation 

(MSI) line item to develop large-scale instrumentation projects with advanced 

technologies that enable scientists at SAO to remain at the forefront of astronomy and 

astrophysics research. The Smithsonian’s criteria for proposing and selecting MSI 

projects are: 1) the instrumentation will enable compelling scientific advances that would 

not otherwise occur (either at SAO or anywhere else in the world) for some time to come; 

2) the instrumentation is novel and technically advanced, and would not be developed 

without SAO’s significant contribution; and 3) the science enabled by the innovative 

instruments significantly advances the Smithsonian Institution’s Strategic Plan. The 

fundamental role for federal appropriations is to support the basic scientific infrastructure 

that enables SAO to conduct research, compete for external grants and funding, publish 
42

in peer-reviewed journals, and inform the public about the latest scientific discoveries in 

an exciting and compelling manner. Because of the magnitude of the costs involved and 

the time required to fabricate major new instruments and reconfigure existing ones, the 

Institution requests that MSI funds for these projects be kept available until they are 

spent.

Innovative instrumentation has enabled astronomers to make fundamental 

discoveries about the universe, such as the existence of more than 4,000 planets around 

nearby stars and the bizarre remnants of dead stars that emit large quantities of x-rays in 

the Milky Way Galaxy. Scientists have determined that the universe is 13.7 billion years 

old and that it is populated with billions of galaxies, many of which have supermassive 

black holes at their centers. Research has produced strong evidence that the expansion 

of the universe is accelerating due to a mysterious and invisible “dark energy.” Today, 

SAO scientists use advanced technologies to produce a coherent story of the cosmos 

from the Big Bang to the origins of life on Earth. MSI funds are used to meet this 

objective.

Three SAO projects are included in the FY 2021 MSI line item: the Greenland 

Telescope; the Submillimeter Telescope Array (SMA) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii; and the 

Advanced Telescope Instrumentation for the converted Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT) 

at SAO’s Fred L. Whipple Observatory at Mt. Hopkins, Arizona and the Giant Magellan 

Telescope in northern Chile.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

SAO’s mission is to engage in astrophysical research and discovery. Observational 

astrophysics is the basic science responsible for the understanding of the universe and its 

components beyond Earth. SAO has made leading contributions to many key discoveries 

in astrophysics, including: 1) the remarkable discovery that the expansion of the universe 

is accelerating; 2) the discovery of enormous patterns traced by galaxies in the universe;

3) the most compelling demonstration of the existence of supermassive black holes at the 

centers of most galaxies; 4) the discovery of very high-energy gamma rays; 5) the most 

convincing observational evidence for the existence of dark matter; and 6) the discovery 

of planets orbiting other stars. SAO scientists contributed to these discoveries by using 

key facilities that enable observations in several different bands of the electromagnetic 

spectrum (i.e., the broad range of light that is emitted by objects in the universe). These 

contributions have put SAO in the forefront of this generation of astronomers and 

astrophysicists. 

SAO’s pre-eminence is underscored by the prominent role its scientists take in the 

consideration and establishment of national policy for astrophysics. For instance, Alexey 

Vikhlinin is co-chair of NASA’s Science and Technology Definition Team for the Lynx 

Mission Concept, one of four contenders for the highest-level recommendation in the 

upcoming National Academies of Science Decadal Survey of Astronomy and 

Astrophysics. In addition, SAO scientists and engineers are engaged in key roles for two 

other mission concepts, the Origins Space Telescope and the Large Ultraviolet, Optical 
43

and Infrared Telescope. SAO also offers key advice and reviews to the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the James Webb Space Telescope.

Together with its partner, the Harvard College Observatory, SAO is the top choice 

of graduate- and postdoctoral-level young scientists for astrophysics. Continued federal 

support makes this leadership possible.

SAO’s strength in observational astrophysics depends on its major ground-based 

facilities, the Submillimeter Array, the MMT, the Giant Magellan Telescope (under 

development), and the NASA space-based facilities, including the Chandra X-ray 

Observatory, the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Solar Dynamics Observatory, and the 

Parker Solar Probe. Access to both ground- and space-based observatories enables SAO 

scientists to conduct research that would be impossible with either type of observatory 

alone. SAO’s future strength in ground-based observational astrophysics depends entirely

on equipping the Submillimeter Array and its optical telescopes with powerful new 

instruments, and establishing the new Greenland Telescope. This leadership, in turn,

depends on developing specialized instruments and facilities that do not now exist. A 

team of talented scientists and engineers must work together, over several years, to 

develop these tools with support from multi-year MSI funding.

Greenland Telescope ($500,000)

The Greenland Telescope was originally a National Science Foundation (NSF)

prototype for the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). It was transferred to SAO from 

NSF Astronomy, and has been retrofitted for cold-weather operation by SAO’s partner 

institution, the Academia Sinica Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA) in 

Taiwan. These investments by NSF and by our Taiwanese collaborators will be greatly 

leveraged by the SAO contribution. 

The Smithsonian considers this an excellent opportunity to capitalize on a highly 

leveraged use of federal funds with high-value science returns on the investment. 

The Greenland Telescope forms the northernmost node of a Very Long Baseline 

Interferometer (VLBI), operated jointly with the SMA (Hawaii) and the ALMA telescope 

array (Chile), to make unprecedented observations of the event horizon of the 

supermassive black hole (six billion times the mass of our sun) at the heart of the giant 

galaxy M87. This will complement the observations to be made in the southern 

hemisphere of the less massive black hole (only four million solar masses) at the center 

of our own Milky Way Galaxy. The combination of these observations will revolutionize 

our understanding of gravity where it is at its strongest, the very edges of black holes, and 

provide pioneering data for astronomers and physicists to analyze as they pursue the 

Smithsonian’s Grand Challenge of Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe. When the 

Greenland Telescope is not connected to the VLBI network, it will exploit its high, dry 

location and stable atmosphere to make sensitive measurements of molecules in space 

at the highest frequencies accessible from the ground.
44

In FY 2018, SAO, with its partner ASIAA, achieved first light with the telescope in 

Thule, at the United States Air Force base in Greenland, and in FY 2019 connected the 

antenna with the SMA and other Event Horizon Telescopes to make unprecedented 

observations of the event horizon of the black hole at the heart of galaxy M87. The 

telescope will be a key resource for the next set of observations of M87 in FY 2021.

Finally, the SAO has worked with the NSF Division of Polar Programs to identify a 

high, dry, northern site on the Greenland ice sheet as the ideal place for high-frequency 

radio astronomical observations that require excellent atmospheric transmission and 

exceptional atmospheric stability. The NSF is redeveloping the Greenland Summit Station 

to better conduct this research. The development of astronomical activities at the site is a 

key element of the redevelopment plans. 

Submillimeter Telescope Array ($1,718,000)

The SMA is a pathfinder instrument operating between radio and infrared

wavelengths, and has a major impact in exploring the cool universe. In recent years,

scientific studies have continued to focus on the study of the distant universe, planetforming disks, and star formation, including the important role that magnetic fields play in 

star formation and the dynamics of molecular clouds. In this last area, the SMA leads the 

field due to polarimetry instrumentation developed at SAO, which the Observatory plans 

to further enhance in coming years.

For the record, the SMA is the only submillimeter instrument in the world that can 

respond rapidly to alerts of rare or unique events detected by other observatories. When

NASA’s Fermi and Swift satellites detected unusual activity in the transient black hole 

binary in V404 Cygni, the SMA formed part of a worldwide observing campaign to monitor 

the outburst. V404 Cygni was briefly the brightest object in the x-ray sky, and the SMA 

captured a corresponding increase in the submillimeter brightness by more than a factor 

of 50 in less than an hour.

The SMA is a key element of the Event Horizon Telescope, linking several 

submillimeter observatories, on continental scales, to examine the black hole at the 

center of the Milky Way at high angular resolution. The Greenland Telescope joined the 

Event Horizon Telescope in FY 2018, enabling key observations of the black hole at the 

center of galaxy M87 that led to the first image of the event horizon of a black hole 

produced on April 10, 2019.

The capacity to conduct a scientific observation with the SMA depends on the 

collecting area or size of the telescope array, the weather, and the sensitivity and number 

of receivers in operation during an observation. The collecting area of the telescope array 

is fixed at 8 x 6-meter antennas and cannot be augmented without significant additional 

funding. 

The sensitivity of the SMA depends on the instrumentation that processes the 

incoming signals. SAO is developing new capabilities that will ultimately make the entire 
45

SMA 12 to 24 times more sensitive than it was when commissioned. (This is as though 

each of the telescopes became 12–24 times larger. Note that the range of enhancement 

depends on the operational model of the array.) Funds are requested in FYs 2020 and 

2021 to enable the array to become 6–12 times more sensitive, a significant step toward 

the full enhancement.

Advanced Telescope Instrumentation for the Optical Telescopes ($1,900,000)

SAO’s expertise in building large and powerful instruments is a crucial capability in 

the era of extremely large telescopes that is now upon us. Continued MSI funding will 

enable SAO to conduct this research and maintain the United States’ lead in this 

important scientific field.

The MMT, a joint project of SAO and the University of Arizona, dedicated in 1979, 

was originally made up of six identical 1.8-meter telescopes in a single altitude-azimuth 

(naval-gun-type) mount. In the 1990s, SAO replaced the six smaller mirrors of the original 

MMT with a single mirror 6.5 meters in diameter. This large mirror more than doubled the 

light-gathering capability of the telescope, and a set of large corrector lenses, built with 

MSI funding, increased its field of view 400 times.

The converted MMT is an extremely powerful telescope, but requires sophisticated 

instruments to analyze the light it collects. To this end, SAO has built increasingly 

sophisticated instruments to exploit the MMT’s potential, starting with Megacam in 2003 

and most recently with the Binospec instrument commissioned since then.

Binospec is a “game-changer,” enabling the MMT to compete on an equal footing 

with the largest telescopes in the world. Binospec’s huge light grasp will enable SAO 

scientists to carry out pioneering explorations of the structure and evolution of galaxies, 

the structure of the Milky Way, and the nature of dark matter and dark energy. Binospec’s 

nimbleness in moving between spectroscopy and imaging allows Smithsonian scientists 

to lead in observing transient events, such as supernova explosions and gamma-ray 

bursts, to map the geometry of the universe and accurately detect objects at the farthest 

reaches of the universe. The scientific opportunities opened by Binospec are attracting

the next generation of astrophysicists who will exploit the power of the Giant Magellan 

Telescope for the next 20 to 30 years.

SAO scientists are advising their counterparts at the National Autonomous 

University of Mexico (UNAM) on the development of a new telescope that will be very 

similar to the MMT. This telescope will be located at the superb San Pedro Martir site in 

Baja California, Mexico, with an estimated construction time of four to six years. SAO 

plans to relocate Binospec at minimal cost to this new facility. Access to an additional 

telescope will expand the capacity of Binospec to conduct novel observations of the 

universe and continue to make new discoveries.

The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is being developed by SAO in partnership 

with 10 other research institutions in the United States, Australia, Brazil and South Korea. 
46

When the GMT starts scientific operations in 2029, it will be the largest optical telescope 

in the world, with a 24.5-meter (83-foot)-diameter primary mirror. This larger aperture will 

allow SAO to peer back in time and explore the earliest phases of the universe, and to 

take much sharper images than those obtainable with the Hubble Space Telescope or the 

James Webb Space Telescope.

SAO leads the design, development, and manufacture of the first scientific 

instrument that will be used with the GMT— the GMT- Consortium Large Earth Finder (GCLEF). G-CLEF will be used to search for planets that are “Earth Twins” orbiting other

stars and to hunt for evidence of life on those planets. G-CLEF is the only instrument in 

development for the coming generation of Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) that will be 

capable of detecting signs of biological activity in exoplanet atmospheres.

The MMT is a superb platform on which to develop innovative technologies for the 

new generation of extremely large telescopes such as the GMT. In addition to work on GCLEF, SAO scientists are developing a novel instrument that is designed specifically to 

enhance G-CLEF’s ability to detect breathable diatomic oxygen in exoplanet 

atmospheres. Breathable oxygen is the strongest indicator of life on an exoplanet. A 

small, prototype instrument is being built for operation on the MMT to validate and 

optimize the underlying concept before a GMT-scale instrument is built.

After the successful transition of Binospec to scientific operations in FY 2020, MSI 

funds will be used in FY 2021 to complete a key enhancement to Binospec. Additionally, 

MSI funds will continue to advance the design of G-CLEF and develop prototypes of highrisk subsystems needed to use the instrument to its full potential.
47

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T 

GRANTS INTERAGENCY

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 315 49,789 19 5,025 58 17,374 15 3,419 9 804

FY 2020

ENACTED 315 49,789 20 5,060 59 18,025 16 3,550 9 850

FY 2021

REQUEST 317 52,130 20 5,080 59 17,700 16 3,600 9 860

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in impactful scientific research and discovery 104 17,305 104 17,939 0 634

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 4 495 4 519 0 24

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 13 1,743 13 1,822 0 79

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 47 7,048 47 7,334 0 286

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 28 3,553 28 3,724 0 171

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 86 14,622 88 15,569 2 947

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities operations and provide 

a safe and healthy environment 4 842 4 866 0 24

Security

Provide world-class protection for Smithsonian 

facilities, collections, staff, visitors and volunteers 1 181 1 187 0 6

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 14 1,764 14 1,849 0 85

Information Technology

Improve the Institution's information technology 

systems and infrastructure 14 2,236 14 2,321 0 85

Total 315 49,789 317 52,130 2 2,341

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
48

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The mission of the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is to 

understand the natural world and our place in it. We seek to inspire curiosity, 

discovery, and learning about nature and culture through outstanding research, 

collections, exhibitions, and education. Building upon its unique and vast collections 

and associated data, field research stations, specialized laboratories, and an 

internationally recognized team of staff scientists, research associates, federal 

agency partners, and Fellows, the Museum provides fundamental knowledge to a 

wide array of constituencies ranging from federal agencies to the public. The 

Museum’s scientific research focuses broadly on discovering, documenting, and 

understanding biodiversity; studying the formation and evolution of the Earth and 

other planets; exploring human diversity and cultural change; and investigating 

evolutionary patterns and processes throughout the history of life on Earth. This

research provides new understanding and relevance to broader national and 

international scientific agendas, looking at such important societal issues as climate

change, biodiversity loss, cultural conflict, and natural hazards.

Natural history science (that is, the observation, description, documentation, 

and analysis of the natural world) is foundational to many science domains and is 

essential to understanding our ever-changing world. NMNH science spans an 

enormous breadth of natural history and our expert staff contributes a depth of 

knowledge that is among the finest in the world. Our authoritative expertise in diverse

research areas also helps NMNH demonstrate the relevance and importance of 

natural history science in general. Our massive and varied scientific collections 

provide a powerful research resource for enhancing our understanding of life on 

Earth.

NMNH science has global impact and is widely cited by the greater scientific 

community. Our scientists discover new species and document and analyze how 

species arise, evolve, persist, diversify, and interact with each other and with the 

environment, as well as how they migrate and go extinct. Our earth and planetary 

scientists contribute to our understanding of Earth’s history as well as the effects of 

geologic and meteoritic phenomena on Earth’s atmosphere and biosphere. They 

study the dynamic planet we inhabit in all its aspects, from its surface to its core. 

NMNH anthropologists use collections and field-based studies to help understand the 

continually evolving story of our species and our interactions with other life and with 

the planet. Our Museum’s science staff also translates science to society through its

diverse and dedicated outreach efforts, and invests heavily in training and mentoring 

the next generation of new scientists. 

Our collections and collections expertise are fundamental to science. The 

scope and breadth of NMNH collections provide a vast research infrastructure that 

supports our scientific mission. NMNH scientists work with their professional 

colleagues around the world to further build and draw on these collections, make new 

discoveries, and test new theories. NMNH collections also represent an invaluable 

historical archive, documenting billions of years of planetary, geological, organismal, 

and cultural changes.
49

The Museum’s stewardship of its collections, making up more than 146 million 

natural history specimens and human artifacts, is at the core of its mission. This set 

of collections, the largest of its kind in the world, is an unparalleled resource for 

collections-based studies of Earth, including its plants, animals, fossils, minerals, and 

human activity. These anthropological, biological, and geological specimens and 

objects are the foundation for all of the Museum’s scientific work. With their 

unparalleled spatial breadth and temporal depth, the collections promote analyses 

and interpretations that enable scientists to connect observations of contemporary 

phenomena with the past and events around the world, so that we can better 

understand our planet and the effects of human activities on it. The Museum’s 

collections capture the imagination and stimulate the next generation of scientists and

are important for maintaining the Institution’s intellectual infrastructure and keeping 

our nation competitive in international science and the application of scientific 

knowledge. NMNH collections and their attendant information are a dynamic resource 

used by researchers, educators, and policy makers worldwide. 

In addition, NMNH’s collections serve as valuable reference materials for U.S. 

Government agencies. These resources are actively and collaboratively used by staff 

members of the Departments of Defense, Commerce, Agriculture, and Interior, who 

are housed in NMNH facilities. For example, tens of thousands of insects urgently 

requiring identification are sent to the NMNH from ports of entry each year. Scientists 

at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and NMNH consult the collections and rapidly 

provide identifications to border control agencies so that U.S. agricultural and 

economic interests are kept secure from damage by potentially invasive species. The 

NMNH bird collections provide answers to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 

and the U.S. Department of Defense, revealing the species of birds that damage 

aircraft, and leading to improved habitat control around airports and better aircraft 

and engine design to prevent accidents in aviation. NMNH collections also serve 

repository functions for several agencies, including the National Cancer Institute, the 

Department of the Interior, and NASA, and the Museum’s human skeletal collections 

assist in FBI investigations.

The NMNH’s first-class research and collections support its exhibitions and 

educational outreach. As one of the most visited museums in the world, NMNH 

provides diverse public audiences with presentations on every aspect of life on Earth. 

In FY 2019, the Museum hosted more than four million on-site visitors. Through many 

affiliations and partnerships, the NMNH takes its science, exhibitions, and public 

programs to other museums and non-traditional exhibition venues, such as libraries, 

parks, schools, and universities across the country. With a growing network of 

interactive websites (which hosted more than 12 million unique visitors), distancelearning experiences, social media and software applications (apps), the Museum is 

transforming itself into a true digital classroom that is potentially accessible to 

everyone — free of charge.

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $2,341,000. The increase 

includes $1,932,000 for necessary pay and other related salary costs for existing staff 

funded under this line item, and a programmatic increase of 2 FTEs and $409,000 for 

collections managers.
50

MEANS AND STRATEGY

The NMNH has a long history of training future scientists, including those

abroad, which strengthens the Museum’s collections and scientific infrastructure, as 

well as the connections with international scientists and museums. The NMNH is 

committed to training future generations of scientists by increasing the number of

postdoctoral Fellowship awards and providing an entry-level research experience for 

the most talented undergraduates in the Earth and life sciences, as well as 

anthropology. The NMNH will also continue to emphasize collaboration with foreign 

students and colleagues to broaden the Museum’s international science network. 

In FY 2021, the Museum will continue to use a combination of federal and 

private funding to advance the NMNH’s goals of investing in the next generation of 

scientists and researchers. Through the Museum’s academic programs, it will 

continue to create a staircase of academic opportunity to mentor the next generation 

of museum scientists and professionals. These programs take students and young 

professionals from the early stages of exploration in high school to the postdoctoral 

peak of stepping into the role of being professional scientists, by offering various

Fellowship and internship programs for undergraduates, graduates, and 

postgraduates.

Also in FY 2021, the NMNH will contribute to Preserving Our Natural and 

Cultural Heritage by continuing to emphasize the following: collections preservation 

and access projects related to initiatives in preserving indigenous languages through 

preservation of manuscripts, recordings, and still and moving images; preserving and

digitizing animal, plant, and fossil collections and their associated paper records;

assessing and improving the management of archival materials; and preserving 

biological samples at ultra-cold temperatures to document biodiversity as part of the 

Global Genome Initiative. 

Collections Care Initiative (CCI) funding will support replacing cabinetry, 

applying updated preservation techniques to fluid-preserved collections such as 

invertebrates stored in alcohol, linking ownership of previously digitized records with 

their associated specimen records, surveying archival collections, and providing 

technical assistance for a digitization strategy that will make hundreds of thousands 

of glass slide-mounted specimens accessible for broader use by scientists. 

In addition, an essential element of the NMNH’s plans to achieve the strategic 

goal of Preserving Our Natural and Cultural Heritage in FY 2021 is the Museum’s 

commitment to the stewardship of its federal scientific collections. As demonstrated 

by federal agencies’ uses of the collections, and underscored by a survey of federal 

collections, these resources play an important role in public health and safety, 

homeland security, trade and economic development, medical research, and 

environmental monitoring. They also provide the foundation for the Museum’s diverse 

research, exhibits, and public outreach programs. The NMNH will continue its strong

commitment to cutting-edge research and state-of-the-art stewardship of the 

collections, in partnership with affiliated federal agencies such as the Departments of 

Defense, Commerce, Agriculture, and the Interior. Federal funding is the linchpin for 
51

maintaining and preserving these priceless collections and their valuable information 

for future generations, while also supporting their use for important ongoing research 

that, for example, facilitates recovery efforts after natural disasters such as volcanic 

eruptions and the associated loss of biodiversity. The breadth of NMNH research and 

its collections of biological, geological, and anthropological objects foster an 

interdisciplinary environment that attracts other academic institutions, foreign 

researchers, and national and international policy makers.

To achieve the strategic goal of Understanding and Impacting 21st Century 

Audiences, in FY 2021 the NMNH will continue to use funding to maintain and 

upgrade permanent exhibitions, replace outdated exhibits with multi-disciplinary, 

interactive exhibitions on the Mall and in other venues through traveling exhibits, and 

to conduct more digital outreach across the country. Both the permanent and 

temporary exhibitions reflect best practices in visitor experience planning and 

informal science education, and the Museum will continue to develop these exhibits 

as part of an array of public outreach activities. 

Many years of dedicated work by scores of people throughout the Museum 

and beyond came to a climax on June 8, 2019, with the long-awaited opening of The 

David H. Koch Hall of Fossils — Deep Time exhibition, the largest and most complex 

in the Museum’s history. The response by visitors, peers, and the press has been 

overwhelmingly enthusiastic. The exhibition is the centerpiece of a wide range of 

related CCI projects, including a rich array of educational programming, two major 

scientific symposia, extensive field research, and public outreach through traditional 

and social media. The Museum used approximately $50 million in private funds for 

the exhibit fabrication, remounting of the fossils in the Hall, and educational 

programming. This exhibit demonstrates how the Museum is successfully combining 

federal funding with its own philanthropic fund raising from private sources.

The Museum’s exhibition Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World (on view 

into 2021) continues to be popular with the NMNH’s audiences and with members of 

the global health community. Support for the exhibit and an extensive slate of related 

programming has come from numerous agencies, including the Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases 

(NFID), as well as foundations and individuals. The print-on-demand poster version of 

the exhibit, Outbreak DIY, is carrying the crucial messages on human, animal, and 

environmental health to schools, libraries, clinics, and other locations around the 

globe. As of October 2019, the Outbreak DIY poster has been displayed in 114 

locations, in 32 countries, and 23 states, including Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, 

and is printed in at least seven languages. In early 2020, the Museum will complete a 

Web platform to simplify distribution and help meet an expected increase in demand.

Unsettled Nature: Artists Respond to the Age of Humans opens in March of 2020

to mark the first anniversary of the opening of the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils — Deep 

Time. This exhibition will feature eight artists who raise awareness of and encourage 

reflection on the role of humans in shaping Earth’s recent past, present, and future. With 

curatorial supervision from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the NMNH expects

Unsettled Nature to be an exhibition of innovative and thought-provoking art in a variety 
52

of media, and to provide a forum for conversation around Anthropocene topics. The 

exhibit is supported in part by the Windland Smith Rice Fund.

In FY 2021, the NMNH will continue to inspire public appreciation of, and 

engagement with, science and the natural world through efforts in our education, 

outreach and visitor experience programs. The NMNH will also continue to 

professionalize the visitor experience program, increasing volunteer and paid staffing 

to ensure that all public interactions result in consistent, engaging and inclusive 

experiences to meet the needs of all visitors. The NMNH is continually improving the 

accessibility of exhibits and programs, and successfully reaching underserved 

audiences and people from under-represented communities.

To achieve the strategic goal of Understanding and Impacting 21st Century 

Audiences, in FY 2021 the NMNH will conduct evaluations and research the 

effectiveness of programs and activities with audiences, both at the Museum and

nationwide. In 2021, the Museum will disseminate findings from studies on the impact 

of distance-learning programs on elementary students’ perceptions of science and 

scientists. The NMNH will also share methods developed with school system 

stakeholders to support science learning among high school students, and will

disseminate findings on the impact of educational Deep Time activities in underserved 

communities across the nation. These studies will shed light on how co-learning can 

occur when children and parents participate in science activities together. 

Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center — the Museum’s 

science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning facility — brings 

NMNH research and collections to the forefront. In FY 2021, the Museum will 

continue to design Q?rius programs to inspire, nurture, grow, and diversify the next 

generation of STEM professionals by helping citizens become aware of their 

connection to current issues affecting the natural and cultural world. To achieve this, 

the Museum will create more opportunities for visitors to participate in learning 

experiences based on current research and authentic collections in the Q?rius center

and throughout the Museum. 

Also in FY 2021, the NMNH will continue implementing its public engagement 

plan to coordinate its many outreach efforts. This plan focuses the Museum’s 

permanent and temporary exhibitions, educational and outreach programs, and Web 

outreach on the major research themes identified in the Science Strategic Plan: 

Understanding the formation of the Earth and similar planets, discovering and 

understanding life’s diversity, and exploring human diversity and cultural change.

In FY 2021, the NMNH will make available the Museum’s science experts and 

collections from behind the scenes, and provide the public with opportunities to 

engage with scientists, their research, collections, and research-grade scientific 

equipment, with programs such as “The Expert Is In” series. In addition, the Museum 

will continue to host special themed days and festivals that bring the public and 

NMNH science experts together to focus on a specific area of natural history and 

science, such as Teen Earth Optimism, National Fossil Day, World Ocean Day, 

International Polychaete Day, Invasive Species Awareness Day, Pollinator Week, the 
53

Environmental Film Festival, the Innovation Festival, the Smithsonian‐wide Solstice 

Day, and the Smithsonian Women’s History Initiative.

The Museum will also keep reaching out to a growing local, national, and 

international audience, including children and families, students and teachers, adults, and 

especially teenagers who visit the Museum on the Mall or its extensive presence online. 

Outreach activities will include traveling exhibitions, distance learning, and in-depth, 

online resources, including the award-winning Smithsonian Science How webcasts, the 

Ocean Portal, Human Origins, and the Encyclopedia of Life, as well as digitized 

collections and longstanding programs of lectures, films, and teacher education. 

These NMNH programs and resources will continue to inspire citizens by 

making them aware of current issues related to the natural and cultural world, helping 

them understand their role in addressing those issues, and enabling them to 

participate in experiences that inspire stewardship, conservation, and protection of 

natural and cultural diversity. In addition, Museum staff are focusing their efforts to 

build new youth audiences and increase youth participation in a continuum of 

opportunities that inspire, nurture, grow, and diversify the next generation of STEM 

professionals. Through innovations in educational technology, these efforts will serve 

visitors to the nation’s capital as well as millions of people around the world who 

cannot visit the Museum in person. The NMNH will continue to use focused audience 

research and evaluation tools to study the effectiveness of its public education and 

outreach efforts.

EXPLANATION OF CHANGE

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $2,341,000. The increase 

includes $1,932,000 for necessary pay and a programmatic increase of 2 FTEs and 

$409,000 for collections managers.

Collections Stewardship (+$409,000, +2 FTEs) 

The funding will enable the Museum to support essential levels of collections 

access and stewardship to meet the needs of resident researchers and external 

users, particularly involving the care and management of the recently transferred 

National Parasite Collection from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a 

large, complex collection from the National Cancer Institute.

The National Parasite Collection is among the largest and most active 

parasite collections in the world, and is an important resource used by scientists

and experts around the world, helping them with research and investigating

livestock, and wildlife infections, as well as assisting with quarantine and disease 

eradication efforts in people. The collection, which the Government first began 

collecting in 1892, was transferred to the Smithsonian from the USDA in 2014 

and contains more than 20 million specimens. Many specimens have been 

stored in inadequate containers, causing severe deterioration. The budget 

increase request will assist the Museum in sorting, cataloguing, and moving the 

collection into new storage containers that meet Smithsonian standards. 
54

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) collection contains an extensive 

collection of tissue samples from rare and highly controlled animals, making it an 

unusually valuable resource. The samples were collected by the NCI on one of 

their many bioprospecting surveys in marine and terrestrial environments,

searching for anticancer compounds. The budget increase will help the Museum 

curate and store the collection at Smithsonian standards as well as support 

maintaining, accessing and using the collection for scientific research. 

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support salaries and 

benefits of administrative personnel, advancement and business activities, and other 

program-related costs. The Museum raises funds from private sources to support 

research, exhibitions, public programs, and administrative functions. This fund raising 

includes securing donations from special events to promote new exhibitions and 

educational initiatives, as well as public outreach. Donor/sponsor-designated funds 

are vital to support exhibition hall renovations, such as the major gifts that have 

helped to fund extensive renovations of the Fossil Hall and ongoing upgrades to the 

Oceans and Human Origins Halls, and offer educational activities and programs such 

as Q?rius, the STEM education and experience center. In addition, significant 

endowment gifts support internships and Fellowships which introduce more students 

to the natural sciences, underwrite field research, and help the Museum maintain and 

expand its educational programs. 

In FY 2021, a gift made by Jere and Bonnie Broh-Kahn will fund the assistant 

director for education, outreach, and visitor services position. This role is responsible 

for defining and directing the development and implementation of education, 

outreach, and visitor programs for the Museum, and expanding the public impact to 

provide a first-class experience for our visitors.

In FY 2021, endowment funds will support research, exhibit, and education 

programs, including many Fellowships. The Robert Hevey and Constance Filling 

Fellowship offers positions in the anthropology and mineral sciences departments. 

This endowment allows students the chance to study under expert guidance, 

advance their research, and shape their future careers. Endowment funds also 

support curatorial positions, including the Coralyn W. Whitney Curator of Gems and 

Minerals. Endowed positions bring long-term sustainability to key curatorial positions 

to ensure the advancement of important work and continuity across leadership in the 

department. A department of botany research endowment, the Raymond Fosberg 

Endowment, supports field research in the Pacific Islands and the Neotropics, 

collections-based research in the National Herbarium, travel opportunities for earlycareer botanists, and emerging technologies in botanical research. These 

endowments provide opportunities for exploration and discoveries for scientists 

across all departments and for varying career levels. 

Finally, in FY 2021, grant funding will support continuing research and 

treatment of Florida’s coral tissue loss diseases; research into a glacial retreat and 

the cultural landscape of an ice floe at Yakutat Bay, Alaska; spring salamander 

research in West Virginia; documentary films and images of volcano hazard 

awareness; and bringing oil spill research to the public.
55

NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 215 27,566 42 8,309 42 10,954 12 3,101

FY 2020 

ENACTED 215 28,066 47 12,518 45 11,443 12 2,500

FY 2021

REQUEST 217 30,105 47 12,518 45 11,500 11 3,000

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in impactful scientific research and discovery 45 4,515 45 4,800 0 285

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 106 14,847 106 15,517 0 670

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 1 131 1 137 0 6

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 54 6,896 56 7,916 2 1,020

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities operations and provide 

a safe and healthy environment 2 320 2 333 0 13

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 5 946 5 978 0 32

Information Technology

Improve the Institution's information technology 

systems and infrastructure 2 411 2 424 0 13

Total 215 28,066 217 30,105 2 2,039

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
56

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

In FY 2021, the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park and Conservation 

Biology Institute (NZP/SCBI) will continue to implement its strategic plan, Our Plan to 

Save Species. With the strategic plan as the roadmap, the focus in FY 2021 will 

continue to: 

• Fortify and Focus Science, Animal Care, and Collections Management to 

Advance Global Conservation and Sustainability 

NZP/SCBI is a leader within the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) 

community and among all accredited zoos in North America. NZP/SCBI’s work to 

sustain genetically viable live collections and ensure the diversity of species’ 

populations held in zoos is a challenge that no one zoo can accomplish on its own. It 

is only through the coordination and collaboration of all zoos — facilitated by AZA —

that North American zoos can continue to thrive. One of NZP/SCBI’s key contributions 

to ensuring the survival of endangered species is the work that occurs at NZP/SCBI’s 

3,200-acre site in Front Royal, Virginia.

NZP/SCBI is world-renowned for its efforts to research, care for, breed, and 

reintroduce some of the world’s most critically endangered species. More than 300

species are exhibited at the Zoo’s Rock Creek Park campus, including giant pandas, 

Panamanian golden frogs, Sumatran tigers and Asian elephants. SCBI scientists 

study and breed more than 26 species at their headquarters in Front Royal, Virginia,

including some that were once extinct in the wild, like black-footed ferrets and the 

scimitar-horned oryx. Both locations house and care for some of the world’s most 

endangered animals, such as kiwis, clouded leopards, red pandas, and cheetahs, 

among others. Approximately 250 SCBI scientists and students collaborate with 

colleagues in more than 25 countries.

NZP/SCBI researchers work to identify solutions to threats facing endangered 

animal populations and develop standards or best practices for medical care, nutrition, 

husbandry, reproduction, and safety for zoo animals. These efforts have been a key 

contributing factor in raising the husbandry standards for all animals throughout the 

AZA community and worldwide. NZP/SCBI’s accomplishments range from protecting

elephants and their caretakers, and understanding the specifics of cheetah 

reproduction, to the reintroduction of the scimitar-horned oryx to the wild in Chad.

One important consideration in ensuring the living collection’s safety is 

introducing more intensive animal quarantine and screening procedures to prevent 

disease transmission from wildlife to livestock, people, and other animals in the Zoo’s 

collections. These practices are now part of the standard of care. New veterinary 

medical procedures, diagnostics and testing keep animals healthy and able to breed. 

More sophisticated medical equipment is being used and new and labor-intensive 

approaches are increasingly deployed to provide appropriate veterinary care that 

means the difference between life and death for these very rare animals. NZP/SCBI
57

develops and shares this expertise, as well as breeding and research protocols,

throughout the AZA and the worldwide zoo and conservation community. 

However, all of these new protocols, tests, and management practices are 

resource intensive. When almost every birth at SCBI’s Front Royal headquarters is of 

an endangered animal whose individual survival contributes to the overall survival of 

that species, these resources are well-spent. For these reasons, NZP/SCBI must 

strategically augment staffing with a select number of well-trained animal care 

professionals and veterinarians — staff who are essential for ensuring that NZP/SCBI

succeeds in its vital mission of saving species.

The extensive space available at the Front Royal facility and the capability it 

allows to appropriately house and raise endangered species according to their 

particular needs has been instrumental to NZP/SCBI’s exceptional success in species 

preservation. Yet, with 3,200 acres, there is a cost associated with this species 

preservation on such a large campus. Activities such as fence maintenance (18 miles 

of perimeter, 36 miles of cross, eight miles of electric), gate maintenance (207 manual, 

nine electric), snow removal, mowing 519 acres of pastures and holding yards, the 

management and making of hay for animals (both at SCBI and NZP locations), and 

maintaining 10 miles of overhead and underground power lines are vital to ensure the 

health, safety, and welfare of the research and breeding collection. 

Highlights from past years include an SCBI scientist being named species 

survival plan or (SSP) coordinator for cheetahs in all accredited zoos in North 

America. AZA’s SSP is led by expert advisors who work together to maximize genetic 

diversity and manage the demographic distribution and long-term sustainability of 

select species. In this role, SCBI now coordinates a nationwide “breeding centers 

coalition,” a nine-facility consortium that manages the most genetically valuable 

cheetahs in spacious, naturalistic enclosures. This resulted in increased cheetah 

reproduction. Scientific studies led by SCBI have further contributed to improvements 

in animal management techniques; one study demonstrated that allowing multiple 

males to live together as they would in the wild improves reproductive success, 

including sperm production.

This dual emphasis on animal management and research is applied every day 

to other rare species. For example, SCBI scientists are using their expertise, in 

collaboration with the Patuxent Wildlife Breeding Center, to improve recovery of the 

endangered whooping crane. Despite this species experiencing near extinction (with

fewer than 20 individuals in the 1960s), SCBI studies have revealed no adverse effect 

on male fertility. Meanwhile, SCBI scientists are developing new sperm freezing and 

hormonal monitoring methods so that artificial insemination programs can be more 

effective in reproducing under-represented species of birds. These innovative tools 

are being applied to conservation programs for rare Asian crane species maintained in 

SCBI’s animal collection at Front Royal, including white-naped and hooded cranes. 

SCBI scientists are using this hard-won expertise to increase total animal numbers 

and put these populations of rare species on a trajectory to genetic sustainability.
58

NZP/SCBI science does not stop at the borders of the Front Royal campus or 

Rock Creek Park facility. For example, NZP/SCBI and its partners are working to 

develop techniques to restore and preserve more than 11 species of corals. Their 

techniques have enabled corals to be frozen and subsequently thawed to enable outplanting of new corals. Thousands of juvenile corals produced from cryopreserved 

material are currently being raised at the National Sea Simulator in Australia. 

In addition to groundbreaking science to save wildlife, SCBI scientists are 

developing new and advanced analytical tools to study and model how ecosystems 

and species interact with their environment and how these systems respond to global 

changes. Using these new tools and models, SCBI scientists create conservation 

scenarios so that researchers and policy decision makers can identify the best 

possible strategies for preserving ecosystem health and biodiversity. 

• Expand Our Reach and Impact

Science alone cannot solve the planet’s extinction crisis. NZP/SCBI has an 

important role in teaching both the public about its role in saving species and the next 

generation of researchers and scientists who are trained at the Smithsonian-George 

Mason University School of Conservation (SMSC) and serve as interns, Fellows, 

residents, and postdoctoral students throughout NZP/SCBI. Through SMSC, the 

Department of Nutrition Science has developed and delivered a week-long course on 

Practical Zoo Nutrition Management for zoo professionals around the world. This 

course, like many others offered through SMSC, leverages the unique resources 

available through NZP/SCBI, as well as the Smithsonian as a whole.

Teaching and mentoring programs impact a growing number of students. 

NZP/SCBI restructured its internship program to ensure that these important learning 

opportunities are as effective as possible. NZP/SCBI offers focused internships that 

help participants reach a range of academic and professional goals. Internship 

positions are available from a variety of groups at NZP/SCBI, including in the areas of 

veterinary medicine, research, communications, exhibits, and animal programs. Also, 

a specialized summer program for high-school juniors and seniors takes place on the 

Front Royal campus, providing an introduction to conservation field studies and 

careers.

In FY 2020, with continued efforts in FY 2021 to address guest services and the 

visitor’s experience, NZP will leverage visitation to raise public awareness of species 

under threat. During visits, guests are introduced to flagship species. Flagship species 

such as pandas and Asian elephants act as goodwill ambassadors to help the public 

support conservation of that species and their habitat, and by doing so protect other 

species sharing the same habitat or vulnerable to the same threats. 

Significant mammal additions in FY 2019 and expectations for FY 2020 include 

clouded leopard cubs, a female amur tiger, and a sea lion pup. Zoo staff expects 

successful breeding for the carnivores (lions/tigers and cheetahs), elephants, giant 
59

pandas, and pinnipeds (sea lions and seals). The addition of large animals increases 

feeding costs for meat, fish and other food items. An aging herd of female elephants 

requires increased medical care, as well. The Zoo is home to the oldest elephant in 

the country, at the age of 73 years old, which is impressive because the median life 

expectancy of elephants is 47 years.

The Zoo welcomes about two million visitors every year. The Zoo continues to 

expand its on-site efforts to engage all visitors. In FY 2021, NZP is taking strides to put 

accessibility at the forefront of exhibit design. The following projects demonstrate this 

commitment.

Coral Lab

The Coral Lab in the Zoo’s Amazonia building is already a popular destination 

for visitors to “lose” themselves in the flowing motion, cool colors, and bubbling 

water of our coral tanks. The Zoo plans to accentuate these calming qualities of 

the coral and their habitat by introducing a collection of sensory elements, 

including an immersive underwater video projected on the walls, with soothing 

aquatic sounds. Rough and smooth 3D coral models will provide our guests a 

tactile experience. When complete, entering the room will transport visitors to 

the waters of a coral reef, deepening their connection to coral and their habitat, 

while also providing a much-needed calming space for children and adults at 

the Zoo.

Gibbon Ridge

The Gibbon Ridge exhibit will be updated to improve accessibility for deaf and 

blind visitors at the Zoo. Tactile enhancements will include life-size, touchable 

sculptures of a siamang arm and hand, along with various animal enrichment 

items. Exhibition panels are fully translated into braille, and fonts are larger than 

usual. Many of the images on the graphics are textured, including pictures of 

the fruit gibbons eat and a map showing their range. To improve wayfinding,

there is a tactile map of the exhibit, a guide rail of artificial vine, and raised floor 

tiles in front of each graphic for detection by guests with canes.

Guinea Pigs in Amazonia

Designed and built in-house by the Zoo’s exhibits team, the new guinea pig 

exhibit activates a previously underused space in the Amazonia building. The 

animal habitat mimics the rustic multi-level villages often constructed to house 

guinea pigs in Peru. Zoo visitors will learn about the ancestry of these popular 

pets, and their cultural significance in South America.

NZP/SCBI deploys multiple outreach channels to further engage the public

upon arrival at the Zoo. Visitor surveys reveal that interaction with a keeper or

volunteer interpreter has the most impact in educating the public. Keeper 

demonstrations are the most impactful of all interactions, so each day the keepers 

host a variety of experiences, from fish feeding in Amazonia to elephant training and

sea lion demonstrations. Since keepers have many other responsibilities and their 

availability is limited, NZP/SCBI organizes and focuses the energy of an extensive 
60

volunteer community, using resources from concessions income to fund these 

activities. Volunteer interpreters are on the front lines of engaging the public in 

connecting to the animals that they see. Paid staff train the interpreters to focus on 

messages most relevant to the animals visitors see, and assure that interpreters are 

well-versed on the challenges facing these species in their native environments. 

In FY 2021, the Zoo will continue its internal customer service initiative to 

provide staff with meaningful ways they can improve the guest experience. This 

internal training program is essential to help staff use customer service best practices 

to guide interactions and underscore conservation messaging. 

However, neither keepers nor interpreters can be available for each and every

visitor. Therefore, on a daily basis, digital signs help provide visitors with maps of 

exhibits and facilities, schedules of activities such as keeper demonstrations, and 

more in-depth information about the animal collection. NZP/SCBI will continue to 

develop its digital signage program and will install new signs as funds become 

available.

Even more people visit the Zoo’s website than come in person to the Zoo —

more than three times as many! In 2019, 6.3 million people visited the Zoo’s website, 

racking up more than 20 million pageviews. What makes this even more impressive is 

that 6.2 million of those Web visitors were new to the website. This means the Zoo’s 

excellence in animal care and sciences reached more than six million people that it 

never had before. Meanwhile, the ever-popular Giant Panda Cam had more than two

million pageviews, with an average time of more than nine minutes spent on the page. 

New on the website this year was the integration of an artificial intelligence chat 

bot that answers visitors’ most frequently asked questions. Since its launch in April of 

2019, the chat bot has fielded more than 80,000 questions, cutting down on phone 

calls and Web inquiries, and ultimately helping guests find the information they are

looking for faster and easier.

In addition to its website, NZP/SCBI has a robust social media presence with 

more than 1.2 million fans and followers across the Zoo’s Facebook, Instagram and 

Twitter accounts. Digital outreach through social media includes Facebook Live 

broadcasts, original videos, and thoughtfully developed content that connects online 

visitors to the Zoo’s animals and raises awareness of NZP/SCBI’s conservation 

research and programs. Original video content created in FY 2019 on key 

conservation programs included coral reefs, human/animal disease transfers and insitu research on America’s prairie species and ecosystems. In FY 2020, the Zoo will 

continue to grow digital outreach with engaging content.

NZP/SCBI leverages online platforms for citizen science as well. SCBI is the 

co-creator and leader of eMammal, a regional wildlife project that uses citizen 

scientists and camera traps to monitor wildlife across public lands in the mid-Atlantic 

states. In the past six years, volunteers have captured more than two million wildlife 
61

images which have been checked by experts and deposited within a Smithsonian 

digital repository. This has been recognized as one of the top citizen-science 

programs in the country. In FY 2019, eMammal launched “Snapshot USA,” a 

collaboration between researchers from each state that uses camera traps to capture 

the diversity of animals across the United States. In addition, NZP/SCBI is a core 

partner in Wildlife Insights, a platform that harnesses the power of big data to analyze 

camera trap images, and to identify specific species and individuals.

As a conservation organization, the Zoo has a responsibility to continue 

educating the public on sustainable practices. With the onset of OSPRI (One 

Smithsonian Plastic Reduction Initiative) in FY 2019, the Zoo began working toward 

eliminating the sale of single-use plastics. We have eliminated all soda bottle sales in 

the restaurants, soda machines and retail stores, and are working toward eliminating 

all single-use plastic beverage sales by end of FY 2020. Implementing this initiative 

requires funding for conservation messaging, education and programmatic planning, 

In FY 2021, the Zoo will continue increasing and supporting sustainable 

practices. The Zoo’s Sustainability Committee piloted a glove recycling program at the 

Rock Creek campus in FY 2019. The Zoo is researching possible alternatives to the 

recycling program with a biodegradable glove option. In FY 2021, the Zoo’s 

Sustainability Committee will continue working with Park Operations to secure funding 

for the installation of additional bicycle racks to encourage green commuting options.

• Strengthen Core Foundations of People, Places, and Fiscal Resources for 

Mission Success 

Past years have seen significant upgrades to NZP/SCBI’s capital infrastructure. 

In FY 2019, we replaced failed/failing building infrastructure components and systems 

at the Zoo police station, and improved egress and accessibility.

The National Zoo’s Center for Species Survival studies rare and critically 

endangered species, using reproductive sciences, including the collection and storage 

of genomic resources derived from biomaterials. The Center will be home to a new 

BioRepository Facility, which will store frozen germ plasm, DNA samples and cell lines 

of hundreds of species from around the planet. The scope includes major 

infrastructure renewal of mechanical, electrical, fire-alarm and life-safety upgrades,

roof and façade repairs, window replacement, accessibility improvements, restroom 

modernization, code compliance, and laboratory improvements.

A major public-facing exhibit renovation of the historic 1928 Bird House and 

surrounding plateau will transform the facility into an educational celebration of birds 

and bird migration. This exhibit is essential to tell that important story. Construction on

the Bird House began in FY 2018 and is due for completion in FY 2021.

In addition to the upgrades needed for capital infrastructure, the Zoo has an 

obligation to provide a safe environment for staff and visitors. Tree, landscape and 
62

irrigation maintenance services account for a large portion of the Zoo’s Park 

Operations budget. Workload surveys are required biannually to determine the health 

of trees on campus, and to determine which trees are a priority for removal. Most 

recently, the health of some species of trees have declined due to an ash borer 

infestation. In FY 2019, tree maintenance expenses increased and are expected to 

continue rising in FY 2020 with the number of trees that must be removed for safety 

precautions. To counteract the removal process, the Zoo also has an obligation to 

reforest the campus as well as preserve the healthy existing canopy. Landscaping

funds allow the Zoo to complete the recommended plant and tree installations, leaf 

removal, and exhibit enhancements to maintain a safe and healthy environment for 

staff, visitors and our living collections. As the Zoo continues to create exhibit and 

landscape enhancements, irrigation maintenance services will continue to rise in 

FY 2020 and beyond to account for design, planning and installation of the new 

irrigation systems.

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $2,039,000. The increase 

includes $1,373,000 for necessary pay and other related salary costs for existing staff 

funded under this line item, $200,000 for fixed costs related to Zoo operations, and a 

programmatic increase of $466,000 and 2 FTEs for animal welfare.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

The health, well-being, and safety of both the animals and staff of the 

NZP/SCBI are its highest priority. SCBI is world-renowned for its efforts to research, 

breed and reintroduce some of the world’s most critically endangered species, 

including the scimitar-horned oryx, Przewalski’s horse, the golden-lion tamarin, blackfooted ferret, red-crowned cranes, and many others. Accepted standards or best 

industry practices for medical care, husbandry, and safety for Zoo animals are 

continually increasing. For example, federal and state regulations require intensive 

animal quarantining and screening procedures to prevent disease transmission to 

livestock, people, and other animals in the living collection. 

In addition, increased diverse threats, such as Highly Pathogenic Avian 

Influenza, require staffing to respond to new requirements and maintain a viable 

collection. Furthermore, new veterinary medical procedures, diagnostics and testing 

require advanced medical equipment and expertise. Breeding and research protocols 

designed to save endangered species from extinction also require new, more timeintensive, sophisticated management approaches to ensure the safety of animals and 

staff. Finally, when every birth of an endangered animal may impact the survival of a 

species, new and labor-intensive approaches are needed to provide life-saving 

veterinary care and hand-rearing that means the difference between an animal’s life 

and death. For these reasons, NZP/SCBI must strategically augment staffing with a 

select number of well-trained animal care professionals and veterinarians — staff who

are essential for ensuring that NZP/SCBI successfully achieves its vital mission of 

saving species and enlisting public support for that purpose.
63

EXPLANATION OF CHANGE

Collections Support (+$466,000, +2 FTEs)

The NZP is requesting a funding increase (+$466,000 and +2 FTEs) to provide 

specialized support for its living and biological materials collections. Unlike the 

museums within the Smithsonian Institution, the NZP and Conservation Biology 

Institute (CBI) collections are live animals which require specialized support to meet 

certain mandatory standards. Furthermore, NZP’s species and their requirements are 

highly varied, from Asian elephants and giant pandas to endangered corals and 

extinct-in-the-wild frogs. NZP has approximately 130 aquatic exhibits and 55 aquatic 

holdings, totaling 1.7 million gallons of water. The number of systems and total volume 

is similar to that of a large public aquarium but spread out over the Zoo’s 163-acre 

park. Without specialized support for the live collection, the quality of both research 

and animal care will be diminished. Additionally, that support must meet certain 

standards for housing, maintenance, sustenance, physical conditioning, medical and 

end-of-life care.

Examples of such support include general support, such as shelter, food and 

clean, accessible water, essential for the health and welfare of all the animals at the 

NZP. A more specific example is NZP’s Life Support System (LSS), which supports 

our aquatic animals. NZP’s Animal Care Sciences (ACS) unit has been assuming 

more of the responsibility for the aquatic environments in which our animals live, 

requiring additional resources to meet animal care standards. Then there are the 

requirements for specialized items for daily animal care, such as physical therapy 

blocks for NZP’s aging herd of Asian elephants, and for veterinary management, such 

as a training cage with a blood sleeve for giant pandas. Other specialized needs 

include specialized equipment for staff safety, such as a shift box for venomous 

snakes, and particular housing to support collection sustainability, such as nest boxes 

for Abyssinian ground hornbills.

Most Smithsonian collections are housed indoors. The Zoo’s 163-acre park 

includes a significant number of outdoor habitats and specialized facilities, which 

support unique needs for its animal collection. For example, shade structures for bison 

and climbing structures for great apes require routine maintenance. Most critically, the 

Zoo maintains miles of animal containment, with standards continually being improved 

and updated. Maintaining animal habitats and providing specialized items for animals’ 

health and well-being are not just recommended best practices, but required by 

oversight and regulatory entities such as the AZA and the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA).

The needs and standards for animal and veterinary care increase as our 

understanding of the unique challenges of caring for critically endangered species 

increases and regulations concerning animal health and welfare change. The need for 

additional resources also changes in response to the fluctuating diversity and size of 

the collection.
64

Finally, although we have successfully maintained minimal care standards, 

mission-essential resources have been redirected to maintain these standards. 

Without the additional resources for the live collection, the quality of both research and 

animal care will be diminished or the size of the live collection may have to be reduced

— meaning that species at risk today will not benefit in the way that other critically 

endangered species have. Without additional resources, prior successes will be 

diminished, and future efforts and visitors’ experiences will be put at risk. 

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support salaries and 

benefits of the director and general operational requirements for adequate animal 

care, professional training in conservation sciences, and animal acquisitions. 

Donor/sponsor-designated funds support the costs related to specific programs and 

projects, including: field and captive studies on Sahelo-Saharan antelopes, 

amphibians, cheetahs, giant pandas, Asian elephants, tigers, and clouded leopards; 

ecological studies on migratory birds; and the documentation and monitoring of 

biodiversity and habitat quality in selected sites around the world. A large percentage 

of these funds supplement federal funding for renovating and modernizing NZP/SCBI. 

Private donations for multiple small- to medium-sized projects or for the extensive Bird 

House renovation fund a portion of construction costs and support all exhibit 

interpretive design and implementation. Government grants and contracts support a 

wide array of scientific studies on the biology and habitats of endangered and 

threatened species. Concessions, such as food and retail shop sales, fund the 

NZP/SCBI Information Technology Support and Help Desk, exhibit maintenance, 

visitor services, volunteer programs, and communications outreach. 
65

SMITHSONIAN ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH CENTER

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T 

GRANTS INTERAGENCY

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 32 4,227 9 1,006 17 2,521 25 2,711 25 2,348

FY 2020

ENACTED 34 4,472 9 1,150 17 2,900 25 3,300 25 2,400

FY 2021

REQUEST 34 4,670 9 1,150 17 2,900 25 3,300 25 2,400

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in impactful scientific research and discovery 25 3,274 25 3,419 0 145

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 0 130 0 130 0 0

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 2 135 2 147 0 12

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Security

Provide world-class protection for Smithsonian 

facilities, collections, staff, visitors and volunteers 0 115 0 115 0 0

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 7 818 7 859 0 41

Total 34 4,472 34 4,670 0 198

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
66

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is a leader in 

research on land and water ecosystems in the coastal zone. SERC’s innovative 

research and unique setting advance basic environmental science in the zone where 

most of the world’s population lives, and provides society with the knowledge to solve 

the environmental challenges of the 21st century.

Research and discovery remain the core activities at SERC. Scientists use the 

unique site on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay, and other sites, including the 

Smithsonian Marine Science Network, to investigate the ecological interconnections of 

aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric components of complex landscapes, with 

comparative studies on regional, continental, and global scales. In addition, SERC is a 

Partner in the Institution’s key research initiatives, including Conservation Commons, 

ForestGEO and MarineGEO, our global Earth observatories.

SERC has expanded its role in public engagement in recent years. Schoolbased programs, serving thousands of children annually, continue to be a major 

emphasis of SERC’s public efforts; however, SERC has improved its outreach efforts 

through its award-winning citizen science program that connects ordinary citizens with 

real-world scientific investigation. In FY 2019 alone, 550 volunteers contributed 17,500 

hours to SERC's research programs in areas of data collection, field work, and other 

activities. SERC continues its vigorous professional training program dedicated to 

producing the next generation of scientists. Through its efforts to achieve extramural 

funding and establish external partnerships, SERC hosts a large number of 

undergraduate interns, graduate students, postdoctoral Fellows, and visiting scientists,

successfully reaching candidates from underserved communities. 

SERC will continue to update and streamline management systems and 

functions, and advance construction of its Facilities Master Plan. In FY 2019, SERC 

completed a retrofit of its main administration office building to a more energy efficient 

operation, using the existing geothermal field to provide heat exchange for heating and 

air conditioning, thus reaffirming the Center’s commitment to a more sustainable 

operation. In FY 2020, SERC will complete a lighting retrofit program for this building, 

converting office and common space lighting to high-efficiency LED fixtures. Also in FY 

2020, SERC will complete the design of renovated and streamlined facilities 

maintenance and storage facilities. Other projects in progress include further concept 

development of the Smithsonian Institute for the Environment, a center for convening 

meaningful conversations among all citizens on a wide array of environmental issues. 

One aspect of this project is the advancement of Green Village to provide more

housing for a growing number of visiting and collaborating scientists and students.

In FY 2019, SERC started the renovation of the Sellman House, the 

Smithsonian’s oldest structure, dating to 1735. The project includes replacing and 

upgrading the infrastructure, providing adequate power, communications, plumbing, 

and other amenities. In FY 2020, the project will expand to include a period renovation 
67

of the first floor, and in late FY 2021 the house will open to the public as a new 

welcome center.

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $198,000 for necessary 

pay and other related salary costs for existing staff funded under this line item.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

SERC has an advantage in furthering its research goals and priorities by 

operating its 2,650-acre site on the Chesapeake Bay. Using the unique assemblage of 

streams, shoreline, forests and agricultural fields, its scientists investigate the 

interconnections of aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric components of complex 

landscapes. SERC’s research campus also supports research efforts of other 

collaborators and agencies (e.g., the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Geological 

Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and many universities and state agencies). 

SERC develops innovative approaches and instrumentation to measure environmental 

changes at four ecological levels (i.e., global scale, landscape ecology, ecology of 

coastal ecosystems, and population and community ecology), and has developed 

unique, long-term, and experimental data sets on environmental change. SERC has 

been a leader in developing the Smithsonian’s Marine Science Network of sites along 

the western Atlantic Ocean for comparative coastal studies, as well as in developing 

the Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network. In addition, SERC is a partner site in 

the National Ecological Observation Network (NEON). To support that research, SERC 

provides a home for a forest canopy tower and a ground-based sampling array to

collect environmental data that feeds a national network established to observe and 

interpret changes in terrestrial environments.

In addition, SERC is a principal collaborator in the global ForestGEO initiative 

and maintains a keystone plot that demonstrates the value of temperate 

forest research for global understanding of terrestrial biomes. During its more than 50-

year history, SERC has built a reputation for world-class research, producing many 

publications which are rich in data and multi-disciplinary and integrative in analysis.

SERC’s research, education, and outreach efforts are closely aligned with the 

Smithsonian’s Strategic Plan. By building on existing strengths and special programs, 

SERC enhances its successful research on the following topics: land-sea linkages of 

ecosystems; landscape ecology of coastal watersheds; estuarine ecology; invasive 

species (especially in coastal ecosystems); global change impacts on biotic and 

chemical interactions; biocomplexity of structures and processes in key ecosystems; 

and community and population ecology. 

Looking ahead, SERC research on coastal marine ecology will focus on four 

key, interrelated areas: the structure and dynamics of marine food webs; the integrity 

and biodiversity of crucial marine ecosystems; linkages of ecosystems at the land-sea 

interface; and the ecological regulation of marine biodiversity. SERC seeks to expand 

its expertise in the ecology of invasive species and how they affect coastal 
68

ecosystems. To implement these goals, SERC will continue to link its research with 

national and international research networks through the MarineGEO initiative, and 

enhance the Marine Science Network and the Tennenbaum Marine Observatory 

Network, which were conceived to coordinate and align the extensive marine research 

efforts throughout the Smithsonian. SERC is also developing scientific and 

technological capabilities in analytical chemistry, remote sensing, and instrumentation 

in coastal watersheds and connected ecosystems. In addition, SERC will continue

working with partners in the Conservation Commons to advance conservation science 

by taking advantage of the Smithsonian’s ability to transform complex scientific 

research into powerful communications tools which will heighten public awareness of 

topical environmental issues. One example is the global problem of marine debris in 

the oceans and our waterways and the ongoing effort to work with other governmental

and international partners to address this serious issue.

SERC also continues to strengthen its public education and citizen-science

programs. In addition to providing a public lecture series, workshops, numerous 

volunteer opportunities and expert consultation for the public, teachers, and public 

officials, SERC is open to the public six days a week. Along with offering formal 

environmental education programs to the public, SERC encourages visitors to explore 

the Center’s many trails through forests and fields, as well as more than 12 miles of 

shoreline along the Chesapeake Bay.

SERC continues to implement its comprehensive Facilities Master Plan through 

projects that provide essential infrastructure improvements and allow for controlled and 

operationally sustainable growth during the next decade. One of the key components 

of the plan is the continuing focus on reducing energy and water consumption across 

the campus. The incorporation of sustainable improvements will ensure long-term 

savings in operating costs and a reduction in SERC’s carbon footprint.

Finally, SERC has established management controls to ensure proper 

accounting for its research activities, including indirect cost recovery in its sponsored 

research program. Moreover, the staff strives to maintain an excellent record of safety 

and protection for all staff and visitors. In conjunction with the Institution’s central 

administrative offices, SERC maintains its excellent record of property management 

and protection of sensitive information and data.

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support fund raising. In 

addition, core administrative support is funded through an indirect cost recovery 

derived from extramural research and education awards. Other resources include 

donor/sponsor-designated funds that provide essential operating support related to 

specific programs and projects in research, public education, and professional training. 

Most of SERC’s scientific research program of roughly $6.0 million annually is 

supported by Government grants, contracts, and interagency agreements, in addition 

to the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse (also funded through an interagency 

agreement), which was established by Congress as part of the National Invasive 

Species Act of 1996. 
69

SMITHSONIAN TROPICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 191 14,486 28 2,216 42 5,461 3 742

FY 2020

ENACTED

191 14,702 27 2,469 32 4,693 5 466

FY 2021

REQUEST 191 15,543 28 2,574 34 4,740 5 489

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in impactful scientific research and discovery 114 9,822 114 10,325 0 503

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 3 165 3 178 0 13

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 5 365 5 387 0 22

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 2 338 2 347 0 9

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities operations and provide a 

safe and healthy environment 1 127 1 131 0 4

Security

Provide world-class protection for Smithsonian 

facilities, collections, staff, visitors and volunteers 18 660 18 739 0 79

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 40 2,638 40 2,814 0 176

Information Technology

Improve the Institution's information technology 

systems and infrastructure 8 587 8 622 0 35

Total 191 14,702 191 15,543 0 841

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
70

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

In 1910, Smithsonian Secretary Charles Walcott received a request from President 

William Howard Taft to send a scientific expedition to Panama to study the environmental 

impact of the Panama Canal. The President of Panama, Pablo Arosemena, invited the 

Smithsonian to extend its study to the entire isthmus (1910–1912), establishing a 

relationship that more than a century later continues to be a remarkable scientific

resource for both countries and the world. The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 

(STRI) is now the principal U.S. organization dedicated to advancing fundamental 

scientific discovery and understanding of biological and cultural diversity in the tropics,

and its contribution to human welfare. STRI plays an important role for the U.S. 

Government and the Smithsonian by maintaining world-class research facilities in 

Panama, where each year approximately 1,400 resident and visiting international 

scientists and university students access the diverse tropical environments STRI 

stewards. Of these, STRI most notably serves as the official custodian for the Barro 

Colorado Nature Monument (BCNM) in Panama under the terms of the Convention on 

Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western hemisphere, ratified by the 

U.S. Senate in April of 1941 and codified in the Panama Canal Treaties. The BCNM is the 

only mainland tropical reserve under U.S. stewardship and served as the original base of 

operations for the 1910 expedition.

Why is the Smithsonian in Panama? What is now Panama was under water until 

about three million years ago. The rise of the Isthmus of Panama changed the world. It 

connected North and South America and separated the Atlantic from the Pacific, setting 

into motion a global change that dramatically impacted marine and terrestrial life. STRI 

has been located at the heart of this event for more than a century. Its nine research 

facilities, situated throughout Panama’s diverse ecosystems, serve as an unparalleled field 

research platform to investigate the critical events that shaped the world and its tropical 

diversity. Furthermore, the 1,400 resident and visiting scientists and students hosted by 

STRI each year make it a vital teaching and research platform for the nation.

Scientific Productivity

A Visiting Committee of outside experts regularly evaluates the relevance, quality, 

and performance of STRI scientists. In their last review, the Visiting Committee used 

National Research Council criteria to measure the productivity and impact of STRI 

science compared to 142 of the best university research departments in the United 

States. STRI scientists ranked first in all measures of scientific relevance (e.g., publication 

citations), quality (e.g., scientific honors), and productivity (e.g., publication numbers). In 

addition, the number of young scientists who choose STRI as the base for their graduate 

and postgraduate research training provides an annual measure of the relevance and 

quality of STRI science to the future of tropical biology and policy. 

STRI’s 30 staff scientists and more than 200 research assistants-in-residence

share the science platform with scientists from the United States and international

organizations. Each year, approximately 1,400 visiting scientists conduct research at 

STRI facilities with STRI scientists who are leaders in their fields. This collaborative effort 

has produced more than 14,000 scientific publications to date, and currently results in one
71

new scientific publication, on average, every day. A brief list of STRI’s achievements 

includes the following:

• The Institute employs 28 staff scientists resident in Panama out of 30 STRI staff 

scientists in total.

• In FY 2019, STRI hosted 1,172 scientific visitors.

• In FY 2019, STRI processed a total of 241 academic appointments, of which 137 

(57 percent) were women and 104 (43 percent) were men. Of these, 122 (51 

percent) were from Latin America. They received 148 internships, 65 predoctoral 

Fellowships and 28 post-doctoral Fellowships.

• STRI hosted 16 field courses in FY 2019.

• In total, the Smithsonian Research Online bibliography included 523 

publications by STRI-affiliated scientists for FY 2019: six books, 32 book 

sections, three online data sets, seven dissertations, 473 journal articles, and two

reports. 

• This brings the total number to 14,046 STRI publications in the Smithsonian 

Research Online bibliography.

Scientific Direction

The long-term research conducted by STRI scientists and collaborators is an 

essential contribution to the Smithsonian Institution’s Strategic Plan. STRI’s strategic plan 

is closely aligned with the Smithsonian Strategic Plan, particularly with regard to the 

following: Goal 2: Catalyze new conversations and address complex challenges; Goal 4: 

Understand and impact 21st century audiences; Goal 5: Drive large, visionary,

interdisciplinary research and scholarly projects; and Goal 6: Preserve natural and 

cultural heritage while optimizing our assets. STRI has invested for the long term in 

several core research directions. These include:

Environmental Health

The Panama Canal Watershed provides drinking water for more than one million 

Panama residents and sustains the Panama Canal, which is essential to U.S. trade and 

commerce. One-half of the watershed has been deforested. STRI’s Agua Salud Project

uses the Panama Canal’s central role in world commerce to focus global attention on the 

ecosystem services provided by tropical forests in comparison with other types of land 

cover, providing rigorous quantitative data on an important topic much debated by policy 

makers. The hydrology portion of the project focuses on how forests help sustain waterrelated ecosystems by mitigating the effects of droughts and floods and purifying water.

Panama Amphibian Rescue Conservation Project

Amphibians are disappearing around the world. A systematic global assessment of 

all 5,743 known amphibian species determined that one-third of all species surveyed are 

in danger of extinction. What is particularly alarming to conservationists is that 122 

amphibian species are believed to have gone extinct since 1980, compared to just five 

bird species and no mammals during the same period. The main cause of this massive 

extinction is the pathogenic chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which 

causes a disease called Chytridiomycosis.
72

In response to the massive loss of Panama’s amphibian biodiversity, due mainly to 

the chytrid fungus, STRI has partnered with African Safari, the Houston Zoo, the 

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Zoo New England, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Smithsonian 

Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) to found the Panama Amphibian Rescue 

Conservation (PARC) project. PARC has several key goals to: prevent species 

extinctions by establishing ex-situ (quarantine) assurance colonies of endangered 

amphibians threatened with extinction from the chytrid fungus, which is decimating 

amphibians worldwide; develop tools to mitigate the disease and lead to reintroductions of 

the amphibians in the wild; and engage constituents to support conservation of 

amphibians and habitats. To date, the project has built two ex-situ facilities in Panama, 

and successfully bred more than 10 endangered amphibian species, including the 

Panamanian Golden Frog, a conservation flagship species now extinct in the wild. STRI

scientists actively monitor disease and frog populations in the wild, use the latest 

molecular tools to find beneficial skin bacteria to help frogs fight Chytridiomycosis 

infections, research genetic mechanisms of chytrid resistance in Panamanian Golden 

Frogs, and develop assisted reproduction technologies to breed frogs in captivity and 

cryopreserve their gametes for future use.

Monitoring Forest Health and the Global Carbon Cycle

Combining private and federal support, STRI collaborates with the Smithsonian 

Environmental Research Center (SERC), National Zoo/SCBI, National Museum of Natural 

History (NMNH) and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) to create the 

Smithsonian Institution Global Earth Observatories (SIGEO), the largest terrestrial-based 

Earth observation system in the world. Additional U.S. partners and supporters include 

the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture

Forest Service, U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as 80 partner institutions. STRI’s 

Center for Tropical Forest Science, now named ForestGEO, coordinates research 

activities in 25 countries on 64 standardized forest parcels, ranging from two to 50 

hectares, in which each tree is mapped and measured every five years. This partnerbased global network of 100 partners provides rigorous, widely available, systematic data 

on forest dynamics and carbon budgets. These data are used by scientists and decision

makers around the world to improve our understanding of tropical forests and the societal 

benefits derived from forests. The expanding network has yielded important new findings,

such as the discovery that old trees play an important role in carbon sequestration, which 

was previously unknown.

Monitoring the Oceans: MarineGEO

The great success of ForestGEO led to the creation of MarineGEO, a cross-agency

program that is developing a network of marine data-collection sites studying near-shore 

environments. MarineGEO is the first long-term, international research program to focus 

on understanding coastal marine life and its role in maintaining resilient ecosystems. By 

specializing in coastal ecosystems — where marine biodiversity and people are 

concentrated and interact most — this initiative provides policy makers with the science to 

support innovative solutions and better manage and protect our oceans. The network 

concept includes monitoring basic parameters of water acidity, temperature, salinity, 

specific conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll, with the intent of making all data 
73

available on the Web in real time. This network and the associated data sets improve our 

understanding of biodiversity and ecosystem processes. To collect this information, STRI 

has installed sensors at MarineGEO sites on Panama’s Caribbean and Pacific coasts.

STRI is important because of its mission, the Institute’s location in the mainland 

tropics on the narrow Isthmus of Panama, and its relationship with the Government of 

Panama. Beyond its mission for the Smithsonian, two examples of collaboration with U.S. 

agencies underscore the important role STRI plays in Panama. The security and facilities 

infrastructure of Barro Colorado Island led the USGS to establish seismic monitoring 

equipment as part of its Caribbean Tsunami Warning System. In addition, the 

Continuously Operating Caribbean GPS Observational Network (COCONet) project, 

funded by the NSF, has partnered with STRI in developing a large-scale geodetic and 

atmospheric monitoring infrastructure in the Caribbean. This infrastructure forms the 

backbone for a broad range of geoscience and atmospheric investigations and enables 

research on process-oriented science questions with direct relevance to geohazards. U.S. 

and international partner agencies use STRI’s marine station in Bocas del Toro as a 

COCONet site to monitor sea level rise and plate tectonics — the movement of Earth’s 

crustal plates that can trigger major earthquakes.

Marine Invasions

New data are filling gaps in the understanding of the rise of the isthmus and its 

changing role in invasive species biology, biodiversity, and global climate. Trade through 

the Panama Canal increased dramatically since the June 2016 completion of the canal 

lock expansion project. As a result, STRI scientists and colleagues at SERC, in Maryland,

are documenting the distribution of invasive marine organisms, providing an unparalleled 

platform to understand the biology of invasive species on a scale comparable to that of 

the Great American Interchange of terrestrial organisms that occurred when the rise of 

the Isthmus of Panama first linked North and South America three million years ago. Such 

research has profound implications for mitigating the problems of invasive species in the 

great seaways of the world, from the Panama Canal to the Great Lakes.

Marine Mammal Conservation

STRI scientists are radio-tracking humpback whales and other marine mammals, 

and revealed that the whales — notably mothers with calves — were at high risk of being 

struck by ships entering or exiting the Panama Canal. With support from Panama’s 

maritime and Canal authorities, the International Maritime Organization approved a traffic 

separation scheme (TSS) in 2014, and officially implemented it as international policy. 

The scheme requires ships to reduce their speed to no more than 10 knots from August 1 

to November 30 every year, through two designated ship traffic lanes approximately three 

miles wide. This type of marine conservation work is a U.S. State Department priority and 

demonstrated that the TSS could reduce potential collisions between ships and whales by 

95 percent. Additionally, the work has led the governments of Colombia, Ecuador, and 

Peru to collaborate with STRI and request the Institute’s scientific expertise and counsel 

on this topic.
74

Establish a Living Laboratory in the Tropical Eastern Pacific 

Coibita Island was bequested to STRI to preserve and use for research, and as 

of 2018 is fully under STRI jurisdiction. The island provides the opportunity to develop a 

new living laboratory and basic research facilities, with the potential to become the 

“Barro Colorado of the Tropical Eastern Pacific.” Coibita is a strategic scientific vantage 

point to expand the Smithsonian MarineGEO program and enhance fundamental 

research in a region of high biodiversity, with two layers of legal protection as part of 

Panama’s Coiba National Park and status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This 

development represents a major step in completing our goal of two-ocean facilities, 

complementing our Caribbean research stations at Galeta and Bocas del Toro. Part of 

an undersea mountain chain and migratory corridor that links marine species from North 

and South America, Coibita is an ideal location to launch investigations into marine 

biology.

Microbial Biology Research Program

As part of their core missions, SCBI, STRI and SERC will establish tropical and 

temperate microbial biology research programs to fill significant gaps and complement 

current data on ecosystem and species biodiversity and health in tropical and temperate 

ecosystems. Microbial biology is an important field of study because small life forms 

such as microbes, viruses, and microfungi constitute key branches of the Tree of Life, 

yet the overwhelming majority of their biodiversity has never been documented, and in 

most cases their contributions to sustaining ecosystem functions and the health of 

animals are unknown. Microbes help maintain the health of the biosphere in general, 

and human health in particular: beneficial microbes degrade organic detritus and 

environmental pollutants; they supply essential nutrients and chemicals directly to multicellular organisms, and to terrestrial, coastal and marine ecosystems. They sustain 

beneficial symbioses with higher organisms; for example, by providing nitrogen to 

numerous flowering plants and agricultural crops, sustaining corals, and acting to 

combat disease and promote animal health. Microbes provoked and then fueled the 

revolution in public health brought on by the discovery of antibiotics by Sir Alexander 

Fleming in 1928; they represent our best hope to make our way through what the 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has flagged as the post-antibiotic era, as 

we already confront nearly 20 strains of pathogenic bacteria resistant to all known 

antibiotics. This initiative is important because malevolent microbes challenge our public 

health systems, threaten agricultural, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and attack 

corals, plants, fish and other animals, as well as vulnerable human populations. 

Microbial pressures from human activities are most intense in coastal ecosystems, 

where most humans live. The increasing contact between humans, our livestock, and 

wild animals threatens to unleash new microbes as emerging agents of infectious 

disease. Emerging infectious diseases can jump from wildlife to local human 

populations, and then spread globally through air travel in astonishingly short periods of 

time. Biotic factors, and their interactions with other organisms, are most intense in the 

tropics, where many diseases emerge. The tropics, however, are not isolated from the 

United States and other nations in the temperate zone. This initiative will also help 

provide critical data relating to infectious microbial diseases carried by wildlife, such as 

migratory birds en route to North America, with the Chesapeake Bay estuary (where 

SERC is located) being an especially important point on the migratory flyway. 
75

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $841,000 for necessary pay 

and other related salary costs for existing staff funded under this line item. 

MEANS AND STRATEGY

STRI is the only major research center to locate modern scientific instrumentation 

and facilities at the edges of tropical forests and coral reefs. STRI staff lead internationally 

recognized research programs and assist scientific visitors with obtaining visas, collecting 

permits, transportation, housing, computing, and library needs. STRI staff are also 

mentors for students from universities across the United States and around the world. 

Panamanian staff and the support of the Government of Panama, including rent-free use 

of multiple properties, have fostered Smithsonian research in Panama for more than 108

years and STRI has been an exceptional ambassador of goodwill for the United States in 

Panama and throughout Latin America. 

As part of its core mission, STRI will continue to enhance the Smithsonian’s 

platform for long-term research on biodiversity, ecosystems, and the impacts of 

environmental change. This will be accomplished through novel research, education of 

the next generation of scientists, and the dissemination of scientific findings to its

audiences.

Policy makers and scientists need long-term data on fluctuations in the primary 

productivity of forests around the globe, as well as information on changes in the 

abundance and distribution of biological diversity, to distinguish the components of global 

change that can be ascribed to planetary processes from those that may be caused by 

human activity. The Smithsonian Institution is building on its unique research 

infrastructure to provide the required data by expanding its global network of dynamic,

long-term tropical forest plots into the temperate zone, and by collecting additional data 

on vertebrates, insects, and soil micro-organisms, in addition to the trees in the 

ForestGEO plots that scientists have monitored for more than three decades. 

Smithsonian researchers are answering the following questions: How are changing 

environments altering forest biomass? Does the rate of carbon sequestration by forests 

vary with latitude, hydrological condition, and soil fertility? How are the diversity and the 

relative abundance of forest organisms changing over time and space? What components 

of observed changes are due to human activities? How can people modify their behavior 

and economies to ameliorate any changes detrimental to global society?

STRI shares knowledge, experience, and expertise with the next generation of 

tropical scientists. In particular, STRI hosts more than 800 pre- and postdoctoral students 

each year, half of whom come from the United States. For many, their experience at STRI 

is their first real opportunity to be scientists. The experience is transformational. As 

mentors, the Institute’s researchers guide these future investigators, encouraging their 

scientific development and challenging them to develop the scientific rigor required to 

make new discoveries, and to share them for the welfare of humanity. 

STRI continues to work with primary school science teachers to inspire wonder 

and critical thinking skills in the classroom. In Panama and through digital partnerships 
76

with school districts in the United States, STRI continues to explain field and laboratory 

science and make environmental research accessible to teachers and students.

ENABLING STRI’s MISSION THROUGH ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE

STRI continues to advance the vision detailed in the 10-year plan for upgrading its 

facilities, some of which date back to the pre-World War II era of Panama Canal defense. 

The 10-year STRI facilities plan represents an important opportunity for the Smithsonian 

to provide its tropical scientists with the modernized, sustainable, and state-of-the-science 

facilities needed to face the environmental challenges of the 21st century.

STRI also offers important facility resources for federal agencies and universities. 

For terrestrial research, STRI serves as the headquarters for ForestGEO, and as a base 

for tsunami-monitoring equipment installed by the USGS. For marine research, the 

access to two oceans provided by STRI marine facilities permits scientists to move 

between experiments in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea in a few hours, 

and represents a principal component of the Smithsonian MarineGEO network that 

extends from the Chesapeake Bay to Florida, Belize, and Panama. The recurring twoocean theme in marine science at STRI has resulted in landmark studies of the evolution 

and ecology of tropical marine species and communities, as well as research funded by 

the NSF and the National Institutes of Health for the ecologically guided discovery of new 

pharmaceutical compounds. STRI’s MarineGEO site in Bocas Del Toro (Caribbean) and 

the Naos Marine Laboratories (Pacific) provide direct access to two oceans, and take on 

increased importance as experimental platforms for studying the impact of climate change 

and ocean acidification on coastal coral reefs, sea grasses, and mangroves. Coibita 

Island will provide a new MarineGEO platform in the Pacific.

STRI’s primary research facility on the Pacific coast of Panama is Naos 

Laboratories, which provides easy access to key coastal, marine, and off-shore 

environments. It is situated in a unique location that provides ready access to two very 

different marine ecosystems in the Gulf of Panama and the Gulf of Chiriqui, including areas 

impacted by human activities. This facility is a key resource for a highly productive team of 

researchers, led by eight STRI scientific staff members working in fields such as marine 

biology and ecology, animal behavior, evolutionary and molecular biology, species-host 

interactions, species invasions, archaeology, and paleontology. This site is also essential to 

the MarineGEO program.

STRI’s facilities include the Galeta Laboratory, the oldest scientific facility on the 

Caribbean coast of Panama. The laboratory houses a long-term environmental data 

operation, which monitors the most thoroughly documented recovery from a major oil spill. 

The current infrastructure allows staff scientists and scientific visitors to carry out research 

in coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs, and sea grass beds, and on 

invasive species, due to its proximity to the Panama Canal entrance. Galeta is also home 

to one of STRI’s most dynamic and successful public outreach programs.
77

Research conducted at both laboratories has greatly contributed to the increase of 

our understanding of tropical biodiversity. STRI continues to support scientific research at 

these sites because they offer an unparalleled opportunity to conduct evolutionary and 

ecological studies in contrasting environments, including comparisons of marine habitat, 

ecosystems, and species dynamics between these two oceans.

FY 2021 will be another year in which STRI continues to more efficiently use its

available resources while at the same time adapting its work to be more cost-effective in 

the ever-expanding economy of Panama. STRI’s organizational efforts will include 

continued upgrades of its physical plant by seeking to reduce deferred maintenance and 

to conduct more design planning. In addition, STRI will rely on its restructured 

organization, including its Information Technology department and Finance and 

Administration areas, to better and more efficiently meet the needs of its scientific 

computing community as well as the business needs of the Institute. 

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support salaries for a small 

percentage of STRI employees involved in research, public outreach, and fund raising. 

Donor/sponsor-designated funds support specific programs and projects to investigate 

key indicators of global environmental health. 

More specifically, donor-designated support also provides an endowed chair for 

the director of STRI, an endowed staff position in tropical paleoecology, and an endowed 

chair for the director of ForestGEO. With private funds, STRI has launched a new 

initiative to understand the important role played by microbes in marine ecosystems, and 

hosts a series of postdoctoral Fellows. STRI is also leveraging additional private funding 

to support a new staff scientist and better understand the vital role played by microbes in 

determining the health of forest ecosystems.

The chair in paleoecology investigates how Earth’s environment has changed

during the last 60 million years, in part by taking advantage of the multi-billion-dollar 

expansion of the Panama Canal, which exposed new fossils and geologic strata during 

the massive excavations. Donor-designated support also funds postdoctoral studies of 

the relationship between organism brain size and behavioral complexity, and postdoctoral 

Fellowships in tropical marine biology, using STRI’s Bocas del Toro and Galeta field 

stations in the Caribbean and its Naos Laboratories and Coibita Island field station in the 

eastern Pacific Ocean.
78

ARTHUR M. SACKLER GALLERY/FREER GALLERY OF ART

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 45 6,273 6 2,284 59 11,079 0 161

FY 2020

ENACTED 45 6,273 4 1,925 62 13,407 0 230

FY 2021

REQUEST 45 6,541 4 1,983 62 13,809 0 237

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in impactful scientific research and discovery 6 1,446 6 1,482 0 36

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 0 55 2 67 2 12

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 3 267 2 279 -1 12

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 16 2,200 16 2,295 0 95

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 5 459 5 489 0 30

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 12 1,397 12 1,468 0 71

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 3 449 2 461 -1 12

Total 45 6,273 45 6,541 0 268

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
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BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

In a world of intensifying global connections, kaleidoscopic perspectives, and 

virtual realities, where does one go to make sense of things? Museums are places 

where one can find ways — through seeing, comparing, and appreciating varieties of 

human experience. Like maps, museums tell us both where to look and how to look.

And just as maps are redrawn or are even re-oriented by new thinking and new 

technologies, so, too, are museums. All art museums face the challenges posed by 

emergent forms of culture, changing expectations on the part of the public, and 

increasing financial pressures. But for a museum devoted to the arts and cultures of 

Asia, particularly in what is fast becoming the Asian century, there are also special 

opportunities.

On May 9, 1923, the Freer Gallery of Art quietly opened its doors to the public, 

the fulfillment of Charles Lang Freer’s commitment to make his collection of nearly 

10,000 Asian and American works of art available to the nation. In addition to 

representing the first fine arts museum on the National Mall, the Freer Gallery embodies 

its founder’s passion for the arts of Asia and the works of James McNeill Whistler and 

others. 

Almost 65 years later, on September 28,1987, the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery 

opened, adding another 1,000 works of Asian art and more than 40,000 square feet of 

public space. The addition was genuinely transformative. Not only did it expand capacity 

for educational and research activities, but for the first time it also enabled the 

Smithsonian to mount an active program of international loan exhibitions in the arts of 

Asia.

Together, the Freer and Sackler Galleries, which constitute the National Museum 

of Asian Art, now house one of the world’s finest collections of Asian art. Some 42,000 

objects range from the Near East, through South and Southeast Asia, to East Asia, from 

the Neolithic period to the 21st century. Many of these works are renowned and iconic. 

Conjoined physically and unified administratively, the Galleries are dedicated to 

increasing our understanding of the arts and cultures of Asia through a broad portfolio of 

exhibitions, publications, conservation, research, and education.

Charles Lang Freer’s success as an industrialist and a connoisseur of Asian art 

derived in no small part from the interconnected world in which he lived. Now, in an 

unprecedented moment of global interdependence, when Asian societies are 

increasingly powerful hubs in a polycentric and networked global system, there is a new 

urgency for revising and refocusing some of our core assumptions and operations as a 

Museum that can foster an understanding of the historical and artistic diversity of Asian 

cultures and societies.

Based on broad consultation, and fully aligned with the Smithsonian Institution’s 

strategy, the Galleries’ new strategic plan (adopted in June of 2019) charts a path for 
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the Museum that is as faithful to our past as it is ambitious for the future. The vision, 

values, and goals that it sets out promise a more creative, engaged, and efficient 

Museum, one that celebrates art and addresses essential questions about culture. 

Above all, it aims to do full justice to the extraordinary art it houses and the public trust it 

holds.

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $268,000 for necessary pay 

and other related salary costs for existing staff under this line item.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

To advance both Institution-wide and local goals, the Freer Gallery of Art and the 

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery will rely on their 2020–2025 Strategic Plan to guide 

operations, planning and decision making. The plan’s four goals are both practical and 

ambitious. They are as follows:

• Goal 1: To expand, preserve and celebrate our collections;

• Goal 2: To identify, attract and serve new audiences through both our 

physical and digital spaces;

• Goal 3: To foster an object-inspired understanding of the arts communities, 

cultures and societies of Asia; and

• Goal 4: To build a Museum culture that is creative, collaborative, transparent 

and resourceful.

In FY 2021, the Galleries intend to launch or execute the following initiatives:

• Implement a historically sensitive but future-oriented collections plan that 

reflects our role and responsibility as a National Museum of Asian Art in the 

21st century.

• Ensure the integrity of our collection by enhancing the Galleries’ excellence in 

conservation and scientific research.

• Implement a digital plan that extends our reach and impact to national and 

international audiences.

• Raise our local, national, and international profile through a coordinated 

campaign of communications, partnerships, and programming to attract 

audiences interested in understanding and celebrating Asian art and culture 

• Better address visitor needs.

• Develop a suite of collections- and exhibitions-inspired programming and

educational activities that speak to essential issues in Asian arts, cultures, 

and societies, on site and online.

• Build substantive and funded collaborations with the Smithsonian, selected 

museums, universities, and other non-profit partners to broaden our expertise 

and impact in fostering the understanding of Asian arts, cultures, and 

societies.
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• Build relationships with Asian and Asian American communities, including 

organizations that represent them, by enhancing our outreach and 

programming through formal partnerships and informal synergies.

• Advance our centennial planning efforts to ensure that we are prepared to 

leverage this significant Smithsonian and Museum milestone.

• Advance a fundraising strategy to support Museum priorities.

To monitor our progress on these focused and other daily operations, we will 

continue to rely on our cross-departmental implementation team chaired by the two 

deputy directors. This team provides regular oversight of our action plans, monitoring 

our progress on 24 key performance indicators. Our metrics are presented on a gallerywide scorecard, updated quarterly, and shared with staff to ensure we remain focused 

on our priorities and operate in a transparent and nimble manner. These metrics allow 

us to take advantage of emerging opportunities and revenue fluctuations but also 

provide the focus we need to ensure that we achieve the four goals of the plan. Goals 

and priorities are also reinforced through staff and leadership performance plans, and 

information is regularly shared with senior Smithsonian leaders and the Board of 

Trustees. 

We have a longstanding commitment to education, scholarship and research. In 

FY 2021, we will complete or expand several important efforts in this area and continue 

to collaborate on research projects, and seminars and symposia with museum and 

university partners to ensure that our scholarly publications and data resources are 

widely available and well known. Specifically:

• In the area of K–12 education, a major focus for FY 2021 is the development 

of expanded online resources for K–12 educators based on the Galleries’

world-renowned collections, with the goal of making our website the premier 

online K–12 resource for information on the arts of Asia. These new 

materials, developed in partnership with educators, will become available on 

a new website scheduled to launch in June of 2020. In FY 2021, we will 

improve upon the site and continue to monitor teacher and student 

engagement. Efforts such as this, supported by a multi-year grant by the 

Freeman Foundation, are essential for the Smithsonian to reach its goal of 

one billion engagements.

• We will further impact 21st century audiences through our groundbreaking 

educational and scholarly programs on the arts of Asia. These programs 

involve hosting a series of international conferences and workshops and

collaborating within the Smithsonian and with outside organizations such as 

the Korea Foundation, University of Michigan, and the Mellon Foundation.

• We will continue to devote human and financial resources to our 

internationally renowned conservation and scientific research department. 

The department is led by a director who is one of the most respected figures 

in the field. In FY 2021, conservators, curators, and scholarly researchers will 
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continue to study and publish new research on the collections. The 

conservation department is also deeply involved in several international 

collaborations to develop a public-facing scholarly textile database and the 

definitive reference for bronze-casting. 

• With support from the David Berg Foundation, we will expand our research 

into Nazi-era provenance issues, further strengthening international ties 

developed in previous years. In FY 2020, we applied for a major grant from 

the Berg foundation that will support this work and allow us to offer a series of 

symposia to bring attention to the work.

• As our collections continue to grow, collections managers, curators, and 

conservators will collaborate to ensure that objects are properly researched, 

stored, preserved, and presented to our visitors, both on site and online. We 

will continue to cooperate with the Departments of State and Defense, and 

other agencies and organizations, to save cultural heritage in Iraq, Syria, and 

other parts of the Middle East.

• We will contribute to the strategic goal of Enhanced Interdisciplinary 

Research by maintaining our record of hosting research Fellows and scholarly 

visitors, through online, open-access publications, and by attracting new 

funding for research.

• We are pursuing external support for a paid internship program. This initiative 

will allow college students without financial means to spend a semester 

working with Museum staff. 

• We maintain an active digital publishing portfolio with our scholarly journal Ars 

Orientals, continuing to make major contributions to the field of Asian art 

history. The shift to open access for the publication has proven highly 

successful. We have increased engagement with our content by 88 percent in 

page views and 114 percent in users, and we anticipate this trend to continue.

• We will be releasing several new digital collections catalogues in FY 2021,

including the final volumes on our Jade collection and the long-anticipated 

digital Seto and Mino Japanese ceramics catalogue. We will also build upon 

our partnerships with the National Institute for Japanese Literature to make 

available annotated and translated versions of works in our Gerhard Pulverer 

Collection. 

In FY 2021, we will implement new reporting lines and structures, paying special

attention to programming, visitor services, communication, research, and advancement.

We will also increase our commitment to visitor accessibility. Specifically:

• During FY 2021, we will formalize plans for our centennial year celebration in 

2023. Our internal planning team will bring forward a series of opportunities, 
83

both national and international, that will bring new attention to the Freer and 

Sackler and our pivotal role in helping to realize the Smithsonian’s mission of 

making world-class art, science and research available to all.

• With a grant from the Smithsonian’s Asian American Pacific Islander Center, 

we initiated our first demographic perception research study to understand 

how the Museum is viewed by Asian American communities. With this 

information, we can effectively plan a series of new programs and events,

such as the Lunar and Persian New Year, and develop communications tools 

that speak directly to the interests of heritage communities. 

• We will build upon the success of our recently launched brand roll out to 

develop strategies for raising visibility. In FY 2020, we will launch the process 

to develop an integrated digital strategic plan. This will have a profound 

impact on our FY 2021 plans as we seek to capitalize on our digital-first 

mindset that puts us at the forefront of the Smithsonian’s open-access effort.

• The Galleries will continue the new accessibility initiatives with an innovative 

installation providing digital and sound interpretation of an iconic object, the 

Cosmic Buddha stele, for the visually impaired. This installation effectively 

blends our commitment to increased accessibility and digital innovations. 

• We anticipate the launch of our courtyard accessibility project to ensure that 

all our visitors can experience the beauty of the Freer Gallery. 

In FY 2021, we will implement a set of digital solutions which infuse features and 

functionality into our core activities and address the needs of internal and external

users. as well as external users. With a focus on external visitors and users, we seek to 

deliver a set of off-site experiences through our website and digital and social media 

that reflect our standing as a national resource for understanding Asian art. This focus 

will help leverage synergies to higher-capacity websites such as Smarthisotry.org and 

university partner websites, and showcase the depth and breadth of our scholarship and 

research portfolio. 

The FY 2021 exhibition schedule and complementary public programs will offer 

opportunities for audience engagement with both historical and contemporary topics 

and provide access to some of the finest works of art from Asia. Drawing on the

strategic review of our exhibitions and gallery spaces undertaken in FY 2020, we will 

enliven our galleries by returning hundreds of square feet of fallow space to new 

exhibitions. We will continue to develop major exhibition projects and long-term 

exchanges in collaboration with U.S. museums as well as with institutional partners in 

China, Japan, Korea, and India. Sharing select exhibitions through multi-venue 

presentations is an integral part of several exhibition projects under development while 

we develop touring exhibitions of our permanent holdings.
84

Highlights of our FY 2021 exhibition program include:

• To mark the millennium of the Persian poet Ferdawsi’s death, in the fall of 2020 

we will present an exhibition centered on the 14th-century manuscript known as 

the Great Mongol Shahnama. Our Museum has the largest collection of folios 

from this work. Considered a watershed in the history of Persian painting, the 

dispersed manuscript is also the subject of a major 2020 publication, which is to 

be co-published by the Freer and Sackler. 

• We will highlight our growing collection of contemporary photography with the 

exhibition of the works of the acclaimed Iranian photographer Bahman Jalili, who

is widely regarded as the father of contemporary photography in Iran. A series of 

related public programs will allow for a deeper investigation of the artist and his 

contribution to our understanding of conflict and artistic expression through 

photographs.

• In collaboration with the 2021 Washington, DC Cherry Blossom Festival, we will 

present a major exhibition of the Japanese artist Shukei Sesson. This exhibition

will display many exciting digital components. In collaboration with the Tokyo 

University of the Arts, the digital feature offers our visitors a real-time recreation 

of the Japanese pen-and-ink painting technique unfamiliar to most American 

museum goers. The accompanying catalogue will bring attention to the 

scholarship that shaped this exhibition and make a major contribution to the 

study of this important artist.

• In the fall of 2021, the Freer and the Sackler Galleries will showcase the 

celebrated and unpublished royal collections of Udaipur, India. This group of 

extraordinary paintings will also bring attention to the environmental issues 

impacting our global water systems. The exhibition’s scholarly catalogue will 

include several essays by international scholars and highlight some of the latest 

research on Indian paintings. After this exhibit closes in the spring of 2022, it will 

travel to the Cleveland Museum of Art. 

• We will continue our highly acclaimed immersive presentations of Encountering 

the Buddha: Art and Practice across Asia and our installation of blue-and-white 

porcelains in Whistler’s famed Peacock Room. This installation offers visitors the 

opportunity to experience the iconic room as Whistler intended it to be seen in 

the 1870s.

• We will finalize plans to present a second national treasure of Korean exhibitions

in FY 2022, in partnership with the National Museum of Korea. This project is 

supported by a five-year grant from the Korean Ministry of Culture. 

• We will deploy a rolling calendar of thematic reinstallations of our holdings and 

bring attention to our new acquisitions. This allows us to continually refresh our 

galleries and generate provocative conversations about the art of Asia and 

America. 

As we continue to build a Museum culture that is creative, collaborative, 

transparent and resourceful, we will continually assess and enhance staff development, 

the efficacy of its organizational structure, and oversight of internal controls. Specifically: 
85

• As we plan for FY 2021, we will maintain our fiscal discipline to support our 

strategic plan and take advantage of opportunities for investments in 

infrastructure and new partnerships. 

• In FY 2020, we will be launching six new searches for leadership positions to 

include a deputy director for collections and research. These new hires will be 

the result of a reimagined local recruitment process that is broadly consultative 

and involves staff, volunteers and trustees. In FY 2021, we will work with our 

colleagues to ensure their successful transition to the Smithsonian and to provide 

the mentorship and resources they will need to advance our mission. This 

infusion of new thinking, talent and enthusiasm will also allow us to assess our 

operations and assumptions and ensure that we are nimble, collaborative, and 

well-positioned for the next century.

• We continue to dedicate funds to leadership and supervisory training to equip 

managers and supervisors with the information, skills, and tools needed to make 

effective decisions. 

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust and donor/sponsordesignated funds are generated from memberships, revenue sharing from Museum 

shop sales and the Smithsonian Channel; participation fees from traveling exhibition 

venues; special events; unrestricted and restricted gifts and grants; and endowment 

income. The Freer and Sackler Galleries are highly dependent on nonappropriated 

income sources to provide the quality of exhibitions, programs, and publications 

expected by visitors and scholars, both online and on site.
86

CENTER FOR FOLKLIFE AND CULTURAL HERITAGE

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 17 3,184 12 1,510 3 1,123 0 457

FY 2020

ENACTED 17 3,484 10 1,923 4 1,000 3 1,700

FY 2021

REQUEST 17 3,600 10 1,475 4 1,000 3 1,700

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in vital arts and humanities research 1 175 1 182 0 7

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 1 155 1 162 0 7

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 8 1,724 8 1,778 0 54

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 1 200 1 207 0 7

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 4 455 4 482 0 27

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities operations and provide 

a safe and healthy environment 0 395 0 395 0 0

Security

Provide world-class protection for Smithsonian 

facilities, collections, staff, visitors and volunteers 0 100 0 100 0 0

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 2 280 2 294 0 14

Total 17 3,484 17 3,600 0 116

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
87

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (CFCH) is a research, collections, 

education, publications, and public programming unit of the Smithsonian Institution 

with the mission to “increase cultural understanding, strengthen communities, and 

reinforce our shared humanity” through promoting cultural heritage and diversity 

across the United States and around the world. It is the largest of a triumvirate of 

federal offices (with the Library of Congress’ American Folklife Center and National 

Endowment for the Arts,’ or NEA’s, Folk and Traditional Arts program) that supports 

traditional arts and culture in the United States and abroad. For more than five 

decades, the CFCH has accomplished this mission through research, documentation, 

preservation, presentation, education, social enterprise, and publication. It has 

collaborated with thousands of organizations, foundations, and governments in the 

United States and worldwide. The Smithsonian Folklife Festival and Smithsonian 

Folkways Recordings are its most visible products, reaching more than 340 million

people each year and earning major recognition, including one of the first Best 

Practice Citizen Diplomacy awards from the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy, 36

Grammy Award nominations, seven Grammys, one Latin Grammy, and 26

Independent Music Awards. 

The CFCH, with its highly qualified staff, nearly one-third of whom hold 

doctoral degrees, and first-rate production capabilities for public events, also 

produces multi-media website features and publications, exhibitions, documentary 

films, symposia, print publications, educational materials, and more. Ethnographic 

research and documentation are fundamental to all of its products and anchor its 

active engagement in high-profile international cultural heritage policy forums. Its 

Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections house, preserve, and provide access 

to its world-class collections. Professional training efforts offer opportunities for more 

than 130 interns each year and include hosting advanced study Fellows from 

countries around the world. 

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $116,000 for necessary 

pay and other related salary costs for existing staff funded under this line item.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

Research, production capacity, and entrepreneurial resource leveraging are 

the keys to how the CFCH accomplishes its core mission. Earned revenues cover the 

costs of 35 percent of its staff, create its public products, and deliver them to a broad 

national and international public of more than 305 million consumers. Institutional 

collaboration and major public impact nationally and internationally are also key to 

fulfilling its mission. Institutional collaborations (with more than 100 partnerships in 

the past nine years), fund raising, and mission-driven business activities leverage the 

Center’s modest federal investment many times over to reach millions of people per 

year.
88

The CFCH achieves this through the Smithsonian Folklife Festival (with 11.5

million visitors on site and online), Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (with more than 

263 million listeners via recordings, radio programs, downloads, and audio streams), 

websites and social media (with 8.74 million visits), the Smithsonian Cultural 

Sustainability Initiative, and other products. The CFCH also periodically applies its 

event production capacity to put on other major, national cultural events consistent 

with its mission, such as the National World War II Reunion, the First Americans 

Festival for the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian, and 

programs for the Olympic Games and presidential inaugurations. In 2020 and 2021, 

the CFCH will collaborate with at least seven Smithsonian units, 35 nonprofit 

organizations, at least two other federal agencies, and four foreign countries to create 

and deliver programmatic content. 

The 2020 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will focus on the intersection of 

traditional cultural knowledge, music, and environmental change as part of the One 

Smithsonian initiative called Conservation Commons. Organized in partnership with 

individuals and organizations around the globe, the Festival will explore how 

communities have developed and used traditional knowledge about the environment 

to manage environmental changes in their locales. Current plans include program 

highlights on communities in northeastern Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, and 

more. The Festival has already partnered with the Department of Energy’s Solar 

Decathlon to share the traditional design skills of architecture and building arts with

the public as part of this program. In the last week in June and the first week in July, 

participants will learn from each other by sharing their successes, challenges, and 

opportunities. Festival visitors will interact directly with practitioners and consider the 

role that traditional knowledge of the environment plays in their own lives.

Also in 2020 and 2021, the CFCH will further harness the power and reach of 

the World Wide Web to broaden access to Festival content far beyond Washington, 

DC, through programmatic features preceding, during, and following the 10-day Mall 

event. The CFCH will accomplish this by further increasing the interactivity of its 

websites, aggressively aiming to increase visits to all of its websites in 2021.

Folkways extended its impact in 2019 with the publication of three landmark 

boxsets (Pete Seeger, Social Power of Music, and New Orleans Jazz Festival). In

2020, Folkways will release the landmark box set on hip-hop and rap, in collaboration 

with the National Museum of African American History Art and Culture (NMAAHC). In 

2021, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings will continue its African American Legacy

and Tradiciones/Traditions series of African American and Latino music, producing at 

least six albums of new material. In addition to these landmark releases, Folkways 

will release an additional 15 recordings in FY 2021.

Folkways will also continue to extend its reach to millions more listeners, 

distributing almost 4,000 albums (60,000 tracks) of audio to teachers, students, 

scholars, and the general public. Digital distribution will expand further, opening new 

horizons for the creation and delivery of the Center’s educational content via 
89

downloadable audio streams, “podcast” feeds, and multi-media video features. 

Folkways will also continue to grow its 256 million-plus circulation of digital content 

from non-Smithsonian websites such as iTunes U, and SoundCloud, which will 

extend its reach to more than 100 countries. It will continue to expand its 

collaboration with private partners to deliver the entire Folkways collection to more 

than 560 libraries throughout the North American continent and beyond. 

A third signature program, the Smithsonian Cultural Sustainability Initiative, 

invigorates the Center’s long-established commitment to community engagement, 

cultural documentation, and support of cultural vitality. Four ongoing five-year 

programs respond to the urgency of the need to save endangered languages and 

cultural expressions and the associated loss of their knowledge. This includes a 

USAID-funded “Integrated Development Program to Preserve Cultural Heritage and 

Improve Sustainable Livelihoods in Ethnic Tibetan Communities in China” and “My 

Armenia,” which is linking cultural heritage preservation with sustainable tourism 

development in innovative ways. The third is a privately funded research initiative for 

“Sustaining Minority Languages in Europe” (SMiLE), which is part of the 

Smithsonian’s larger Recovering Voices Initiative. Finally, in 2018, CFCH initiated a 

collaboration with the Royal Textile Academy of Bhutan, a national center focused on 

weaving and other folklife; this project is also funded through a gift. A major 

philanthropic gift in 2019 allowed the Center to stabilize this program and staff it fully. 

Center curators and research staff will continue to publish books, articles, and 

Web features, and make professional presentations at gatherings of specialists. In 

2019, the CFCH set aggressive new publication targets and is on track to repeat the 

excellent performance from its previous strategic plan. The CFCH’s cultural heritage 

policy team will continue its vital participation in national and international UNESCO 

cultural heritage policy formulation by consulting with the U.S. Department of State, 

cooperating with our national and state folklife colleagues, and collaborating with 

other national and international organizations.

The yield from ethnographic research and multi-media primary sources will 

add to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections’ strategically important 

holdings of music and cultural traditions from the United States and around the world. 

Both the Folklife Festival and Smithsonian Folkways draw from and contribute to the 

world-class holdings of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. 

Containing 18 record labels, more than a half-century of documentary research, and 

extraordinary records of grassroots cultural traditions from around the globe, it 

provides a sine qua non folklife resource for both researchers and the public. In 

recognition of its important holdings, UNESCO inscribed the Moses and Frances 

Asch Collection in its Memory of the World Register in 2015. The Folklife Archives will 

tackle four main challenges in 2021 — accessioning the vast collections associated 

with the acquisition of Arhoolie Records; assessing, cataloguing, preserving, and 

making available endangered, valuable paper and audiovisual holdings; setting 

priorities for handling delicate and critical collections materials; and transferring 

audiovisual collections from their current media to ensure their survival. In 2019, the 
90

CFCH moved its entire collections from its usual repository, which underwent 

substantial infrastructure improvements. With support from the National Collections 

Program, all collections were rehoused in state-of-the-art cabinetry, which marks a 

significant improvement in the physical care of these priceless collections. Central 

funds from within the Institution will further support the Rinzler Archives’ digitization 

and dissemination efforts.

The CFCH has played a major role in the new One Smithsonian strategy 

outlined by the Strategic Plan. The Center proposed and then led the implementation 

of the Smithsonian Year of Music in 2019. Center staff are contributing to the 

implementation of the American Women’s History Initiative and recruited a new 

curator of American women’s music to ensure ongoing engagement on this important 

topic. The Center simultaneously collaborates with the Asian American Pacific 

Center, National Museum of African American History and Culture, National Museum 

of the American Indian, National Museum of Natural History, and the Smithsonian 

Latino Center by supporting internships and program initiatives, including the Mother 

Tongue Film Festival. Center staff also share approximately one publication per week 

with Smithsonian.com. Having reached more than 499 million users in FY 2019 

(including impressions from licensing), the Center is supporting the Institution’s goal 

to reach one billion users through a digital first strategy. Similarly, the Center is now

leading one interdisciplinary, multi-year, international research project and has 

submitted a grant proposal to fund a second.

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support salaries and 

benefits of approximately one-quarter of the CFCH’s personnel, and revenues from 

Folkways Recordings pay 35 percent of all staff salaries and expenses. 

Donor/sponsor-designated funds cover costs related to specific projects such as the 

Smithsonian Folklife Festival, some research efforts, and several other educational 

programs. By the end of FY 2019, with support from the Smithsonian National 

Campaign, the CFCH raised more than $10 million to support the Center’s mission.
91

COOPER HEWITT, SMITHSONIAN DESIGN MUSEUM

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019 

ENACTED 36 5,086 31 4,775 25 6,355 1 217

FY 2020 

ENACTED 36 5,086 31 4,950 27 6,900 1 150

FY 2021 

REQUEST 36 5,235 31 5,100 29 7,100 1 150

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in vital arts and humanities research 4 350 4 367 0 17

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 1 105 1 109 0 4

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 1 125 1 129 0 4

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 4 390 4 407 0 17

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 3 260 3 272 0 12

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 7 2,096 7 2,125 0 29

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities operations and provide 

a safe and healthy environment 11 1,115 11 1,160 0 45

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 4 475 4 492 0 17

Information Technology

Improve the Institution's information technology 

systems and infrastructure 1 170 1 174 0 4

Total 36 5,086 36 5,235 0 149

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
92

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (CHSDM), in New York City, is one 

of two Smithsonian museums located outside of Washington, DC. CHSDM is the only 

museum in the nation dedicated exclusively to historic and contemporary design. Its 

collection is international in scope and encompasses 215,000 objects representing 30

centuries of design, from China’s Han Dynasty (200 B.C.) to the present. The Museum 

presents compelling perspectives on the impact of design on daily life through 

educational programs, exhibitions, and publications. After a major renovation, CHSDM

reopened in 2014, changing the way the Museum inspires, educates, and empowers 

people through design. 

As the design authority of the United States, CHSDM’s programs and exhibitions 

demonstrate how design shapes culture and history — past, present, and future. To 

achieve the Institution’s strategic goal of Impacting 21st Century Audiences, the 

Museum will continue its dynamic exhibition programming and active roster of 

educational and public programs, as well as expand the number of programs offered in 

venues outside the New York metropolitan area in 2021. Together, these programs will 

help CHSDM engage larger, more diverse audiences, and fulfill its mission to serve as a 

catalyst for design education throughout the nation and internationally. 

The Museum devotes resources to ensure the advancement of knowledge in the 

humanities by fostering a greater understanding of the role of design in everyday life 

and its impact on shaping the built environment of the past, present, and future; and to 

encourage the “by-products” of design thinking — such as creative problem solving and 

teamwork — in other disciplines and areas of life, through interactive, engaging, inperson and online experiences.

The FY 2021 budget request includes $149,000 for necessary pay and other 

related salary costs for existing staff funded under this line item.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

In FY 2021, CHSDM will continue to transform the Museum visit from passive to 

participatory with the most innovative, educational, immersive and interactive exhibitions 

for the public, focusing on the design process. The Museum will present exhibitions on

the 20th-century graphic design pioneer Edward McKnight Kauffer, an exhibition on the 

future of health care that will provide immersive spaces for visitors to explore health 

care scenarios, and Designing Peace, which will explore how design can address some 

of our most vexing issues.

Building on the success of the interactive pen, the Museum will continue to

explore enhanced visitor experiences through the Interaction Lab, a new kind of 

research and development (R&D) space where we are reimagining the museum 

experience for the 21st-century. Designed to keep pace with emergent technology, we 

are bringing a holistic, interactive design methodology to CHSDM’s visitor experience. 
93

CHSDM resources will continue to support our strategic goal to Enhance 

Disciplinary Research, ensuring the advancement of knowledge in the humanities 

through exhibition-related and collections-oriented scholarly research to create the most 

innovative and educational exhibitions for the public.

To achieve the goal of Preserving Our Natural and Cultural Heritage, the 

Museum continues to acquire objects for its internationally renowned permanent 

collection. With the digitization of the collection completed, the Museum continues to 

expand its online programs, such as the Object of the Day blog and channels for all 

exhibitions. The Museum will continue its more than 30-year partnership with the New 

School/Parsons with an on-site graduate program focused on the history of design and 

curatorial studies, which will give students and scholars access to objects in CHSDM’s 

collections.

CHSDM will inspire, educate and empower audiences through design by offering 

educational programs and content in a variety of formats. The goal across all of the 

programming is to deliver content relevant to the program participant’s level of 

understanding of design and design thinking. The Museum will engage intergenerational audiences that include students, educators, emerging designers, design 

professionals and the general public, through beginning, intermediate and advanced 

programs in design. All programs will focus on using objects in the collection or on view 

in an exhibition as points of inspiration and reference; with the broad goals of

developing practical creative problem-solving and critical thinking that can be applied in 

any field. The Museum will continue its traditional offerings such as design field trips, 

family programs, docent-led tours, and public programs. The Museum is also committed 

to making its programs and content nationally accessible. In addition, the Museum will 

continue planning to make its educational opportunities available to a much broader 

audience through online platforms such as the SI Learning Lab.

The Museum will also continue to offer nationally recognized design thinkingfocused professional development workshops for K–12 educators from across the 

country, leveraging its world-renowned design collection. 

To further the Smithsonian’s goal of Enabling Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration, CHSDM will enhance its reputation, and that of the Smithsonian, by

continuing to secure significant media coverage across national and international print 

and digital platforms such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall 

Street Journal, as well as general interest publications and those relating to all fields of 

design, and increase the Museum’s social media presence. CHSDM will maintain and 

cultivate substantive relationships with the public, its existing membership community, 

state and local governments, children, educators, business leaders, and designers.

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — Nonappropriated resources support 

70 percent of the Museum’s operating budget. General trust funds are generated from 

memberships, Museum shop sales, admissions, special events, and unrestricted 

contributions. General trust funds support salaries and benefits of administrative 
94

personnel, development and business activities, and other program-related costs. The 

Museum also raises funds from private sources to support research, exhibitions, public 

programs, and administrative functions. This includes securing contributions for new 

exhibitions, educational initiatives, and public outreach. Donor/sponsor-designated 

funds are essential to support exhibitions and educational initiatives. In addition, 

significant endowment gifts support research, exhibitions, public programs, and 

administrative functions.
95

HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 37 4,544 6 3,988 23 7,560 0 110

FY 2020 

ENACTED 37 4,544 7 4,223 24 9,000 0 110

FY 2021 

REQUEST 41 5,051 7 4,223 24 12,000 0 0

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in vital arts and humanities research 5 479 5 497 0 18

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 1 130 1 134 0 4

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 3 530 3 541 0 11

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 11 1,300 15 1,712 4 412

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 2 190 2 197 0 7

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 8 1,035 8 1,064 0 29

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 7 880 7 906 0 26

Total 37 4,544 41 5,051 4 507

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
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BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is a leading voice for 

contemporary art and culture, providing a national platform for the art and artists of our 

time. The Museum seeks to share the transformative power of modern and 

contemporary art with audiences at all levels of awareness and understanding by 

creating meaningful, personal experiences in which art, artists, audiences, and ideas 

converge. The Hirshhorn enhances public understanding and appreciation of 

contemporary art through acquisitions, exhibitions, education and public programs, 

conservation, and research.

The Museum allocates resources to further the Institution’s goals so that 

progress toward one goal advances work toward the others. For instance, through our 

efforts to pursue the strategic goal of Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research, the 

Hirshhorn has developed a thorough expertise in conserving time-based media works 

that are at the forefront of contemporary art. This knowledge enables the Museum to 

preserve and protect these works under the strategic goal to Preserve Our Natural and 

Cultural Heritage, and to display these works in compelling exhibitions under the goal to 

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences.

The Hirshhorn dedicates resources to advance the Institution’s strategic goal to 

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences, by presenting insightful, deeply 

researched exhibitions of modern and contemporary artists, many with novel thematic 

interpretations that receive critical acclaim from the national and international press, as 

well as the public. The Hirshhorn supplements these exhibitions with an active schedule 

of public programs, scholarly publications, and original catalogues. The Museum 

continues digitizing images of all its collections and using its website to reach an even 

broader audience both at its Mall location and around the world. 

The Museum’s extensive collection is central to its purpose, and, pursuant to the 

Institution’s goal to Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage, the Hirshhorn dedicates

a substantial portion of its resources to the preservation of its thousands of artworks. 

These artworks are the highlight of collection shows, such as Collection Highlight: Work 

by Women from the Hirshhorn Collection, which will open in November of 2020 and will 

present more than 75 years of work drawn from new acquisitions alongside historical 

masterworks devoted to the work of women artists. The strength of this collection and 

the need to preserve it will be highlighted as the Museum moves farther into its fifth 

decade, with plans for additional showcases of its unique collection. Moreover, the 

Hirshhorn continues to make these artworks available to museums around the country 

with a very active loan program, and provides staff expertise on conservation matters to 

arts organizations worldwide.

The Museum contributes to the strategic goal to Understand and Impact 21st 

Century Audiences with ARTLAB+ and many educational programs, including the

gallery guide program that serves the Museum’s diverse audiences and encourages 

viewers to learn about various fields of contemporary culture. The educational programs 
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also make strong efforts to bring non-museum education professionals into the Museum 

to expand on the Hirshhorn’s didactic approaches. ARTLAB+ is a digital media studio 

focused on serving teenagers from local, underserved communities, giving them access 

to professional-quality technology and art, and connecting them to artist mentors who 

are building a community of young creators. ARTLAB+ remains a signature 

achievement of the Museum, and receives critical acclaim from the broader educational 

community. The program’s success has attracted support from internal and external 

partners, which has enabled ARTLAB+ to continue to incorporate innovative 

technologies and provide hands-on learning experiences to students who otherwise 

would not have access to such opportunities.

The Museum also pursues the goal to Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration by constantly improving its financial and administrative management 

tools and procedures. The Hirshhorn also strives to cultivate a staff culture that is 

efficient, collaborative, committed, innovative, and diverse.

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $507,000. The increase 

includes $151,000 for necessary pay and other related salary costs for existing staff,

and a programmatic increase of 4 FTEs and $356,000 for exhibition fabrication to 

ensure the Museum’s capacity to deliver compelling, first-class exhibitions.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

In FY 2020, Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research continues as the Museum 

further develops a major public forum on the intersections of art, design, technology, 

and education, featuring international subject-matter experts and an interactive online 

component, effectively extending participation to audiences far beyond the walls of the 

Museum. Also, the Hirshhorn will continue to expand its series of online and on-site 

programs dealing with the role of technology and new media in contemporary art, 

museum culture, and digital education.

In FY 2019, the Hirshhorn served almost one million visitors and program 

attendees through our Museum, sculpture garden and partnerships throughout the 

Washington, DC arts community. The Hirshhorn continues to build and improve our

visitor services support systems, increasing the use of volunteers, gallery guides and 

part-time visitor attendants. The Hirshhorn has created a visitor services staff dedicated 

to designing, coordinating, and improving visitors’ experiences. Resources support the 

Strategic Plan by administering products and services that broaden visitor access to 

public programs and engaging in-gallery experiences.

The Hirshhorn’s proposed exhibition schedule for FY 2021 builds upon the 

mission to expand access to the arts and increase public understanding of, and 

engagement with, the international scope of modern and contemporary art in all of its 

spellbinding diversity. FY 2021 will feature exhibitions and other major events 

highlighting the best of emerging, international contemporary art.
98

• FY 2021 will open with Jon Rafman, presenting the artist’s mind-expanding video 

and installation works, most based on material from the Internet, that highlight the 

intersection of virtual digital worlds with human dreamscapes. By synthesizing 

elements of the Internet and virtual reality into his work, Rafman explores the digital 

angst of a tech-dominated society. As technology becomes more and more 

ubiquitous, with young adults knowing less and less of life without the Internet, 

Rafman’s video installations are crucial proposals for new modes of socialization, 

ritual, and myth. In bringing to light the Internet’s already realized possibilities, the 

artist poses questions about the status of human life in our multiple layers of reality.

• In mid-October 2020, the Hirshhorn will also feature John Akomfrah’s acclaimed sixchannel video work, Purple. This film captures ecological features around the world

— from the Arctic to the South Pacific — that are at risk of or are disappearing due 

to changing climates. Wrapped in the gentle arc of the Hirshhorn’s curved walls, the 

installation will allow visitors to experience remote landscapes within a panoramic 

exploration of vulnerable environments.

• In November of 2020, the Museum will open Collection Highlight: Work by Women 

from the Hirshhorn Collection, a newly curated exhibition devoted entirely to the 

work of women artists. This exhibition presents more than 75 years of work drawn 

exclusively from the Hirshhorn collection. Highlighting new acquisitions alongside 

historical masterworks by artists such as Helen Frankenthaler, Louise Bourgeois, 

Eva Hesse, Alma Thomas, Betye Saar, and Carolee Schneemann, the exhibition 

speaks to women’s decisive and virtuosic achievements in a full range of media and 

with a wide array of aesthetic, political, and historical concerns. Impossible to 

classify according to a single subjectivity or set of virtues, the work on view further 

explores the complexities and contradictions of approaching the idea of “woman 

artist” as a category. Set against current and broader conversations regarding 

gender, power, and recognition in our society, the exhibition celebrates the depth, 

breadth, radicality, and rigor of art made by women, while calling attention to the 

ways that gender itself can be understood in relation to the making and presentation 

of art — both irrelevant and irrevocable. 

• In the spring of 2021, the Hirshhorn will present teamLab. Digitally combining 

elements of art and nature in immersive digital environments, the Japanese art 

collective teamLab has created compelling and unique installation experiences at 

museums and art venues around the world. Adapted for the Hirshhorn’s curved 

exhibition space, teamLab’s exhibition will consist of the three interactive 

installations: Continuous Life in a Beautiful World (2019); Sketch Aquarium (2013);

and Graffiti Nature (2016). These progressively visitor-activated works will enliven 

the third-level outer ring galleries, providing an interactive exhibition that will draw 

both general visitors and focused groups of visitors seeking family experiences with 

contemporary art.

The Hirshhorn continues to further the strategic goal to Expand Digital 

Technologies by using the Museum’s website to engage with local and remote 

audiences regarding exhibition offerings, upcoming public programs, and information 

about collections and artists. Content shared via the website includes audio and video 

from public programs, interviews with artists and curators, and searchable access to the 
99

Museum’s collections. The Hirshhorn’s communication procedures will diffuse deep 

knowledge of contemporary art and culture, whether presented in the Museum or 

elsewhere, and not merely describe activities and exhibits in superficial terms. The 

Museum will continue to publish original catalogues to complement exhibitions, along 

with other books that examine modern art, design, and cultural shifts of the early 21st 

century.

Based on the overwhelming success of Hirshhorn Eye! (Hi for short), our 

revolutionary in-gallery art guide that uses image recognition to scan art and instantly 

provide access to exclusive artist videos and inside information, staff has increased

interaction between visitors and the digital resources of the Museum. Hi content is 

updated regularly, in coordination with our rotating exhibitions. In FY 2021, we will 

continue to create and deliver content that builds on the in-gallery exhibition learning 

aids. In FY 2019, we began sharing this innovative technology across the Smithsonian 

and the nation. By working with the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), the 

Hirshhorn will continue to implement the Hi technology throughout the museums on the 

Mall.

The Hirshhorn will support the goal to Understand and Impact 21st Century 

Audiences with a range of programs geared toward visitors with varying levels of art

experience and cultural interests, and by expanding the concept of a museum as a 

center of learning. As in previous years, one or more working artists will lead youth and 

teacher workshops for K–12 teachers and students. Artists will also present their ideas 

and inspirations to people of all ages in the “Meet the Artist” programs and “In 

Conversation” interviews and panel discussions. The Museum will continue to draw 

upon a wide pool of artists, researchers, and experts from different and unexpected 

fields to provide interpretive tours in the weekly Friday Gallery Talks.

In concert with educational foundation sponsors, the Hirshhorn will expand the 

ARTLAB+ program throughout the Museum to create an environment where teenagers 

can attend workshops to learn about and explore digital media. The Museum will also 

sustain its “Gallery Guides” program, which brings advanced art students into the 

galleries to aid visitors’ critical experience with art on display, and which develops the 

students’ own education objectives and teaching skills. In FY 2021, we will continue to 

pilot programs to capture additional audiences such as: preschool-aged children,

through STORYTIME, which explores contemporary art through stories and movement;

families, through Maker Mornings; and underserved audiences through increased 

accessibility programs offered in Spanish and in American Sign Language (ASL).

Also, in FY 2021, the Hirshhorn will achieve the strategic goal to Preserve Our 

Natural and Cultural Heritage by continuing collections research in the Museum’s state-ofthe-art Conservation Lab and collections storage space. The improved space, which was 

finished in FY 2020, has improved natural light, greatly enhancing collections 

management and conservation activities. In addition, the Hirshhorn will further develop as 

a center for research and preservation of time-based media (e.g., film, digital video, and 

audio) artworks, by integrating the work of conservation and exhibits to provide leading-
100

edge presentation and responsible stewardship of the analog and digital time-based 

media artworks in the Museum’s collection. The Museum will also continue efforts to 

photograph and catalogue the permanent collection, thereby bringing more of the 

collection to the public via extensive search features on the Hirshhorn’s public website.

Under the strategic goal to Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive Administration, 

the Museum will continue to pursue capital projects that merge the functional with the 

artistic by including artists and designers in discussions with central Smithsonian 

engineering staff. The Museum, along with Smithsonian Facilities, is planning two 

important projects: a revitalization of the Sculpture Garden, and repairs to the building 

envelope. These projects will enable the Hirshhorn campus to support the Museum’s 

mission and its expanded programming and collections, as well as enhance the visitor 

experience and address critical infrastructure needs. The new vision will create spaces 

for large-scale contemporary works and performances, as well as more intimate spaces 

where visitors can enjoy the Museum’s modern masterpieces.

Finally, the Hirshhorn administration will continue to improve long-range program 

planning reviews to enhance resource allocation, funds management, and more effective 

cost sharing with outside organizations that support major exhibitions and programs. By 

identifying and working with partners in the private sector, Hirshhorn senior leaders 

leverage the Museum’s federal appropriations to the maximum extent possible.

EXPLANATION OF CHANGE

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $507,000 for necessary pay 

($151,000) and a programmatic increase (4 FTEs and $356,000).

Exhibit Support (+$356,000, +4 FTEs)

This budget request includes an increase of $356,000 and 4 FTEs for additional 

art handlers and exhibition fabricators. As the Museum’s exhibitions feature more 

elements involving audiovisual technology and innovative installation techniques, there 

is a growing need for skilled art handlers, cabinetmakers, and audiovisual professionals. 

These additional resources will allow the Hirshhorn to more efficiently fabricate and 

install exhibition cabinetry, mounts, and audiovisual equipment, while also keeping 

compensation competitive with similar positions in comparable museums and galleries. 

Additionally, these vital positions will enable the Museum to more effectively manage its 

resources to meet the long-term need for experienced art handlers, exhibit fabricators, 

and graphic installers who will support the Hirshhorn’s goal to offer compelling, firstclass exhibitions to the public.

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support salaries and 

benefits of administrative and development personnel, as well as some programs and 

public relations staff, advancement activities, and exhibition and program-related costs. 

Donor/sponsor-designated funds are essential to support exhibitions, public programs, 

communications, and marketing.
101

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 28 4,654 5 1,165 2 1,210 0 0

FY 2020

ENACTED 31 4,854 6 1,027 8 1,568 0 0

FY 2021

REQUEST 31 5,022 6 1,386 8 2,117 0 0

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ FY 2020 FY 2021 Change

Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research

Research

Engage in vital arts and humanities research 3 578 3 594 0 16

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 4 333 4 355 0 22

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public

3 544 3 560 0 16

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 8 1,532 8 1,576 0 44

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 4 542 4 564 0 22

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 5 678 5 705 0 27

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative infrastructure 3 432 3 448 0 16

Information Technology

Improve the Institution’s information technology systems 

and infrastructure 

1 215 1 220 0 5

Total 31 4,854 31 5,022 0 168
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BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

Africa — the cradle of humanity — is part of everyone’s heritage. The 

mission of the National Museum of African Art (NMAfA) is to inspire 

conversations about the beauty, power, and diversity of Africa’s arts and cultures 

worldwide. The Museum’s vision is to be the world’s leading center of scholarly 

and artistic excellence on the arts of Africa. The NMAfA accomplishes its mission 

and vision through effective use of its unparalleled collections, exhibitions, 

programs, publications, and educational initiatives, which are widely accessible 

and strengthened through collaborations with African, diasporic, and global arts 

communities. The Museum collects and exhibits ancient to contemporary works 

of art from the entire continent of Africa and follows best practices, including 

rigorous provenance research, in carrying out this work. The NMAfA’s activities 

and programming support the Institution’s goal of creating One Smithsonian and 

fulfilling the Grand Challenges of Valuing World Cultures, Understanding the 

American Experience, and Magnifying the Transformative Power of Arts and 

Design.

A key component of Museum operations is the creation of temporary and 

semi-permanent exhibitions of artworks from its own collection and from other 

museum and private collections. The Museum’s exhibitions are supported by a 

broad range of educational public programming and outreach activities designed 

to engage the diverse local, national, and international visitors the NMAfA serves.

Substantial selections from the Museum’s large and important permanent 

collection of Africa’s historical and contemporary arts will remain on view in 

FY 2021, with ongoing displays on sublevel 1 and our Currents: Water in African 

Art exhibition that features aquatic-themed artworks from the permanent 

collection. A multi-year exhibition entitled Heroes: Principles of African 

Greatness, which opened in early FY 2020, will remain on view through FY 2021.

It also features works from the Museum’s permanent collections and employs the 

technology to engage visitors with more detailed stories about Africans who 

exemplify the concepts of greatness explored in the exhibition. The Museum will 

continue to present Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa’s Arts, a permanent exhibition

with changing elements, that features more than 300 works from the permanent 

collection of traditional and contemporary African arts and highlights the 

Museum’s Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection. The Visionary exhibition 

features cross-cutting themes that showcase particular strengths in the 

Museum’s collection. In addition, the Museum will revise its popular Looking @

Art gallery guide to complement the NMAfA’s permanent collection exhibitions 

and to assist visitors in understanding the forms, materials, messages, and 

global relevance of Africa’s traditional and contemporary arts.

In FY 2021, the Museum’s entrance pavilion, renovated in FY 2019, will 

continue to present artworks from the permanent collection. Touch-table 

technology will continue to deliver an expanded menu of options to orient visitors 
103

to the Museum’s collections and exhibitions and engage them in a range of ideas 

and issues about Africa and Africa’s arts. 

In 2021, the Museum expects to travel its temporary exhibition I Am: 

Women’s Voices in the Contemporary, which opened in late summer of 2019 in 

the contemporary galleries on sublevel 1. It features selected works from the 

NMAfA’s collection made by important modernist and contemporary women 

artists from Africa, and it is accompanied by a scholarly publication. 

Through the first two months of FY 2021, the Museum will continue to host

Caravans of Gold: Fragments in Time, organized by the Block Museum of Art at 

Northwestern University. This groundbreaking exhibition, which opened in April of 

2020, includes important artworks loaned by museums in Morocco, Mali, and 

Nigeria, and challenges the widely held bias of a timeless Africa that is cut off 

from the dynamics of world history. This will be the first major exhibition to take 

stock of the material culture of early trans-Saharan trade and to offer strong 

evidence of the central role Africa played in medieval history (the 8th through 

16th centuries). 

In FY 2021, the NMAfA will continue two temporary exhibitions, developed 

by the Museum in FY 2020. Nollywood Portraits features the work of Nigerianborn, New York-based artist Iké Udé, who explores the School of Nollywood films 

and their personalities. In this exhibition, Udé studies the mutative act of looking

at the people who make up an emerging school whose practice is motion-picture 

performance. Udé's work strays from the tradition of this mode by his intervention 

in the design and organization of the photographed image. The work largely 

consists of photographic tableaux in which Udé performs in the role of a movie 

director by making the actors and actresses sitters. This creates a mimesis of the 

process of producing a motion picture itself — the very subject of the compilation.

FY 2021 will also see the continuation of the FY 2020 exhibition From the 

Deep: In the Wake of Drexciya with Ayana V. Jackson. Inspired by the Detroitbased Afrofuturist music duo of the same name, photographer Ayana Jackson 

revisits the history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade in this first solo Museum

exhibition for the artist. “Drexciya” is the name given to a legendary underwater 

kingdom populated by the children of pregnant women who were thrown or 

jumped from the ships of their enslavers. According to legend, because the 

children were able to breathe in the amniotic fluid of the womb, they were able to 

survive in the ocean waters. Taking Drexciya as a point of departure, Jackson

creates a new series of photographs in which she portrays African water spirits 

as manifestations of these powerful beings. The exhibition will also feature the 

artist’s first video and a selection of the full costumes realized in collaboration 

with designers in Senegal and Angola, as well as individual elements displayed 

in vitrines, such as the treasured remains of historic shipwrecks. While 

addressing the horrors of a brutal history, From the Deep is, ultimately, 

empowering in its approach. The exhibition affirms the Museum's commitment to 
104

working with outstanding artists in the production and presentation of cuttingedge new work, consistently highlighting the contributions of women artists, and 

activating Museum spaces as vehicles to discuss difficult and defining issues of 

history, race, representation, and the future.

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $168,000 for 

necessary pay and other related salary costs for existing staff funded under this 

line item.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

The NMAfA will achieve the Smithsonian strategic goals to be One 

Smithsonian and to catalyze new conversations and address complex challenges

by directing resources to activities that will result in consistently high-quality 

programs, larger, more diverse audiences, and global engagement through 

improved Web and digital outreach. The Museum will provide greater Web and 

digital access to NMAfA collections through enhanced navigation features via 

eMuseum and multi-media applications, and by completing additional image and 

object catalogue records for the Museum’s public access database. Working 

closely with the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), the Museum will 

embark on a large-scale mass-digitization project to add a substantial number of 

new object records to the online collection database. This work will benefit from 

pilot digitization projects undertaken in FY 2020. The Museum’s website will 

continue to add content such as podcasts, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and other 

social media options, as well as online educational resources and activities for 

teachers and younger audiences. The NMAfA will also implement an expanded 

social media strategy in FY 2021 to better engage audiences in the arts of Africa.

The Museum will continue to seek visitor feedback on exhibitions and 

programs, and implement performance assessments of its public programs. The 

NMAfA will also continue to engage with diverse audiences through a robust 

schedule of exhibitions and educational programming and, in particular, through 

outreach with teachers of primary, secondary, and college students, as well as 

with representatives from African immigrant and other local community groups. 

These efforts will result in more effective planning and development of programs 

and services, which will enable the Museum to reach its target groups and 

expand its audience base. In addition, marketing strategies will continue to be 

reviewed and tested to determine the most effective ways to communicate with 

diverse audiences.

Ongoing educational programs will include musical and dance 

performances, programs geared to younger visitors and family groups, such as 

reading, storytelling, and art-making activities, exhibition-related teacher/student 

workshops and teleconferences, and an annual Community Day. To attract 

mixed-generation and adult audiences, the NMAfA will present lectures with 

scholars and artists, gallery tours, community discussions, and film series linked 
105

to the ideas and themes explored in the Museum’s exhibitions and reflecting 

current trends in African-oriented and diasporan scholarship. In addition, the 

Museum will continue its successful evening events, which feature special 

lectures and opportunities for enthusiasts of Africa and Africa’s arts to gather. 

Museum educators will develop a range of digital K–12 curriculum materials 

designed to engage students and teachers in the arts of Africa.

The Museum will continue to respond to the public regarding the quality 

and care of collections of African art and to help people learn about African art 

forms, styles, materials, and contexts of use as part of museum connoisseurship 

and object quality assessments. To educate casual and serious collectors of 

African art, the Museum’s website will include more useful tips on object 

identification, assessment, and care. Furthermore, the Museum expects to 

secure additional funding and support of its successful conservation training 

Fellowship program, funded by a multi-year Mellon Foundation grant, which will 

contribute to strengthening diversity and inclusion in the field of museum 

conservation.

To achieve the One Smithsonian and its “digital first” strategies, the 

Museum will continue digitizing and cataloguing its art and photographic 

collections, with a focus on recent acquisitions, the Museum’s collection of 

contemporary art, selected works from the Walt Disney-Tishman African Art 

Collection, and the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives. Digital access to these 

materials will facilitate research and study by students, teachers, scholars, 

conservators, and the public. The Museum will continue to integrate contextual 

photographs from the Eliot Elisofon Archives with related objects in the collection. 

In support of the Smithsonian’s goal of driving large, visionary, interdisciplinary 

research and scholarly projects, the Museum will continue to collaborate with 

Smithsonian colleagues on multi-year initiatives. Such initiatives include an 

AfricAsia project, and programs and initiatives associated with the Lilly 

Foundation’s support for religious expression in the United States and worldwide. 

The Museum also seeks to enhance its networking with colleagues on the 

African continent in order to create partnerships and engage current debates, 

which will help develop sustainable strategies in support of collaboration and 

dialogue regarding colonial-era collections.

In FY 2021, the Museum will also devote staff resources to planning 

exhibitions in FY 2022 and beyond, including a possible traveling exhibition 

featuring major artworks from the NMAfA’s permanent collection. Other possible 

Museum-developed exhibitions and accompanying scholarly publications include

Africa Pops, an original exhibition built from the collections of the NMAfA with

major targeted public and private loans, which seeks to look at African artists’

use of irony, kitsch, and connections to comment on consumerism and

international capitalism; Visionary Leadership on Lozi arts and the making of a

nation; African Minimalism; the Mechanics of Art; and the Creativity of Work. The 

Museum also anticipates developing a small contemporary art exhibition that will 
106

be guest-curated by a contemporary African artist and draw on the NMAfA’s 

collection of carved ivory tusks, 3D digital scans of selected tusks, and images 

drawn from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives. 

Staff will enhance displays of permanent collection artworks and pay 

particular attention to audience engagement strategies. The Museum’s emphasis 

on selected works from the NMAfA’s permanent collection, displayed in galleries 

on all four levels of the Museum, is cost-effective and designed to attract general 

audiences, collectors, and scholars, as well as local school groups that rely on 

consistently available works of art for their themed tours and curriculum projects. 

In addition, the Museum will continue to develop rotating exhibitions from the 

permanent collection for the small Point of View Gallery and adjacent galleries on 

sublevel 1. In FY 2021, the Museum will also devote staff resources toward 

refining and expanding the menu of options for its touch-tables in the renovated 

NMAfA entry pavilion. The touch-tables are designed to orient visitors to Museum 

collections and exhibitions, and to engage them in a range of ideas and issues 

about Africa and Africa’s arts. 

To address the Smithsonian’s strategic goal to reach one billion people a 

year with a digital-first strategy, the NMAfA will expand its use of digital 

technologies by focusing resources in several areas: information technology (IT)

operations; staff performance and accountability; strategic audience engagement 

via social media; the development of curriculum materials to engage K–12 and 

university students in the arts of Africa; and effective relations with the media. 

The Museum’s IT plan has integrated information technology functions for 

administration, collections management, exhibitions, and public access. The IT 

plan will continue to be reviewed on an annual basis, with updates made as 

needed. Museum administrators will continue to use the updated and revised 

vision document and gain insight via feedback from visitor evaluations to update 

the NMAfA’s operational plan and ensure high-quality public programs and 

experiences for all audiences. 

The Museum integrates its strategic goals and operational plans, in concert

with the Secretary’s annual goals, into the performance plans for all NMAfA staff 

members. In addition, personnel and programmatic management responsibilities 

have been incorporated into the performance plans of all department heads to 

provide more effective review of programs, activities, and relevant projects.

Educational brochures and special webpages will increase the educational value 

of NMAfA exhibits. Finally, the Museum will continue to forge strong relationships

with the news media, corporations, foundations, community interest groups, and 

congressional representatives. Museum staff will accomplish this by further 

expanding the NMAfA’s contact base and distributing more information online and 

via social media about Museum activities, events, and programs.
107

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support staff 

salaries, benefits, and travel. Funds raised from individual and corporate donors 

will support the NMAfA’s major exhibition efforts, including exhibition-related 

publications, educational programming, and outreach initiatives. Corporate and 

foundation sponsorships also support the planning and development of 

exhibitions, including installation expenses and exhibition-related public 

programming, travel, and curatorial collaborations.
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ANACOSTIA COMMUNITY MUSEUM

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 19 2,405 2 280 0 87 0 36

FY 2020

ENACTED 19 2,490 3 556 0 180 0 45

FY 2021

REQUEST 20 2,723 3 556 0 0 0 85

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in impactful scientific research and discovery 2 232 2 232 0 0

Engage in vital arts and humanities research 1 152 1 152 0 0

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 3 250 3 250 0 0

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 2 290 3 523 1 233

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 4 475 4 475 0 0

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 3 395 3 395 0 0

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities operations and provide 

a safe and healthy environment 1 119 1 119 0 0

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 3 577 3 577 0 0

Total 19 2,490 20 2,723 1 233

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
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BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

Since its founding in 1967, the Anacostia Community Museum (ACM) has been a 

means for people in urban neighborhoods to voice their concerns about city life, 

examine their role in society, and encourage local cultural expression. As the 

Smithsonian’s community museum, ACM is uniquely positioned as a trusted convener 

and a bridge between organizations, academia, government, businesses, and 

community members in order to give voice to untold perspectives and uncover new 

solutions. Because of this work, the Museum has become a model for community 

representation, discussion, and artistry. From its strong foundation of community-based 

exhibitions, collections, and programs, ACM is now poised to undertake its next great 

challenge — to tackle complex and systemic issues that individuals cannot address 

alone, and catalyze collective action toward change. 

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $233,000. The increase 

includes $83,000 for necessary pay and other related salary costs for existing staff 

funded under this line item, and a programmatic increase of 1 FTE and $150,000 for 

exhibit support.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

In 2019, the Museum implemented a revised strategic plan that focused on 

engaging with urban communities to activate their collective power for a more equitable 

future. To do this, the Museum realigned its goals to: 1) connect with our audiences; 2) 

deepen relationships with external and internal partners; 3) document and present 

community stories with social impact; and 4) strengthen our organization. In activating 

these goals, the Museum is positioned to achieve the priorities outlined in the 

Institution’s Strategic Plan: engaging and understanding 21st-century audiences; 

catalyzing conversations; collaborating with the Washington, DC public school system; 

and employing a digital-first strategy. 

As a trusted and inclusive center, ACM works to inspire communities to take 

action and serves as an incubator for the next generation of civically engaged citizens. 

ACM’s research, exhibitions, public programs and collections are shaped by the local 

metropolitan community. As communities undergo social, economic, and environmental 

changes which individuals alone cannot address, there is a need for communities to 

bring together their combined knowledge and strengths. As a Museum that convenes 

people and ideas, ACM documents and preserves communities’ memories, struggles, 

and successes, and provides a platform where diverse voices and cultures can be 

heard. 

ACM leverages mutually beneficial partnerships and networks that strategically 

expand the Museum’s engagement, both locally and nationally. These partnerships 

include community organizations, residents, local governmental groups and others as 

well as Smithsonian entities. Instead of following traditional museum methods, ACM 

pursues a community-driven model through collaboration and co-creation, exploring 
110

social issues that impact everyday lives. Additionally, Museum efforts focus on meeting 

people within the neighborhoods where they live, work and go to school, through 

increasing access of online content and neighborhood-based programming.

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

In FY 2021, ACM will enhance its interdisciplinary research with three projects: 

Urban Waterways; the Women's Environmental Leadership Initiative; and DC Eats: 

Food History, Culture, and Justice.

Urban Waterways 

For the past 10 years, the Smithsonian’s ACM has led the Urban Waterways 

Project, a collaborative research and educational initiative. The project was formed 

within the larger context of debates and discussions surrounding the restoration and 

development of the Anacostia River, and seeks to explore the many ways urban 

residents engage with and advocate for the health of their waterways and communities. 

The Urban Waterways current network includes Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Spartanburg, 

Biloxi, Gulfport, Los Angeles, Honolulu, and London, focusing on frontline communities 

most affected by development and environmental impacts. The Museum is developing 

an exhibition exploring the contemporary issues of urban waterways and the impact of 

civic engagement. 

Women's Environmental Leadership Initiative

This initiative builds the capacity for future environmental leadership by forming a 

national network of established women environmental leaders with emerging and 

aspiring leaders for in-person discussions to exchange best practices, wisdom, and 

experience. The outcome of these discussions is the collective development of solutions 

to local community issues. 

DC Eats: Food History, Culture, and Justice

This project documents the history of food communities in the greater 

Washington, DC area while engaging with constituents and stakeholders to improve 

understanding of — and spur action toward — a more equitable food landscape. Food 

is at the heart of community, and what people eat both shapes and is shaped by the 

community in which it is made and consumed. Washington, DC is home to a diverse 

population and food scene, but it is also home to the nation’s most extreme income 

inequality. This research and exhibition project explores the city’s rich food history, but 

also reveals how issues of inequity inform Washington, DC’s food landscape today.

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

To more clearly serve the Museum’s constituencies, a public-facing survey and 

audience analysis is being undertaken to better understand our current as well as 
111

potential audiences’ interests, backgrounds and perspectives. This information will be 

used to inform the development of Museum initiatives and public programs.

Digitization/Web Support 

The ACM will continue to ensure that digital content, both collections- and 

research-based, is properly formatted and tagged for use across all digital delivery 

platforms. Accordingly, the refresh of the ACM’s website is aligned with the Museum’s 

strategic planning. In its current state, the website is outdated and lacks the content and 

interactive experience expected by 21st-century users. As the Museum’s digital 

storefront, the website will create a positive first impression for online visitors seeking 

information about the ACM. The website also serves as the platform for collaborative 

projects with community organizations and individuals. The refresh will happen in 

multiple phases to ensure all background workings of the website integrate seamlessly 

with ACM social media platforms, internal Smithsonian databases, and partner sites. 

Pop-up Programming and Exhibitions 

“Pop-up” exhibitions and programs around the Washington, DC metropolitan 

area give the ACM the opportunity to engage with audiences on real-time topics and 

create immersive experiences. As the ACM moves to continue aligning operations with 

its community-driven, grassroots model and strategic plan, creating physical space 

outside of the Museum’s Anacostia location is very important. Today, pop-up exhibitions

are in place at four Washington, DC public libraries, with plans for other locations such 

as food banks and schools. Pop-up programming conducted within community locations 

lends itself to our goals of increased visibility and accessibility. The quick turnaround 

and short lifespan of these projects will allow the Museum to be more flexible and 

relevant. 

Exhibitions 

A Right to the City — After more than a half-century of population decline and 

disinvestment, Washington, DC and similar urban centers around the country have 

been witnessing a “return to the city” — with rapidly growing populations, rising rents 

and home prices, but also deepening inequality. A Right to the City explores the history 

of neighborhood change in the nation’s capital, but also its rich history of neighborhood 

organizing and civic engagement that transformed the city in the face of tremendous 

odds. With a focus on a diverse range of neighborhoods across the city, the exhibition 

tells the story of how ordinary Washingtonians have helped shape and reshape their 

neighborhoods in extraordinary ways — through the fight for quality public education, for 

healthy and green communities, for equitable transit and development, and for a 

genuinely democratic approach to city planning.
112

Education 

Urban Gardening Initiative — The ACM Community Garden Program is a 

collaboration with the local non-profit Martha’s Table. The program takes community 

participants through a series of workshops that span planting to harvest, with a focus on 

healthy eating and historical practice. 

Teen Initiative — ACM’s teen initiative is geared toward encouraging civic 

engagement, providing access and educational opportunities, and promoting creativity 

among young people. The pilot project, Gen Z, presented immersive experiences 

designed to help teenagers become empowered and active participants in our 

democracy. The project gave students the opportunity to explore their communities from 

an asset-based perspective, research the issues, and ultimately develop an “action 

plan” via a public discussion forum and a public exhibition.

DC Public School Engagement — ACM is expanding its partnerships and work 

with Washington, DC public schools and other educational institutions to engage 

middle/high school students with ACM exhibitions and collections content. This project 

will develop specific engagement modalities for students’ audiences, including on site, 

off site and online. This includes designing programs and engaging in Museum-based 

experiences for both on-site and classroom experiences. 

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections 

The ACM is committed to improving stewardship and increasing public access to 

its collections. The Museum’s major priority is to continue to digitize collections and 

develop its online portal to make hundreds of high-quality images and records available 

through the Smithsonian’s Collection Search Center and TMS database. 

The Museum’s collections highlight the importance of local, family, and 

community history, and the value of both ordinary and extraordinary things in shaping 

our society. The ACM believes in sharing authority with and respecting the expertise of 

our community collaborators. A key initiative is focused on collaborating with 

communities in the identification and development of the collection related to the 

pressing social issues of the day.

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive Administration 

With ACM’s new leadership in place and the appointment of Melanie Adams as 

director in June of 2019, a focus is now on engaging with civic leadership and key 

stakeholders, properly aligning goals and priorities with Museum operations and 

activities, and staffing alignment, ownership and training.
113

In 2021, ACM will launch a branding and communication campaign to articulate 

the Museum’s identity and focus, informing current as well as new audiences about 

programming activities. This effort will be essential in building participation and financial 

support for future activities. This plan is multi-media and multi-platform in nature. 

EXPLANATION OF CHANGE

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $233,000. The increase 

includes $83,000 for necessary pay and other related salary costs for existing staff 

funded under this line item, and a programmatic increase of 1 FTE and $150,000 for 

exhibit support.

Exhibit Support (+ $150,000, +1 FTE)

This request supports a new, high-quality exhibition program designed to activate 

citizen engagement on critical civic issues, which includes a program of off-site 

exhibitions within non-traditional community locations.

Today, communities are coming together to grapple with social, economic, and 

environmental challenges. This program of off-site exhibitions within non-traditional 

community locations will serve to explore issues, foster dialogue, build common ground,

and develop community-based solutions.

To fully implement this program, this request will support a curator of community 

engagement who will be responsible for implementing public co-curation of exhibition 

projects and interpretative programs that explore important issues. This process will 

fully implement ACM’s approach to sharing authority with and respecting the expertise 

of our community collaborators. Specifically, it will enable community members to 

explore challenging issues with their neighbors through an interpretive process, and 

present their findings within their communities.

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — The ACM’s financial strength is closely tied to 

its strategic revitalization. In FY 2021, advancement staff will leverage the Museum’s 

new leadership, direction and model to excite current donors while attracting new ones 

through the development of a comprehensive fundraising plan. The ACM also sees the 

activation and communication campaign as a key component to fund raising, as 

enhanced and widespread awareness will lead to better connections with community 

partners and local entities for giving and resource sharing.
114

ARCHIVES OF AMERICAN ART

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 17 1,933 3 982 19 2,279 0 0

FY 2020 

ENACTED 17 1,933 1 721 18 2,639 0 0

FY 2021

REQUEST 17 2,011 3 849 18 2,452 0 0

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

Founded in 1954, the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art (AAA) is the 

world’s pre-eminent and most widely used resource for original papers and other 

primary records documenting the visual arts in the United States. By collecting, 

preserving, and making available more than 30 million unique letters, diaries, 

photographs, financial records, sketchbooks, scrapbooks, and the like, AAA 

shares and exemplifies the Smithsonian’s mission for “the increase and diffusion 

of knowledge.” 

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 3 342 3 326 0 -16

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 1 115 1 115 0 0

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 1 88 1 97 0 9

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 10 1,006 10 1,086 0 80

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 2 382 2 387 0 5

Total 17 1,933 17 2,011 0 78

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
115

To achieve the Institution’s strategic goal to reach one billion people a year 

with a digital-first strategy, AAA continues its ambitious digitization program, begun 

in 2005, to provide online access to a significant portion of its extensive holdings. 

AAA’s website will continue to improve delivery of unprecedented numbers of new 

digital files, the core of which represents AAA’s innovative work to digitize entire 

archival collections and fulfill Digitization on Demand requests from researchers, 

representing hundreds of linear feet of materials, along with the related descriptive 

information, and provide engaging content, online exhibitions, and robust search 

and reference services. 

In addition, AAA’s Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery in the Donald W. 

Reynolds Center (DWRC) continues to reach new and diverse audiences, enabling 

the Archives to Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences, another top 

strategic goal.

The strategic goal of Preserving Natural and Cultural Heritage while 

optimizing our assets will be achieved by continuing to implement preservation 

actions based upon results derived from comprehensive and systematic 

collection assessment surveys. AAA will continue to focus on decreasing the 

backlog of unprocessed collections, audiovisual, and born-digital holdings. 

AAA will provide a nimble, cost-effective, and responsive administrative 

infrastructure by regularly assessing and enhancing staff development and 

maintaining conscientious oversight of internal controls.

This FY 2021 budget request includes $78,000 for necessary pay and 

other related salary costs for existing staff funded under this line item.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

AAA will achieve the Institution’s goal to Understand and Impact 21st

Century Audiences by continuing to direct resources to optimize its presence in 

the DWRC and specifically by presenting compelling exhibitions in its Lawrence A. 

Fleischman Gallery. The exhibition What Is Feminist Art?, which opened in 

November of 2019, will be on view through the first quarter of FY 2021. This 

exhibition complements the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American 

Art Museum’s exhibitions focusing on women’s history and speaks to the goal of 

creating One Smithsonian with collaborative programming. 

Also in FY 2021, the Archives will conduct an external review of its 

exhibition program and develop a five-year plan for exhibitions, with the goal of 

broadening our audience and creating meaningful external and Smithsonian 

collaborations. Through public programs, professional presentations, online 

exhibitions, and loans to other museums and institutions worldwide, AAA will 

continue to widen its audience and provide the public with a greater knowledge of 

the history of visual arts in the United States.
116

In FY 2021, the Archives will continue to improve its website’s collections 

search and browser interface, based on results of usability studies, by 

incorporating emerging trends and technologies. AAA will continue to encourage 

public visits to its website by adding finding aids for processed collections; tens of 

thousands of images of digitized documents; transcripts and audio excerpts of 

interviews conducted for the Archives’ Oral History Program; and online 

exhibitions. 

Also, in FY 2021, AAA will continue to develop the Terra Foundation 

Center for Digital Collections with ongoing support from the Terra Foundation for 

American Art and other funding streams in the private sector. This effort, in 

combination with digitization completed for reference requests, exhibitions, loans, 

and special projects, will add an estimated 150,000 digital image files and 

continue to bring increased public Web access to AAA collections. In addition, 

AAA will continue developing its internal digitization and Collections Information 

System (CIS) application to ensure proper collections documentation and support 

increasingly complex workflows, as well as to provide proper logging and 

accessioning of materials in born-digital formats. These efforts will enable AAA to 

track the life cycle of all collections and oral histories from pre-acquisition to 

storage and access. AAA will work with the staff in the Office of the Chief 

Information Officer to leverage its investment in the description, digitization and 

management of its collections by participating in ArchivesSpace, SOVA 

(Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives), the Smithsonian’s Enterprise Digital Asset 

Network (EDAN) architecture, the Digital Asset Management System (DAMS), 

the Smithsonian Transcription Center, and other Smithsonian digitization 

program initiatives. 

In addition, in FY 2021, the Archives’ goal will be to process new collection 

acquisitions and at least 10 percent of AAA’s backlog, or about 1,000 linear feet of 

archival collections, resulting in new, fully searchable finding aids on AAA’s website. 

Finding aids will provide online access to many previously hidden collections in the 

backlog, including audiovisual collections, as well as support online digitization of 

on-demand requests and the online navigation of fully digitized collections. System

workflows will continue to integrate accelerated processing and preservation 

strategies to diminish the current backlog and prevent a new backlog. 

Furthermore, in FY 2021, the Archives will continue focused efforts to 

develop holistic strategies, workflows, and internal policies and guidelines which 

effectively address collecting, preserving, describing, and making available

collections materials created in born-digital formats.

AAA will continue to strengthen its collections stewardship through its 

ongoing, comprehensive collections assessment surveys for manuscript 

collections and at-risk audiovisual and born-digital holdings. Reports generated 

from this data provide valuable information about AAA’s backlog and holdings, so 

the Archives’ staff can make informed decisions about the best way to allocate 
117

limited resources. AAA will continue to take a leadership role in working with the 

larger Smithsonian archival community to initiate and implement Institution-wide

comprehensive collections assessment strategies and systems. 

In addition, AAA will continue to support researchers with access to its 

collections and microfilm in its Washington, DC, and New York City research 

centers, as well as other U.S. research centers, by providing remote reference 

services through its Web-based “Ask Us” form and interlibrary loan program. 

Finally, AAA will Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive Administration by 

continuing to implement the strategic goals of the Smithsonian, and by adopting 

national best practices and standards to safeguard and make the most costeffective use of limited Smithsonian resources. 

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support AAA’s 

advancement office, including salaries and benefits. Donor-designated funds support 

specific programs and projects, including exhibitions, internships, production of oral 

history interviews, collections and media processing, and publication of the Archives of 

American Art Journal. In FY 2021, the Archives will continue to work closely with its 

advisory board to position this publication as the leading scholarly journal in the field of 

American art history. During the past five years, AAA has expanded and diversified its 

board, increased the number of outstanding submissions, raised the visibility of the 

journal, strengthened the Archives’ relationship with the University of Chicago Press, 

and established more cost-effective, multi-year contracts for design and printing.

In FY 2021, the Archives will continue to develop strategies for sustaining its 

digitization program by building an endowment to support essential staff and

implementing improved rapid-capture technologies and techniques. Funding from the 

Terra Foundation for American Art, the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, and other donors

supports AAA’s digitization program. AAA will continue to raise money for digitization, 

oral history projects, collections management, and general operating expenses.
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NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN 

HISTORY AND CULTURE

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 152 32,617 3 1,858 40 13,328 0 25

FY 2020 

ENACTED 152 33,117 6 3,781 55 17,644 0 0

FY 2021

REQUEST 152 34,023 6 3,970 58 18,526 0 0

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in vital arts and humanities research 24 4,486 24 4,629 0 143

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 13 1,717 13 1,794 0 77

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 13 3,302 13 3,380 0 78

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 18 4,401 18 4,509 0 108

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 24 5,660 24 5,802 0 142

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 18 3,614 18 3,721 0 107

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities operations and provide 

a safe and healthy environment 6 1,568 6 1,604 0 36

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 29 5,078 29 5,251 0 173

Information Technology

Improve the Institution's information technology 

systems and infrastructure 7 3,291 7 3,333 0 42

Total 152 33,117 152 34,023 0 906 

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
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BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) was 

established by Congress to document, collect, conserve, interpret, and display the 

historical and cultural experiences and achievements of African Americans. In 2016,

the NMAAHC, the first environmentally sustainable, “green” museum on the Mall, 

opened to the public, providing a national meeting place for all people to learn about 

the history and culture of African Americans and their contributions to every aspect of 

American life. The Museum seeks to help all Americans and others around the world 

to understand these contributions, and in so doing, stimulate a dialogue about race 

and help to foster a spirit of reconciliation and healing. As the only national museum 

devoted exclusively to documenting and exploring African American history and 

culture, the NMAAHC bridges a major gap in our national memory by creating 

exhibitions and programs focusing on a wide arc of history and looking deeply into 

slavery, Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance, the great migrations during the 

World Wars, the civil rights movement, and other significant issues of the 21st 

century. The Museum also celebrates African American creativity and cultural 

expressions through art, dance, theater and literature.

The Museum opened to unprecedentedly large crowds in 2016. The building, 

exhibitions, information technology (IT), and Sweet Home Cafe have all been awardwinning entities, creating even more excitement, and the shops continue to enjoy

large crowds. FY 2021 will mark the continuation and expansion of major initiatives 

which fulfill the mission of looking at American history through the lens of African 

American history and culture: the building of a national collection; continued 

development of IT and digitization programs; and the development and continued 

implementation of a robust research and education programming initiative.

The FY 2021 budget request includes $906,000 for necessary pay and other 

related salary costs for existing staff funded under this line item.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

In FY 2021, the Museum’s top priority will be to engage in long-term planning 

for the enhancement of its scholarly research and education programs. This includes 

continuing to grow domestic and international partnerships to further generate 

support for the Museum; designing and developing temporary and traveling 

exhibitions for display throughout the United States; expanding scholarly research in 

all areas of African American history and culture; and developing robust education 

programs for the public, educators, and students. 

In FY 2021, the IT office will continue to work closely with the NMAAHC

education and curatorial affairs department to broaden the Museum’s reach and 

impact by leveraging technology and platforms to enhance education programs, 

promote engagement with visitors before, during and after a visit, and provide 

meaningful interaction with accessibility features to engage a global audience. 
120

The Museum will expand its interactive, online, and mobile offerings to include 

innovative and engaging content that further connects visitors to collection objects 

and topics of interest. The Searchable Museum is a multi-year project that aims to 

make all of the Museum’s content — including collections, scholarly efforts, and 

interpretive content for all exhibitions — searchable through digital channels. In FY

2021, the Museum will launch The Searchable Museum Prototype that will match the 

rich, interpretive experience of the Museum’s Slavery and Freedom exhibition and ensure 

a broad national and global reach for new audiences.

Also in FY 2021, curators and museum specialists will continue to conduct in-depth 

studies of the Museum’s historical artifacts, fine art, archival materials, photographs, film, 

and other media collection areas. Museum staff will also focus on contextualizing crucial 

contemporary events as they relate to the African American experience, with the aim of 

catalyzing new conversations and addressing complex challenges. 

To achieve the goal of engaging in vital arts and humanities research, the 

NMAAHC will continue to advance the work of the Center for the Study of Global Slavery. 

The Center’s Slave Wrecks Project network will continue research, preservation, capacity 

building, and community engagement efforts in South Africa, Senegal, Mozambique, St. 

Croix, Cuba and North America — with special emphasis on the recent Clotilda slave ship 

discovery in Alabama. The Center’s participation in the Global Curatorial Project will 

advance into the exhibition-concept phase and the Center will inaugurate a Community 

Collections Program, fostering connections to communities affected by slavery and its 

consequences. In addition, the NMAAHC is part of an academic consortium whose goal is 

the preservation, documentation, and dissemination of the Johnson Publishing Company 

archive, which was acquired in 2019 and includes more than four million prints and 

negatives from Ebony and Jet magazines — making it the most significant collection of 

photographs cataloguing African American life in the 20th century. The Museum will begin 

work on making the archive accessible, in order to ensure the broadest access for the 

general public and use by scholars, researchers, journalists, and others. The archive 

offers a remarkable insight into everyday life in Black America — including up-close and 

personal pictures of artists, celebrities and leaders — and also historic images that 

capture moments of grief and horror, such as Coretta Scott King at her husband’s funeral.

To achieve the goal of Expanding Digital Technologies, the Museum’s Web and 

emerging media team will continue to collaborate with the Office of Curatorial Affairs, 

Education, and Public Affairs to develop educational, informative, and engaging digital 

experiences as part of the Smithsonian’s “digital-first” strategy to reach one billion visitors

a year across all platforms. The Museum’s website and mobile applications will continue 

to focus on enhancing the visitor experience and increasing the Museum’s reach and 

impact through the digitization of objects from the collections and exhibitions, making the 

Museum more accessible to a more diverse, global audience. New “digital-only”

experiences, building on The Searchable Museum, will also be developed in collaboration 

with other Smithsonian units, which will advance other Institution-wide goals of “being 

One Smithsonian” and “catalyzing new conversations that address complex challenges.”

Also, the Museum’s IT and digitization offices will continue to create searchable 

and accessible digital records for collection objects, object management and high-quality 
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digital surrogates, especially for recent acquisitions and for undigitized objects, by 

improving the features and functions of The Museum System (TMS) database. These will 

be used with a digital-first strategy to encourage new conversations and stimulate 

innovative interdisciplinary research. The Robert Frederick Smith Fund for the Digitization 

and Curation of African American History will enter its fifth year of public programming, 

collection digitizing, student professionalization, and visitor engagement through the 

Explore Your Family History Center (EYFHC). The Community Curation Program invites 

individuals, families, civic organizations, and community groups to share their stories of 

African American history and culture through the Community Curation, Web-based 

platform developed with a cost-effective, flexible, and secure cloud-computing 

environment and standards-based open-source technologies. Digitized images, video, 

audio, and other media sourced from the Museum’s community, collected through the 

Community Curation platform as well as through the Great Migration program, will all be 

hosted in and delivered from the Museum’s cloud-computing environment, allowing for a 

more scalable, cost-effective infrastructure solution for digital storage and delivery. The 

result is that the NMAAHC will offer curated and user-generated selections of collections 

via digital portals, on the Museum website, and through online partnerships, such as with 

Google Arts and Culture. 

The NMAAHC will continue to make all digitized collection records and images for 

all unrestricted materials freely available via the Digital Public Library of America, and 

identify and participate in other platforms to make high-quality collection information and 

images available from many institutions with one-stop searching. 

In addition, the Museum will increase access to the Freedmen’s Bureau records by 

continuing a multi-year effort with the Smithsonian Transcription Center to provide 

searchable, full-text transcriptions of the records and link them to the existing 

genealogical index. This effort will include partnering with organizations such as the 

University of Maryland Institute for Technology and the Humanities, the University of 

Delaware’s interdisciplinary Colored Conventions Project, and other partners, to conduct 

Transcribe-a-Thons, where volunteers are brought together en masse to transcribe 

historical material.

To achieve the strategic goal of Understanding and Impacting 21st Century 

Audiences, the Office of Strategic Partnerships (OSP) will continue to deliver far-reaching 

and transformative support for under-resourced African American and African Diaspora 

history and culture organizations on a regional, national and international level. The OSP 

connects and builds awareness about the work of its participating institutions and 

provides access to training and resources that support and advance leaders and fieldwide best practices. In FY 2021, the OSP will continue to address 21st-century needs, 

challenges and collective issues facing historically black colleges and universities 

(HBCUs) and their affiliated cultural institutions and resources. The initiative will 

strengthen the long-term institutional sustainability of these vital cultural organizations. 

The NMAAHC continues to offer compelling, first-class exhibitions and to engage 

and inspire diverse audiences. In FY 2020, the Museum opened a temporary exhibition

entitled Now Showing: Posters from African American Movies, exploring the history and

visual culture of film posters featured in the Earl W. and Amanda Stafford Center for
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African American Media Arts (CAAMA). Another temporary exhibition, We Return 

Fighting: The African American Experience in World War I, premiered in the Museum’s

Special Exhibitions Gallery. This exhibition commemorated the 100th anniversary of 

African American soldiers returning from France, and examined the experiences of 

African Americans who fought in combat for freedom and democracy on the home front, 

as well as the social, political, and cultural impact of World War I on African American 

history and culture.

In the spring of 2021, the NMAAHC will open the temporary exhibition 

Reconstruction: Remaking America without Slavery. This exhibition will explore how 

African Americans, in seeking to define themselves as free and equal citizens after the 

end of slavery, reshaped the nation in profound and lasting ways. The legacies of 

Reconstruction — its promises, successes, and failures — shed light on issues of race, 

citizenship, and social justice that continue to reverberate in American society. In addition 

to the exhibition, the Museum is planning related public programming and educational 

initiatives, as well as a potential publication and a traveling component of the exhibit.

In addition, the Museum will continue its intensive and comprehensive rotation

program to replace loans and at-risk objects within the Inaugural exhibitions. The 

Museum replaces 200–300 objects per year on a twice-yearly cycle.

The NMAAHC will achieve the goal of engaging and inspiring diverse audiences by 

presenting an array of lectures, conferences, staged readings, film screenings, concerts, 

and discussions by renowned scholars, musicians, actors, artists and filmmakers to serve 

a diverse and broad community of learners. Programs will be presented within the 

Museum, and Web streaming and social media will enable audiences to participate 

across the globe. The Museum’s Office of Education will continue ongoing educational 

initiatives for all audiences, locally and nationwide, by incorporating digitally based 

collections and exhibitions, curriculum development for classrooms, and educational 

programming in exhibitions and the Family Learning Center. The office will also operate

the “Save Our African American Treasures” program and fully implement revised and 

tested visitor services operations.

To further the goal of disseminating information to the public, the NMAAHC will 

continue to educate the public about African American history and culture through media,

marketing, and social media channels. Media cultivation and outreach, marketing, 

communications, and social media are avenues the Museum will continue developing to 

build and maintain a positive brand.

To achieve the strategic goal of Preserving Our Natural and Cultural Heritage, the

Office of Curatorial Affairs will continue to identify, acquire, and process collections, and

develop and refine its permanent collections. The Museum has collected more than 

38,000 objects, and in FY 2021 will employ numerous collection management policies to 

safely handle, display, and store collections. In FY 2021, the Museum will continue to 

prepare for accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums.
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The Museum will continue to coordinate with its Smithsonian partners to complete 

the fit-out of the collections space and comply with Smithsonian Directive 600, Collections 

Management Policy. To this end, the NMAAHC submitted a proposal for a Collections 

Care and Preservation Fund project, “Preserve and Organize NMAAHC Collections in 

Storage,” which was funded under the Collections Care Initiative (CCI) to aid in 

implementing new written policies to ensure excellence in collections handling. 

The NMAAHC will achieve the goals of improving the stewardship of the national 

collections, and also improving Smithsonian facilities, by continuing to adapt to the 

Museum’s infrastructure and to create offices, work spaces, collections storage, and other 

storage spaces which meet the Museum’s diverse and wide-ranging needs. The Museum 

will continue identifying and correcting facility deficiencies which directly impact facility 

planning, business, safety, and security programs. In addition, the safety program will 

continue to develop emergency operations, emergency communications, disaster 

management, and consolidation plans to include Museum staff in other facilities. 

To meet the goal of improving the Institution’s information technology systems and 

infrastructure, the NMAAHC’s Web and emerging media team will continue to build its 

cloud-based computing environment to create a more cost-effective, flexible, scalable, 

and secure infrastructure that supports technical innovation within the Museum. New 

digital-first or digital-only initiatives, using low-/no-cost open-source technologies, may be 

developed in this cloud-based environment to allow for increased rapid prototyping while 

effectively minimizing costs.

In addition, the Web and emerging media team will continue to expand its use of 

the Museum Interactive Support System (MISS) as a robust system of application 

programming interfaces and content delivery mechanisms which allow sharing of content 

through the NMAAHC’s website, interactive exhibitions, mobile tours, and other digital 

channels. 

The NMAAHC will achieve the strategic goal of Enabling Cost-Effective and 

Responsive Administration by continuing to develop its organizational structure and make 

organizational and staffing revisions to accomplish program goals. 

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support salary and benefit

costs for the Museum director and other program-related costs. Donor/sponsordesignated funds support salaries and benefits for development staff; costs associated 

with fundraising goals; digitization and educational initiatives; publications and special 

events for exhibition openings; costs related to specific programs and projects, including 

educational programs, advertising, production of fundraising proposals, and member- and 

donor-related special events; and outreach activities. 
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NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY

KENNETH E. BEHRING CENTER

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019 

ENACTED 164 25,373 29 4,023 54 12,738 1 66

FY 2020 

ENACTED 165 25,478 29 4,100 55 13,500 1 100

FY 2021 

REQUEST 167 26,899 30 4,250 55 15,000 1 200

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in vital arts and humanities research 22 3,450 22 3,590 0 140

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 12 1,905 12 1,981 0 76

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 13 2,430 13 2,513 0 83

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 46 6,750 46 7,042 0 292

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 6 930 6 968 0 38

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 45 6,848 47 7,507 2 659

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities operations and provide 

a safe and healthy environment 3 590 3 609 0 19

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 14 1,735 14 1,824 0 89

Information Technology

Improve the Institution's information technology 

systems and infrastructure 4 840 4 865 0 25

Total 165 25,478 167 26,899 2 1,421

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
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BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The National Museum of American History (NMAH), Kenneth E. Behring Center,

inspires a broader understanding of our nation’s history and its people through research, 

exhibitions, collections activity, education, and public programs. The Museum’s primary 

goal is to tell an overarching American story that is inclusive of and respectful and 

compassionate to all the peoples in America who were here, who came here, and who 

were brought here. Through incomparable collections, rigorous research, and dynamic 

public outreach, the Museum explores the infinite richness and complexity of American 

history. The NMAH helps people understand the past to make sense of the present and 

shape a more humane future. Our vision is to make the NMAH the most accessible, 

inclusive, relevant and sustainable history museum in the nation.

Approximately three million people visit the Museum every year, in addition to 

more than 8.5 million people who interact with the Museum online annually, making the 

NMAH the most visited history museum in the world. We present our history as 

substantial and challenging, inviting and accessible, inspiring and wonderfully human. 

Together with the American people, we wrestle with the difficult issues that we have 

faced, and do so in an inspirational manner, aiming to influence public conversations and 

to make a constructive difference in the life of the nation.

The Museum continues to enrich its presentation of the American Experience with 

new exhibits in the West Wing, which is part of an ongoing revitalization of the entire 

Museum. Each of the three exhibit floors in the West Wing is focused on an overarching 

and inclusive theme representing the ideals and ideas of the American experience. The 

first revitalized floor opened in 2015 and focused on American enterprise, innovation and 

invention. The second floor opened in 2017 and tells two essential American stories —

the origins of the American people and the evolution of their democracy. In 2018, the 

Museum launched the reopening of the third floor of the West Wing with the opening of 

several new installations to introduce visitors to our American entertainment history 

exhibitions. The first phase involved the return of Dorothy’s ruby slippers from the Wizard 

of OZ to display, opening introductory exhibitions of America’s Listening and the 

installation of the iconic stained-glass image of Nipper, His Master’s Voice, along with a 

rotating display of musical classical and jazz instruments from the Museum’s collection, 

including rare Stradivarius violins in customized showcases in the Hall of Music.

The Museum will continue fund raising for the third-floor West Wing exhibitions 

and programs, which will captivate visitors with compelling stories, invaluable objects, 

state-of-the-art media, public spaces, and new exhibitions to make American history 

vital, fascinating, and central to understanding and embracing the American Experience. 

In the past nine years, the Museum has raised more than $148 million for the West Wing 

exhibits, programs, and endowed curatorial positions to leverage the federal investment 

in the building’s renovation.

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $1,421,000. The increase 

includes $1,060,000 for necessary pay and other related salary costs for existing staff 

funded under this line item, and a programmatic increase of 2 FTEs and $361,000 for 

collections managers essential for our stewardship of the nation’s history collection.
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MEANS AND STRATEGY

The NMAH supports the Smithsonian’s strategic goal to catalyze new 

conversations and address complex challenges. Through its research, scholarship, 

educational programs, exhibitions, and collaborations, the Museum shares with the 

public scholarly insights and historical views that illustrate the richness and depth of the 

American experience. The Museum engages people in the telling of America’s story —

interweaving multiple stories of perseverance, triumph, and optimism with those of 

challenge and struggle.

In FY 2019, the Museum began developing its new strategic plan (2020–2027), 

which will prepare the NMAH for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration 

of Independence in 2026. Our strategic planning process is ambitious, transparent, and 

designed to include key audiences and stakeholders in decisions that will shape the 

Museum’s next seven years. The plan is organized around our new vision to be the 

“most accessible, inclusive, relevant, and sustainable history museum in the nation.” 

The strategic planning work began in the summer of 2019 with the “Of/By/For All” 

boot camps, where more than 100 staff from across the Museum participated in two days 

of audience development workshops organized by audience engagement expert Nina 

Simon. From that work, the Museum identified several key audiences and further 

explored an audience-first methodology that will be incorporated into the final plan. 

During the fall, the Museum put together 10 staff-led “Deep Dive” teams to explore core 

areas of focus and opportunity for the Museum. 

Additionally, the Museum hosted focus groups with key constituencies (the NMAH

Docent Council, NMAH Board, and the Smithsonian National Board), and launched two 

surveys: 1) An internal stakeholder survey (involving staff, volunteers, board, history and 

Museum leaders), and 2) a bilingual (English/Spanish) national public survey advertised 

in The Washington Post and pushed through the Museum’s partner constituencies. The 

results of the Museum’s information gathering will feed directly into our strategic plan. 

Once the strategic plan is finalized, NMAH senior leadership will develop a 

comprehensive tactical plan to map out how the Museum will achieve the plan’s highpriority goals and strategies, including tactics tied to clear timelines, deadlines, 

designated points of contact, budgets and funding needs, and metrics. The Museum will 

use both the strategic plan and related tactical plans as living documents to measure 

success and share results with staff, stakeholders and the public.

The new plan, to be completed in late spring of 2020, will update goals in the 

NMAH 2013–2018 strategic plan. Until then, the Museum continues to operate under the 

completed strategic plan, which established a vision and strategic direction, and set four 

key goals for the NMAH:

1. Lead the nation in Understanding the American Experience

2. Expand, strengthen, and share our collections

3. Engage diverse national and international audiences

4. Strengthen our staff and Board of Directors, and revitalize our facilities
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Goal 1: Lead the Nation in Understanding the American Experience

The NMAH places a priority on engaging the public through scholarship and 

quality research in American history. Research is the foundation for our exhibitions and 

programs, which examine significant eras and events from American history in the 

context of social, cultural, economic, political, scientific, and technological themes. The 

Museum experiments with innovative ways to think about and present American history

as an encompassing, multi-faceted story, drawing on many strands, and illuminating 

many people, ideas, and experiences.

In 2020, the NMAH will open several exhibitions that explore the diversity and 

complexity of American history and the American experience. 

Two exhibitions, Creating Icons and Girlhood (It’s Complicated) have been 

developed as part of the expansive Smithsonian’s American Women’s History Initiative 

to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the 

Constitution that granted women’s suffrage. Creating Icons: How We Remember 

Women’s Suffrage will use the Museum’s unique collections to look at the women who 

fought for suffrage and explore how the memory of the suffragists and the quest for 

diversity in membership, leadership, and goals has affected modern women’s activism. 

Girlhood (It’s Complicated) commemorates the Centennial of Women’s Suffrage by 

listening to girls’ voices. The exhibition will tackle the long and complicated history of 

girls and the making of girlhood in the United States, from the early republic of the 1790s 

to the present. The exhibition mines the Museum’s rich collections and covers key topics 

such as education, wellness, work, fashion and, first and foremost, girls’ involvement in 

American political and social movements. The exhibition was developed with the 

Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and will travel around the 

country, beginning in 2023.

Other exhibitions opening in 2020 include:

• ¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues takes audiences on a journey 

into the heart of American baseball to understand how generations of 

Latinas/os have helped make the game what it is today. Their inspirational 

stories gesture toward larger themes in American history that connect us 

all, on and off the baseball diamond. The SITES version of the exhibition 

will begin its national tour concurrently and will travel to at least 15 venues 

through 2025.

• Patuxent and Plymouth will commemorate the legacies of the encounter 

between colonial English Separatists (“Pilgrims”) and indigenous 

Wampanoag people in the year 1620. Built on conversations with 

Wampanoag- and Mayflower-descendant communities, it explores 

historical myths and realities in the experience of both communities from 

the 17th century to today. It features a 17th-century chest that belonged to 

a Mayflower passenger, and artifacts from recent public “Day of Mourning” 

events organized by Native communities, ultimately making the point that

the story of the Pilgrims’ arrival has been remade several times and can be 
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remade again to reflect new evidence and promote understanding between 

different cultures.

In 2021, the Museum plans to open a major permanent exhibition, Entertaining 

America, and a large temporary exhibition space that will take innovative approaches to 

explore the ways in which American identity is shaped and shared through arts, sports 

and entertainment. Entertaining America is an approximately 7,000-square-foot 

exhibition that will remain open for 20 years in the West Wing of the Museum's third 

floor. The exhibition will rotate objects from the Museum’s vast collections which

chronicle the country's robust history of sports, music, film, television, and theater. The 

exhibition will explore how entertainment has generated important national conversations 

about society, politics, and what it means to be American.

The Museum also plans to open In Sickness and In Health in 2021, which will 

launch the first phase of experimenting with new approaches to topics in medicine, 

science, and technology. This will be the first of several exhibitions on the second floor of 

the East Wing to highlight collections and research into topics not currently covered in 

depth in the Museum, and will inform the Museum’s thinking about how to completely 

transform the East Wing as part of the fourth phase of the Public Space Renewal Project 

(PSRP). In developing these exhibitions, staff will consider how the East Wing renovation 

can best showcase the Museum’s extensive and unparalleled collection of national 

treasures; feature collections not previously shown or reinterpret them in new ways; and 

explore how exhibitions can address the Museum’s mission, complement other 

exhibitions and programs, contribute to new scholarship, and foster the highest quality 

visitor experience. NMAH staff anticipate that all these gallery spaces will feature 

increased use of technology to support new and innovative ways for visitors to 

experience and interact with the Museum’s exhibitions and other content. The East Wing 

renovation will also return converted public spaces to their original use as exhibition 

galleries instead of using them for storage and other purposes. 

In the fall of 2021, the Smithsonian Latino Center will open the Molina Family 

Latino Gallery at the Museum. This 4,500-square-foot space will center the U.S. Latino 

experience within America’s historical narrative via a series of changing exhibits, the 

latest in digital technology, and through robust educational and cultural programs for 

multi-generational audiences. The Molina Gallery will be the first physical space at the 

Smithsonian dedicated to highlighting the contributions of the Latino community in 

nation-building and shaping national culture. 

In addition to exhibitions, the NMAH contributes to the discussion of the American 

Experience through its ongoing scholarship and research. In FY 2020, highlights of 

scholarly publications will include:

• Bemis, Bethanee. “Mirror, Mirror for Us All: Disney Theme Parks and the 

Collective Memory of the American National Narrative.” The Public Historian, vol. 

42, no. 1., February 2020.

• Blazich, Jr., Frank A. “An Honorable Place in American Air Power” Civil Air Patrol 

Coastal Patrol Operations, 1942–1943. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Air University 

Press, 2020.
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• Gonzalves, Theodore S. and Allan S. Manalo, eds., Gossip, Sex, and the End of 

the World: Collected Works of Tongue in Mood. San Francisco: Arkipelago Books, 

2020.

• Manseau, Peter. The Jefferson Bible: A Biography. Princeton University Press, 

2020.

• Salazar-Porzio, Margaret and Adrian Burgos, with Robin Morey.¡Pleibol! In the 

Barrios and the Big Leagues / En los barrios y las grandes ligas. Smithsonian 

Institution Scholarly Press, 2020.

• Shaw, Madelyn and Trish FitzSimons. Wool, Paper, Dye: The Textile Legacy of 

the First World War. Auckland Museum, 2020.

• Cohen, Kenneth, Mark Algee-Hewitt and Laura McGrath. “The Famous 

Celebrated Celebrity: Digital Methods for Tracking the Evolution of 

Renown.” Journal of Popular Culture, Fall 2020.

NMAH contributors are also working on many substantial research projects which

will lead to publications in FY 2021 and beyond. These include:

• Cohen, Kenneth and John Troutman, eds. Entertaining America (exhibition 

catalogue). Expected 2021.

• Lord, Alexandra. “The Root of All Knowledge: Planning for a Career In and 

Outside the Academy.” In Navigating the New Normal. Rutgers University Press, 

2021. 

• Manseau, Peter. Discovery and Revelation. Smithsonian Books, June 2021. 

• Salazar-Porzio, Margaret. The Edges of Empire: Spanish Fantasies, Tropical 

Imaginaries and Public Memory in San Diego. Under contract with University of 

Massachusetts Press, Public History Series. 2021.

• Troutman, John W., ed. Biography of a Phantom: a Robert Johnson Blues 

Odyssey, by Mack McCormick. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books (under 

contract).

In addition, the Museum will continue to support the development and 

dissemination of scholarship by encouraging staff to publish individual scholarly research 

as well as the results of research done for NMAH exhibitions and other projects. 

Goal 2: Expand, Strengthen, and Share Our Collections

The NMAH is committed to sound collections stewardship through preservation, 

accountability, and increased digital access. In collaboration with the National Collections 

Program (NCP) and Smithsonian Facilities, it continues to plan the renovation of the 

Museum’s PSRP IV in the Museum’s East Wing, the development of Pod 6, a collections 

storage facility, at Suitland, Maryland, and the collections inventory and decontamination 

projects at the Garber Facility; these establish the framework for space and storage 

deliberation. To promote the use and enhance the value of its collections, the NMAH will 

focus on intensive inventory, digitization, and description efforts, increased access 

online, collaboration, and innovative uses of technology.

In FY 2019, the Museum continued its collections inventory projects to improve 

the process and focus its efforts, using and refining an accelerated approach to its 
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inventory efforts. This is the foundation for the inventories required for the PSRP IV, 

which will involve reviewing more than 50,000 objects over three years. With the support 

of the NCP, the Museum hired staff to begin that work, targeting storage areas destined 

for renovation. The actual inventorying will continue through FY 2020. By increasing 

essential intellectual and physical control of its collections, the Museum will have the 

foundation for a critical analysis of its space and storage needs through the next decade.

Also in FY 2019, the NMAH completed the inventory of 13,839 objects removed 

from Garber Facility Building 18 as part of a collection decontamination and re-housing 

project. Planning continues for similar work on the collections stored in Building 16. In

FY 2020, facilities capital funds will be used for decontamination of Building 16 and the 

objects housed there, and also renovation of Building 15 so it can be used as swing 

space until permanent storage space is constructed. The renovation of Building 15 

should be completed in FY 2020, with object decontamination and re-housing of 

collections from Building 16 to Building 15 to follow in FY 2021. In FY 2019, the NMAH 

also initiated an inventory of collections in Garber Facility Building 19, processing 4,869 

objects to date. All these efforts support the Smithsonian’s master plan for collections 

storage. 

As a result of these projects and ongoing iterative documentation of collections, 

during FY 2019, the Museum added nearly 40,000 new records to its collections 

information system and exported almost 500,000 records to the Smithsonian’s Enterprise 

Digital Asset Network (EDAN). 

Digitization projects increase the richness and utility of collections information for 

both internal staff and external audiences. In FY 2019, the Museum continued its project 

to digitize accession files, making essential collections content readily available to staff 

across the Museum. Furthermore, the Museum added more than 30,000 files to the 

collections information system for the immediate benefit of inventory and reconciliation 

projects and the day-to-day work of the Museum (loans, exhibitions, publications, and 

more). The project is supported by the Collections Care and Preservation Fund, and 

digitization of all the remaining files will be completed in FY 2020.

To increase the digital content available to the public, the NMAH continues a 

cross-divisional collaboration to digitize photographs. It uses funds donated by a private 

sponsor to support this work; the focus in FY 2019 was on images from the rich jazz and 

blues collections, reflecting the Smithsonian’s emphasis on the Year of Music. 

Approximately 20,000 images were scanned and processed. In partnership with the 

Smithsonian Digitization Program Office (DPO) and Google’s Cultural Institute, NMAH 

scanned approximately 18,000 items in its poster collection, spanning three different 

curatorial divisions and collecting areas. 

Through FY 2019, collections management and digital program staff prepared for 

two related initiatives to increase the accessibility of collections online: Data Share and 

Open Access. The former is the Museum’s effort to make available online, through 

EDAN, the entirety of its catalogued collection. In December of 2019, Data Share 

resulted in the immediate release of almost 1.3 million object records and 600,000 

images, as well as the prospect of sharing records when objects are acquired and 
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images are photographed. The availability of these records and images will enable 

immediate worldwide access to previously inaccessible collections, as well as set up the 

Museum for more digitization and data enhancement projects. The second project, Open 

Access, is a pan-institutional initiative to allow the unrestricted use of collections images.

Open Access is scheduled to launch at the end of February 2020, and the NMAH plans 

to release at least 1,400 images into the public domain at that time.

Both initiatives required extraordinary levels of analysis, policy development, and 

technical preparation. For Data Share, the NMAH developed guidelines and training for 

staff to identify and remediate personal and sensitive information in collections, 

conducted an extensive review of existing data to ensure policy compliance with the 

initial release, and made several user interface and analytics improvements to ensure 

the usability of the online collection. The NMAH then leveraged this work to inform 

Institution-wide discussions about Open Access, collaborating closely with the Office of 

General Counsel and others across the Institution, to determine a legal and cultural 

framework that balances collections access with ethical considerations.

This work informed a variety of projects, including the Museum’s participation in 

the review of Smithsonian Directive 600 on collections management, which in turn 

framed the ongoing work on the revision of the Museum’s collections management 

policy. Taken together, these efforts, including the collections cataloguing and inventory 

projects, have prepared the NMAH to efficiently support plans for new storage facilities 

and the renovation of the East Wing, as well as position it to package and provide 

access to its collections for patrons across the globe, taking advantage of new 

technologies and partnerships.

Goal 3: Engage Diverse National and International Audiences

In 2020, the Museum continues its audience engagement vision to better serve 

our guests on the Mall and our online visitors from around the country and the world. Our 

signature programs and digital outreach help achieve this goal by using history to reach 

across the rifts that divide our nation to bring Americans into conversations with the 

Smithsonian and one another, exchanging ideas with new generations to search for 

common ground.

In June of 2019, cross-departmental working groups were convened to gather 

research, data and best practices to inform the next steps in developing multilingual 

offerings. These efforts are informed by the principles of language justice, and “the idea 

that everyone has the right to communicate in the language in which we feel most 

comfortable.” Going forward in 2020, the Museum will continue exploring more 

multilingual offerings, including building infrastructure for more staff and contract 

translation, advertising the many multilingual offerings we currently have, and exploring 

possible connections between Hirshhorn Eye/Google Lens and similar translation 

technology.

Each year, the NMAH trains thousands of K–12 teachers to bring American 

history to life by using interactive teaching methods infused with the Museum’s rich 

collections. Outside evaluation has shown that the Museum’s workshops have had a 
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positive, re-energizing effect on history education across the United States. The Museum 

continues to add to its library of thousands of free K–12 interactive resources available 

via History Explorer, the Museum’s acclaimed website for teachers. In 2020, the

Museum will conduct its ninth National Youth Summit (NYS) focused on youth and 

democracy. The NYS is a webcast event that brings middle and high school students 

together with scholars, teachers, policy experts, and activists in a national conversation 

about important events in America’s past which remain relevant to the nation’s present 

and future. The Museum will also continue the successful launch of “Becoming US,” an 

inclusive and accurate online curriculum for teaching the American Experience to middle 

and high school students, with historical and contemporary case studies, primary 

sources, lessons aligned with national standards, a glossary of terms used in critical

conversations, and deliberation guides for challenging conversations.

The Museum will continue its successful Jazz Beyond Borders tour in 2020 with 

tour stops in Europe. Throughout the tour, the 18-piece Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks 

Orchestra (SJMO) has partnered with celebrated guest musicians to explore the global 

influences and evolution of this national treasure. Combining the musical prowess of our 

SJMO with the historical and cultural insights that only the NMAH can offer, this tour 

embodies the Museum’s mission to offer history-rich experiences that inspire learning 

and create a connected community with our audiences in Washington, DC, across the 

country, and around the world. Tour stops include evening concerts with acclaimed 

musical guests, as well as daytime educational experiences for learners of all ages. 

These enrichment activities are part of the orchestra’s ongoing work to exchange ideas 

with new generations and to highlight the Museum’s aim of prioritizing programs for 

underserved communities across the nation. 

The Museum’s Wegmans’ Wonderplace continues to provide a gateway to history 

and a place for children six and under to exercise their curiosity. Since opening, 

Wonderplace has served more than 400,000 visitors and has hosted special morning 

programming for children on the autism spectrum as well as families from the Homeless 

Children’s Playtime Project. It has been very well received and operates at capacity.

The NMAH Wallace H. Coulter Unity Square program and events space continues 

to encourage visitors to explore “The Nation We Build Together” through compelling 

displays and unique hands-on activities. The heart of Unity Square is a reinstallation of 

the Greensboro Lunch Counter, an object that reflects the tremendous power of the 

actions of everyday people. This iconic civil rights object is brought to life by a “magic 

mirror” that connects the actions of the four young men who sat down at the lunch 

counter to the larger history of participation, protest, and change in America. Unity 

Square is also home to American Experiments, a suite of five interactive, hands-on 

activities which inspire visitors to talk to each other about the ideas and ideals that have 

shaped the country. Together, the exhibits, activities, and programs of Unity Square 

inspire our visitors to think about their own role in creating the nation of tomorrow. 

The NMAH advances the idea of America as a place of invention, ingenuity, and 

innovation-based enterprise through its Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and 

Innovation. The Lemelson Center leads research into the role of independent and 

corporate inventing, creates public programs to engage visitors from around the United 
133

States, and provides education to empower the next generation of inventors and 

innovators. Within the Museum, Draper Spark!Lab provides hands-on invention 

challenges to 225,000 children and families from across the country. Visitors are 

challenged to invent solutions to real-world problems and learn that invention is a 

sequence that proceeds from problem identification to building prototypes to selling ideas 

to the market. Since opening, Spark!Lab has served more than one million visitors. 

Building on the success of Draper Spark!Lab, the Lemelson Center team has established 

a national network of Spark!Lab sites. By the end of FY 2020, the Center expects to 

operate Spark!Labs at 10 museums and science centers across the United States, 

serving more than 700,000 visitors annually.

Public programming initiated by the Lemelson Center reaches millions of 

Americans annually. Major initiatives in FY 2020 will include Military Invention Day, which 

draws active and veteran members of the armed forces (and the general public) to the 

Museum to see more than 30 displays of leading-edge military technology alongside 

historical innovations, and EurekaFest, a showcase of new ideas from high school and 

collegiate invention teams organized in collaboration with MIT. Through exhibitions, other 

daytime and evening programs, and its website and other digital channels, the Lemelson 

Center brings inspiring stories of American inventors to broader public awareness. 

Connecting with national audiences through social media is a major priority for the 

Museum. The NMAH nurtures lifelong learners by regularly sharing and interacting with 

audiences about American history objects and stories on the “O Say Can You See?” 

blog and the Museum’s accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Through its 

various forms of electronic and online outreach, the Museum expects to continue sharing 

its resources with more than 8.5 million people a year.

Goal 4: Strengthen Our Staff, Board of Directors, and Facilities

In FY 2019, the Museum continued to rebuild the scholarly foundation of its 

professional staff by hiring three new curators with federal funds. In FY 2020, the focus 

will be to continue the planning for a number of retirements and working to ensure 

continuity in key areas. In addition, the Museum has built relationships with other 

Smithsonian units and partnerships with outside organizations to increase available 

resources and leverage talents. Furthermore, the NMAH has extremely active internship 

and Fellowship programs, hosting more than 146 interns and 38 Fellows in FY 2019. 

Beginning in the summer of 2019, the Museum made a commitment to offer stipends to 

all interns to broaden and diversify the pool of candidates. The Museum’s Inclusion, 

Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) Council is working on strategies to broaden and 

diversify the Museum staff, as well as establish a more inclusive work environment.
134

EXPLANATION OF CHANGE 

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $1,421,000. The increase 

includes $1,060,000 for necessary pay and other related salary costs for existing staff 

funded under this line item, and a programmatic increase of 2 FTEs and $361,000 for 

collections managers.

Collections Stewardship (+$361,000, +2 FTEs) 

The budget request includes an increase of $361,000 and 2 FTEs to continue 

building a robust collections stewardship program; supporting full implementation of the 

NMAH collections plan; providing access to the Museum’s collections, research and 

programs by creating, managing and promoting the Museum’s collections assets; 

managing projects and core functions; providing responsible stewardship of the 

Museum’s collections; and managing and refining collections data. The additional staff 

will enable the NMAH to continue complying with the Smithsonian’s Inspector General 

collections stewardship audit of the Museum’s preservation efforts; support the 

increasingly active exhibitions and loans programs and rapid-capture digitization 

initiatives; and restore mission-critical operations for collections stored off site. The 

NMAH will seek diverse, multilingual candidates as part of the ongoing goal to make the 

Museum more diverse, inclusive, and accessible. 

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support salaries and 

benefits for staff who work in administration, advancement, public affairs, and special 

events, as well as other program costs. In addition to restricted gifts, grants, and 

endowments, trust revenue sources include donations from special events, revenue 

sharing from business operations, honoraria for speaking engagements, and tuition 

reimbursements. Donor/sponsor-designated funds are used to develop, install and 

promote new exhibitions, fund public programs and educational initiatives, and support 

research, travel, and collection acquisitions. Donor-designated funds are vital to continue

the renovation of the public spaces in the Museum, including the design and fabrication 

of new exhibits on all three floors of the Museum’s West Wing. The final phase of this will 

be the reopening of new exhibits on the third floor of the West Wing in 2021. The 

Museum’s focus will then turn to the East Wing renovation. 
135

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 216 33,648 5 1,775 24 9,796 0 115

FY 2020

ENACTED 206 33,885 10 2,070 24 12,069 0 35

FY 2021

REQUEST 206 34,982 10 1,990 24 9,570 0 35

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in vital arts and humanities research 14 2,491 14 2,593 0 102

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 8 1,323 8 1,365 0 42

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 16 2,451 16 2,534 0 83

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 25 5,910 25 6,074 0 164

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 41 5,233 41 5,426 0 193

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 31 4,308 31 4,459 0 151

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities operations and provide 

a safe and healthy environment 16 1,855 16 1,905 0 50

Security

Provide world-class protection for Smithsonian 

facilities, collections, staff, visitors and volunteers 0 1,214 0 1,214 0 0

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 43 6,374 43 6,613 0 239

Information Technology

Improve the Institution's information technology 

systems and infrastructure 12 2,726 12 2,799 0 73

Total 206 33,885 206 34,982 0 1,097

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
136

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

In partnership with Native peoples and their allies, the National Museum of 

the American Indian (NMAI) fosters a richer shared human experience through a 

more informed understanding of Native peoples.

In keeping with its authorizing statute, the NMAI is one Museum in three 

locations: NMAI-DC on the National Mall, NMAI-NY in lower Manhattan, and the 

Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, Maryland. The NMAI will focus its resources 

to support research, exhibits, and programs concerning the cultures and histories of 

Native communities and to present contemporary works of art to the public. These 

exhibits and programs attracted more than 1.3 million visitors in FY 2019. The 

offering of diverse exhibitions, cultural demonstrations, tribal festivals, educational 

presentations, and scholarly symposia ensures a meaningful visitor experience. Web 

content based on these programs will continue to reach distant “virtual visitors” to 

the Museum who may not be able to come to the East Coast. Through its exhibitions 

and public programming, the Museum continues to present the contemporary voices 

of Native peoples to educate and inform the public while countering widespread 

stereotypes.

The NMAI also focuses on the stewardship of more than one million collection 

items entrusted to the Museum’s care — honoring the histories and promoting the 

cultural legacies of hundreds of Native nations throughout the Western hemisphere.

The FY 2021 budget request includes $1,097,000 for necessary pay and 

other related salary costs for existing staff funded under this line item.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

To achieve the strategic goal to Understand and Impact 21st Century 

Audiences, the NMAI is directing its resources to: 1) activities that will result in 

increased visitation; 2) public programming and exhibits that will encompass 

information about the indigenous peoples of the Western hemisphere and Hawaii 

(as mandated in the NMAI enabling legislation) and that will demonstrate the 

presence and cultural contributions of contemporary Native peoples; 3) outreach 

to Native communities, tribes, and organizations through programming 

methodologies that include consultations, loans from NMAI collections, Webbased access to collections and content, videoconferences, internships, and 

publications; and 4) amplify the civic discourse on issues facing Native 

Americans by conducting seminars and symposia on matters of public interest. 

Major exhibitions opening or under development in FY 2021 include:

• Preston Singletary: Raven and the Box of Daylight — Featuring works by the 

internationally acclaimed Tlingit artist Preston Singletary. Countless 

generations of Tlingit children have heard Raven’s adventures through an 

oral tradition that plays an essential role in the survival of Tlingit culture by 

preserving its rich histories and narratives. Now, Singletary shares this story 
137

with others through a dynamic multi-sensory environment. The exhibition is 

organized by the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington, and curated by 

Dr. Miranda Belarde-Lewis (Zuni Pueblo/Takdeintaan Clan of the Tlingit 

Nation). (October 2020–October 2021).

• Why We Serve — This exhibition will coincide with the unveiling of the 

National Native American Veteran’s Memorial on November 11, 2020. The 

story will trace the significant history of Native American service in the 

U.S. military from the Revolutionary War until today’s armed conflicts 

worldwide. It will include a total of 18–20 panels, supplemented by a short, 

in-gallery film and NMAI-produced publication. It will expand upon and add 

to the research and stories presented in the panel exhibition Patriot 

Nations currently traveling across the United States. (November 2020–

December 2021).

• Oscar Howe (Working title) — In partnership with the Portland Museum of 

Art, NMAI will organize a retrospective exhibition on the art of Yanktonai 

artist Oscar Howe (1915–1983), opening in NMAI-NY on November 6, 

2021 and traveling thereafter to Portland in 2022. Howe was known for

both his iconic, modernist approach in his work as a painter and for his 

defense of the rights of Native artists to choose their own artistic path. The 

exhibition will include approximately 70 paintings by Oscar Howe lent from 

museums, historical institutions, and private owners from across the 

United States, including many that have never been exhibited publicly. 

The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue 

produced by NMAI and a seven-to-nine-minute gallery film that adds 

biographical dimension to the presentation. The exhibition will trace 

Howe’s development as an artist in addition to illustrating how his work 

was informed by indigenous aesthetics and modern art. (November 2021–

June 2022).

The Museum will achieve its education goals by continuing to provide daily

exhibit and educational programming about Native peoples of the Western 

hemisphere and Hawaii, thereby providing opportunities to expand public knowledge. 

The seven-day-a-week operation will include interpretive activities, film and video 

presentations, cultural arts performances, demonstrations, and resource materials 

about Native American history and cultural heritage. The NMAI will continue working 

with Native educators and cultural experts on the Museum’s National Education 

Initiative, “Native Knowledge 360o,” to create model materials that schools across 

America can use and expand upon for their own students. To promote learning across

generations, the imagiNATIONS Activity Centers in NMAI-DC and NMAI-NY will 

introduce indigenous knowledge about Native peoples’ understanding of the natural 

world and about American Indian civics to a growing audience of schoolchildren and 

Museum visitors. In addition, various tribal educational resources, including curricula 

enhancement materials, will be made available to teachers. 
138

NMAI staff will continue to provide group, school, and general public tour 

programs, directing presentations in galleries and deploying volunteers in all public 

spaces and program areas to ensure maximum use of all the educational resources 

available to enhance the visitor experience.

Public engagement efforts will continue to bring the Museum and its resources 

to audiences through both traditional and Web media, and via innovative outreach and 

training programs. These contacts will link external communities to public audiences 

through technology and involvement in NMAI planning and programming.

The NMAI will continue dedicating resources to expanding access to the NMAI 

collections online, and enhancing our website, as part of the strategic goal to Expand 

Digital Technologies.

As part of the Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research strategic goal to engage in 

vital arts and humanities research, the NMAI will continue to hire and retain the 

highest quality research staff and collaborate with leading institutions of learning and 

community-based scholars. NMAI staff will make research for film, video, audio, and 

photographic content developed for exhibitions available at the Museum and to Native 

American communities and public audiences through the Web, printed materials, and 

collaborative activities with other groups and organizations. 

Through ongoing dialogue with Native communities and cultural experts, 

NMAI’s collection stewards and scholars will also continue to advance the strategic 

goal to Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage through judicious acquisition, 

documentation, digitization, inventory, preservation, research, security, storage 

renewal and enhancements, as well as increased Web access and loans to 

museums across the United States. This includes enhancing the collections by 

acquiring works that document Native experiences and expressive cultures, 

including the representation of modern and contemporary arts. In addition, NMAI will 

maintain its project of loaning objects to tribal museums and, where appropriate, 

repatriating sacred objects and items of cultural patrimony to their original tribes.

The strategic goal to Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive Administration 

will be addressed by efficiently and economically designating resources to meet the 

mission of the Museum. 

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support salary and 

benefit costs for the Museum director and other program-related costs. Donor/

sponsor-designated funds support salaries and benefits for development staff; costs 

associated with reaching NMAI’s fundraising goals; training of future conservators; 

conservation of objects for exhibits and community loans; publications and special 

events for exhibition openings; costs related to specific programs and projects, 

including the National Native American Veterans’ Memorial, educational programs, 

advertising, production of fundraising proposals, and member- and donor-related 

special events; as well as outreach activities.
139

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 56 6,556 3 1,557 14 3,128 0 0

FY 2020

ENACTED 56 6,646 3 3,057 21 2,470 0 0

FY 2021

REQUEST 57 7,060 3 2,000 21 3,963 0 0

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in vital arts and humanities research 4 538 4 551 0 13

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 2 295 2 304 0 9

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 2 241 2 254 0 13

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 18 2,140 18 2,226 0 86

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 6 722 6 762 0 40

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 18 1,932 19 2,163 1 231

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities operations and provide 

a safe and healthy environment 0 18 0 18 0 0

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 6 760 6 782 0 22

Total 56 6,646 57 7,060 1 414

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
140

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery (NPG) inspires visitors from 

around the world by illuminating the American experience through powerful 

images that connect people and their stories.

The NPG strives to bring visitors face to face, literally and figuratively, with 

exceptional Americans and their remarkable stories across time, place, and 

circumstance. The NPG uses diverse approaches in visual biography to focus on 

changing notions of American identity, and to track evolving ideas about who is 

significant and has an impact on American culture. The NPG aspires to be widely 

known as the place that sparks thought and conversation, one that brings factual 

American biography into discussion of contemporary issues, and as an institution 

that includes diverse audiences as active participants in defining American 

identity through portraiture and biography.

The NPG devotes a major portion of its resources to the strategic goal of 

Understanding and Impacting 21st Century Audiences, thereby increasing the 

availability and accessibility of the NPG’s collections through exhibitions, public 

programs, and publications. The exhibitions explore themes in history, biography, 

and art in a way that brings out new meaning and understanding of the American 

experience. The NPG’s exhibitions in FYs 2020 and 2021 will continue to support 

the Smithsonian’s American Women’s History Initiative (AWHI), examining as 

never before the contributions of women to shaping America. Highlights of 

special exhibitions opening in FY 2020 include:

• The Outwin 2019: American Portraiture Today — This exhibition is the 

result of our fifth Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. The 2019 

triennial competition — open to all media, including performance art —

resulted in 46 finalists, with the first Latino artist winning first prize. The 

competition focuses on broadening the definition of portraiture while 

highlighting the genre’s relevance in contemporary art and culture.

• Recent Acquisitions/Gala Installation — Displaying recently acquired and 

commissioned works, this exhibition includes portraits of the newest 

recipients of the NPG’s Portrait of a Nation prize: Frances Arnold, Jeff 

Bezos, Earth Wind and Fire, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Indra Nooyi, and Anna 

Wintour.

• Portraits of the World: Denmark — The third installation in our 

international portrait series highlights Danish artist Michael Ancher’s 

Kunstdommere. This monumental group portrait of four of Denmark’s 

most significant cultural figures, several of whom contributed to the 

Modern Breakthrough that transformed Danish art and literature during the 

late-19th and early-20th centuries, speaks to the transnational 
141

phenomenon of artists’ communities, which advanced art in Denmark as 

well as in the United States. 

• John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Charcoal — Co-organized with the 

Morgan Library and Museum in New York, this is the first exhibition of 

Sargent’s portrait drawings in more than 50 years. At the height of his 

success as a portraitist, John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) astonished the 

transatlantic art world by suddenly abandoning oil painting in 1907. For the 

rest of his life, he explored likeness and identity through the medium of 

charcoal, producing several hundred portraits of individuals recognized for 

their accomplishments in fields such as art, music, literature and theater. 

The exhibition features compelling depictions of an international network 

of trailblazing men and women who helped define 20th-century AngloAmerican culture. 

• Visionary: The Cumming Family Collection — This exhibition reveals the 

results of more than 25 years of inspired collecting on the part of Ian M. 

and Annette P. Cumming. Beginning in 1995, the Cummings 

commissioned or acquired over two dozen portraits of national and global 

leaders created by important American artists, including Chuck Close, 

Robert McCurdy and Nelson Shanks. 

• “Warranted to Give Satisfaction”: Daguerreotypes by Jeremiah Gurney —

This exhibition of portraits by American daguerreotypist Jeremiah Gurney 

(1812–1895) will continue the practice of highlighting works by a single 

daguerreotypist or studio in the NPG’s Daguerreian Gallery. A jeweler by 

profession, Gurney gave up that trade in favor of daguerreotypy in 1840 

and established one of New York City’s first daguerreotype studios. 

• One Life: Will Rogers — An American original whose insightful humor was 

surpassed only by his generosity of self and inestimable goodwill, Rogers 

was born in 1879 on Indian Territory, of Cherokee ancestry, in what 

became the state of Oklahoma. His life in vaudeville, Hollywood, and 

journalism won for him the hearts of Americans throughout the country.

• Her Story: A Century of Women Writers — This exhibition drawn from the 

NPG collection will highlight 24 noted women writers from the past 100 

years. Their writings and books are well known, and many titles have 

become classics of American literature. The medley of authors has 

collectively won every literary award. Pulitzer Prize winners include Joyce 

Carol Oates, Anne Tyler, Alice Walker, Marilynn Robinson, Jhumpa Lahiri, 

and Gwendolyn Brooks, the first African American writer to win a Pulitzer 

and earn election to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. 

In addition to permanent collection rotations and the conclusion of existing 

traveling exhibitions, in FY 2020 NPG will begin the four-venue tour of Eye to I: 
142

Self-Portraits from the National Portrait Gallery to the Boca Raton Museum of Art 

in Florida; the Albuquerque Museum in New Mexico; the Springfield Museum of 

Art in Missouri; and the Art Museum of South Texas in Corpus Christi. Within the 

Museum, NPG continues its plans to refresh The Struggle for Justice and 

American Origins permanent installations.

The combined Audience Engagement Department, consisting of 

Communications, New Media, and Education staff, has helped the Museum 

appeal to 21st-century audiences by defining overarching goals, strategies that 

support each goal, actionable tactics for each strategy and key performance 

indicators to measure success. The NPG will make further strides to raise its 

national visibility, as well as to increase local visitorship and engagement. The 

Audience Engagement team accomplishes these goals through targeted

outreach, Web, and social media campaigns. As we continue to build off of 

diverse representation, the NPG leverages social media platforms to attract more 

followers and convert them to visitors, and also expand our engagement with 

international media.

In FYs 2020 and 2021, the NPG will continue to collaborate with its 

innovative learning groups, The Teen Council and the Teacher Advisory Board, 

and use the perspectives and knowledge of these key individuals to extend the 

educational value of the NPG’s collection both programmatically and digitally. 

The Accessibility Task Force will bring NPG staff up to par with accessibility 

issues and demands. Other popular programs, including afterhours events, 

curator tours, and Family Days events, will continue to anchor the NPG’s 

educational offerings. The NPG docent corps remains a vibrant and diverse 

group well versed in the collection and trained in inquiry techniques to engage 

audiences, and one-quarter of the docents are fluent in Spanish and English. 

Explore!, the NPG education space for 18-month to 8-year-olds and designed to 

help young people explore portraiture as art and history, will continue operations 

and draw more families to the Museum.

The NPG’s primary publication projects in FY 2020 include The Obama 

Portraits (February 11, 2020), a co-publication with Princeton University Press, 

which examines the creation and impact of the portraits of President Barack 

Obama, by Kehinde Wiley, and that of the former First Lady Michelle Obama, by 

Amy Sherald. The publications office will also produce Visionary: The Cumming 

Family Collection (in April of 2020) in connection with a major gift of portrait 

commissions that were funded by Ian and Annette Cumming. The publications 

office will also be working on an exhibition catalogue for Every Eye Is Upon Us: 

First Ladies of the United States. While the book will be released in FY 2021, the 

printing is set for the summer of 2020. We plan to begin the production of a 

children’s book (ABCs of the National Portrait Gallery) in FY 2020, and there 

have been recent conversations about moving forward with a major publication 

on the portraits of African Americans in the Museum’s collection. In FY 2021, the 

office will also begin work on two major scholarly exhibition catalogues (Hung Liu

and Brilliant Exiles) and will produce some brochures in addition to hundreds of 
143

extended label texts. Furthermore, the NPG remains dedicated to the Museum’s 

bilingual initiative by continuing to translate new label texts and other materials

into Spanish.

The NPG will Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage by featuring

prioritized acquisitions of portraits of underrepresented Americans. The NPG also 

continues several projects to produce digital images of its collection items, and to 

address cataloguing backlogs, to enhance the study and appreciation of its 

portraits in all media by researchers and the public around the world. The NPG 

will digitize more than 4,000 collection objects, primarily works on paper, and will 

load the resulting images and files into the Smithsonian Digital Asset 

Management System (DAMS), complete with object condition reports. Other 

conservation work continues, including necessary conservation of paintings and 

sculptures of notable American women, and other paintings requiring treatment, 

as well as delicate frames of numerous painted portraits.

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $414,000. This 

includes $256,000 for necessary pay and other related salary costs for existing 

staff funded under this line item, and a programmatic increase of $158,000 and

1 FTE for a collections manager.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

In FY 2021, the NPG will continue to concentrate its efforts and resources 

on exhibitions, developing and maintaining its collection, expanding public 

education offerings, and pursuing new research directions. 

The NPG will pursue the strategic goal of offering compelling, first-class 

exhibitions in FY 2021 with an ambitious and active on-site and traveling 

exhibition schedule, featuring the following:

• Recent Acquisitions (Corcoran Gift) — Following the Corcoran’s closure in 

2014, the Portrait Gallery received 80 works as part of the collection dispersal 

from the country’s first private museum. This exhibition will present more than 

25 gifted works, including portraits of cultural figures Louis Armstrong, 

Katharine Graham and Frida Kahlo, presidents James Madison and Zachary 

Taylor, and the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Joseph Henry, in 

a mix of mediums.

• Every Eye Is Upon Me: First Ladies of the United States — Part of “Because 

of Her Story,” the Smithsonian Institution’s American Women’s History 

Initiative, this major exhibition spans nearly 250 years, from Martha 

Washington to Melania Trump, and is the first to explore the historical 

significance of this prominent national position through portraiture. Working 

closely with the White House and the National First Ladies’ Library, Every Eye

Is Upon Me — a quote taken from an 1844 letter written by First Lady Julia 
144

Tyler to her mother — will bring viewers closer to understanding the 

challenges and triumphs of the dozens of dynamic women who embraced, 

sometimes reluctantly, the duties of serving as “First Lady.”

• Portraits of the World: Australia — Highlighting the global context of American 

portraiture, this exhibition will feature the large-scale oil portrait of Emily 

Kame Kngwarreye with Lily, by Jenny Sages, on loan from the National 

Portrait Gallery in Canberra. The portrait of this prominent indigenous 

Australian artist who created most of her work while in her 80s will be 

presented with likenesses of her American contemporaries, including Ansel 

Adams, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Georgia O’Keeffe, Alice Waters, and Walt 

Whitman. 

• Portraiture Now: Kinship — Seven contemporary artists explore 

intergenerational relationships, whether among blood relatives or friends, to

examine the shifting notions of family. The works evoke the mutable aspect of 

the kinships they depict, attending to both internal and external forces that 

affect those relationships. Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Ruth Buentello portray 

the effects of migration and transnational lives, while LaToya Ruby Frazier’s 

photographs of Flint, Michigan depict the impact of industrial neglect on a 

single family. Jessica Todd Harper probes the subtle tensions underlying daily 

interactions between family members. Jess T. Dugan’s work explores her 

relationship with her wife, Vanessa, as they traverse daily life as a queer 

couple embarking on parenthood. In paintings he describes as a “form of 

prayer,” Sedrick Huckaby addresses the memorialization of family members 

and loved ones whose lives have been lost to gun violence. Performance 

artist Anna Tsouhlarakis will present an exhibition-related IDENTIFY 

performance about her experiences as a Native American woman navigating 

motherhood in a world of child-rearing classes created by, taught by, and 

meant for upper middle-class white women in Washington, DC.

• Block to Block: Naming Washington (Riley Gallery) — Each day people in 

Washington, DC travel on streets, cross bridges, or relax in squares whose 

names belong to others. Crittenden, Davenport, Farragut, Fessenden, and 

Upshur are among the names that may be well known to those who live and 

visit here; however, do we know who these people were? Why were they 

chosen in the first place? This exhibition includes a selection of images from 

the Portrait Gallery’s collection, depicting the people whom city planners 

deemed worthy of memorializing through streets and other urban space 

names. 

• Hung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands — This first large-scale retrospective

of internationally acclaimed, Chinese-born American artist Hung Liu will 

feature more than 50 artworks made by the artist from her time in Maoist 

China in the 1960s, through her immigration to California in the 1980s, to the 

height of her career today. Having lived through wars, political revolutions, 
145

exile and displacement, Liu’s story presents a complex, multi-faceted picture 

of an Asian Pacific American experience. Her portraits offer a personal and 

yet universal look at themes of feminism, the freedom of self-expression, 

history and personal memory, migration and immigration. 

• One Smithsonian: Directors’ Choice (175th Anniversary Show) — In 

celebration of the 175th anniversary of the Smithsonian and, in the Provost's 

words, taking the “opportunity for us to come together and look back at our 

history and forward to the future,” the Portrait Gallery will ask each

Smithsonian museum and research center director to select an individual 

American from the last 175 years who has made a significant impact that will 

continue to resonate into the future.

• Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900 to 1939 — During the first 

four decades of the 20th century, American women made crucial 

contributions to the vibrant creative milieu of Paris. Drawn by a strong desire 

for independence, they crossed the Atlantic to pursue personal and 

professional ambitions in a city viewed as the epicenter of modernity. 

In addition to these on-site temporary exhibitions, the Outwin 2019 fourvenue tour will launch in October of 2020, and the Outwin Boochever Portrait 

Competition of 2022 will be under way with a call for entries in the fall of 2020. 

We will also launch the national tour of the Barack and Michelle Obama Portraits 

to five major cities, while continuing the Eye to I national tour through the fall of 

2021. The permanent collection refresh of The Struggle for Justice will occur in 

the spring of 2021, with in-depth planning occurring for the 2022 reinstallation of 

American Origins.

The NPG’s major publication projects in FY 2021 will include completion of

the Hung Liu exhibition catalogue; Brilliant Exiles exhibition catalogue; and the 

completion of the ABCs of the National Portrait Gallery. We will also begin work 

on the Outwin 2022 catalogue in FY 2021. With each publication, we aim to 

engage and inspire diverse audiences through high-quality printed works that 

reach far beyond the Museum walls nationally and internationally.

The NPG will continue to Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage by 

providing a fuller picture of the early nation with further acquisitions of 18th and 19th

century portraits of underrepresented minorities and women. The Museum will also 

seek to expand its holdings of contemporary Americans by acquiring portraits, 

including commissioned portraits, of leading figures in disability rights, the sciences, 

business, and the arts. The Museum is a leader in the collection, study, and 

conservation of artworks created in digital formats — a broad and dynamic art form 

evolving with technology. The NPG will continue working with the Digitization 

Program Office until its entire collection is captured with digital imagery and made 

accessible to the public and researchers via the Web. Moreover, the NPG will care 
146

for the physical conservation needs of the collection in all media. The Museum will 

also continue to expand analytical state-of-the-art analysis of works of art. 

The NPG will continue work to Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration through vigorous efforts to access diverse applicant pools for 

emerging recruitment needs. The NPG will also continue to participate with central 

Smithsonian offices on finance and operations management process improvements.

EXPLANATION OF CHANGE

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $414,000. This includes 

$256,000 for necessary pay and other related salary costs for existing staff funded 

under this line item, and a programmatic increase of $158,000 and 1 FTE for a 

collections manager.

Collections Manager (+$158,000, +1 FTE)

The NPG collections are growing in quantity and complexity, and augments to 

our staff will realize the full value of these national resources to make them available 

for research, interpretation, and for displays to the public in Washington, DC and 

around the country. The Museum is also addressing increasingly complex collection 

management and conservation challenges with new accessions and existing 

collections. The position will enable the NPG to accomplish several goals even as 

the collection expands: to make Audio Visual Special Collections and Catalogue of 

American Portraits research information accessible to the general public; work on inhouse uses and licenses for external requests; and to broaden the reach of NPG 

programs and further both the NPG and Smithsonian strategic goals to serve a 

larger national and global audience.

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support essential

positions and help defray costs of special events for exhibition openings, loan 

exhibition development, outreach, fund raising, management, and research. The 

NPG must support exhibitions, publications, public lectures and gallery programs, 

symposia, and some collection acquisitions with donor/sponsor-designated funds. 

Private donations are thus critical to the NPG’s planning, programming, and ability to 

deliver on its public mission. It is through a public-private partnership that the 

National Portrait Gallery achieves its goals and serves the Smithsonian’s mission.
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NATIONAL POSTAL MUSEUM

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019 

ENACTED 6 1,581 2 581 2 2,862 19 3,034

FY 2020 

ENACTED 6 1,831 2 515 2 2,985 23 3,285

FY 2021

REQUEST 6 1,865 2 500 2 3,165 23 3,355

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The National Postal Museum (NPM), with the world’s largest museum 

collection of stamps and postal artifacts, is dedicated to creating visitor experiences 

that educate, excite, entertain, and inspire. With more than six million objects, the 

Museum is responsible for the Smithsonian’s second-largest collection. The Museum 

dedicates its resources to developing new and innovative ways to explore the vital 

role of the postal system in American life, and to make its vast philatelic and postal 

collections available to all visitors — both in person and online. The NPM uses its 

collections in exhibitions and public programs which educate visitors on the history of 

America, transportation, communication, economics, and commerce.

In addition to the many activities and programs completed throughout the year, 

the NPM is focused on several major initiatives aimed at increasing visitation to both 

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 1 92 1 98 0 6

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 1 160 1 166 0 6

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 4 536 4 558 0 22

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities operations and provide 

a safe and healthy environment 0 1,043 0 1,043 0 0

Total 6 1,831 6 1,865 0 34

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
148

the Museum and its website. These initiatives include the design and fabrication of 

new exhibitions; the development of new hands-on educational experiences; and 

planning for the next generation of the Museum’s popular online collections program. 

These initiatives will support the goals outlined in the Smithsonian’s Strategic Plan, 

One Smithsonian. 

The FY 2021 budget request includes $34,000 for necessary pay and other 

related salary costs for existing staff funded under this line item. 

MEANS AND STRATEGY

The National Postal Museum’s primary activities will contribute to the 

Smithsonian’s vision of building on “its unique strengths to engage and to inspire 

more people, where they are, with greater impact, while catalyzing critical 

conversations on issues affecting our nation and the world” through the prism of 

postal communications and philately. These challenges will be met by partnering 

with other Smithsonian museums in support of the One Smithsonian Strategic 

Plan: serving as a catalyst for conversations about complex issues; extending the 

digital reach of the Museum; understanding and impacting 21st century 

audiences; contributing to large, visionary, interdisciplinary research and 

scholarly projects; and preserving our philatelic and postal heritage while 

optimizing our assets.

In June of 2020, the Museum will open the exhibition Baseball: America’s 

Home Run, exploring America’s national pastime. Featuring hundreds of U.S. 

and international stamps commemorating historic moments and drawing on 

original artwork and archival material from the United States Postal Service’s 

(USPS) esteemed Postmaster General’s Collection, the display of stamps and 

mail will be complemented by dozens of objects loaned by other Smithsonian 

Institution museums, law-enforcement agencies, and private collectors. The 

exhibition will be presented in English and Spanish through a collaboration with 

the Smithsonian Latino Center, and will have broad appeal.

In FY 2021, there will be a rotation of baseball-themed philatelic and postal 

history objects from the Museum’s collection, as well as loaned items from more 

than 25 different lenders. This represents one of the largest and most complex 

special exhibitions that the Museum has ever produced, with more than 120 

objects spread across multiple galleries, and with three rotations scheduled. 

Various programs and events targeting a wide audience will be planned to 

enhance the exhibition experience. The exhibition will be in place until January of 

2023.

The NPM’s Department of Education and Visitor Services (DEVS) will 

continue to expand K–12 school programs and create new learning opportunities 

in the Byrne Education Center of the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery and in new 

and existing Museum exhibitions. The Byrne Center will provide enhanced
149

learning opportunities for visiting student groups, which incorporate the newest 

digital pedagogical tools. The Byrne Center will also continue to be used for NPM 

and Institution-wide meetings and programs. A second educational space 

supports the Museum’s on-site school tours, community engagement activities, 

and family programming such as the NPM’s traditional programs, including FirstClass Problem Solvers and Listen, Look and Do! In addition, the NPM will 

continue to collaborate with local museum studies students at Stuart-Hobson 

Middle School, and with our History Makers program that was originally 

supported through a Youth Access Grant. Efforts to expand the program to other 

area public schools will continue to be pursued.

The NPM recently installed three new educational stations in the 

Museum’s galleries. These stations provide additional interactive learning 

opportunities for children and adults, supporting the Museum’s effort to make its 

exhibitions and educational offerings more accessible to a younger audience and 

provide new hands-on learning opportunities to discover more about the NPM’s 

collections and the history of philately in America. FY 2021 will also see the 

continuation of the NPM’s dedication to creating One Smithsonian by engaging 

the resources of multiple museums and research centers to produce quality 

educational products. Collaborative programming will continue with initiatives 

being planned with the Smithsonian Latino Center, Smithsonian American Art 

Museum, and the Archives of American Art. 

In FY 2021, the Museum will also focus on initiatives to improve the visitor 

experience by engaging the entire NPM staff and security contractors in visitorrelated activities through the Coordinated Visitor Experience Team (CVET) 

program. The Visitor Services team is continuing to improve the visitor 

experience both through physical changes, such as facilities and signage, and by 

fostering an atmosphere of customer service, cooperation and teamwork 

Museum-wide. The planned public lactation privacy pod comes from the need to 

supply a private, clean, and comfortable place for our visitors to use a breast 

pump or breastfeed their child at the Museum. FY 2021 will include the planning 

and design of a family-style bathroom to augment this service. Both amenities 

are significant and needed improvements for Museum guests.

The NPM will continue to expand and further develop popular public 

programs with an emphasis on growing the target audience populations of 

millennials and early learners. Examples of this targeted audience programming 

include our vibrant Wine & Design program, in which we will collaborate with 

guest artists and crafters, and our weekly Story Time, for which we aim to 

increase participation by offering diverse holiday pop-up events and recurring

bilingual Spanish-English sessions. The Museum will also expand our volunteer 

program to improve the quality of experience for walk-in visitors.
150

At NPM, federal resources are dedicated to improving the stewardship of 

the six million objects which represent the national collection of philatelic material 

and postal history.

Working closely together, the Museum’s collections and curatorial teams 

will continue to increase the number of collection objects that are available 

online. Associated initiatives include partnering with the Smithsonian’s 

Digitization Office to carry out mass-digitization projects of 2D and 3D material,

and participating in the SI-wide Open Access initiative by identifying materials

that can be made available to the public for download and re-use.

In FY 2021, the collections and curatorial departments will build on

FY 2020 goals to participate in Institution-wide digital initiatives, carry out 

exhibition rotations, identify and consolidate material in storage, process 

deaccessions, and maintain normal business operations. The collection will be 

made available to Museum visitors, researchers who contact the team for an 

appointment to see material not on view, and to audiences around the world via 

the Museum’s website. 

Also in FY 2021, the collections department will continue to undertake all 

aspects of collections management, deliberately developing, maintaining, 

preserving, and making the national collection accessible to the public. For 

example, the team will continue to document and add data to the Museum’s 

database. The Museum’s conservator will carry out conservation treatments on 

the Museum’s permanent collection, ensuring that the objects are preserved for 

future generations. And finally, the team will process new acquisitions that 

enhance the Museum’s ability to fully capture philatelic and postal history. 

 

A major initiative to improve accessibility to off-site collections will remain 

a Museum priority. The Museum will continue to coordinate with the staff of the 

National Museum of American History (NMAH) on the decontamination of NPM 

collection objects stored in Garber building number 16 in Suitland, Maryland. This 

project will remove hazardous lead and asbestos from NPM collections that have 

been inaccessible for many years. The project will eliminate a potential safety 

hazard for staff and make previously inaccessible collection items available for 

cataloguing and imaging. These collection items can then be made available to 

the public in displays on site and via the Museum’s website. 

The collections department will continue to catalogue, image, and 

conserve the Postmaster General’s (PMG) collection of original stamp art. The 

PMG collection, which began transferring to the Museum from the United States 

Postal Service in FY 2012, represents one of the Museum’s most important 

collections. It includes the original artwork, as well as rejected designs and 

preliminary sketches, commissioned for more than 3,000 U.S. postage stamps 

between 1942 and the present. As USPS continues to transfer new PMG 
151

material to NPM, the collections department will examine, treat, and re-house the 

collection, as well as process related archival collections. 

Finally, in FY 2021, the team will look to refine collections policies, plans, 

and procedures that are due for review. Policies and plans include the Museum’s 

collections management policy, its lending policies, its collections emergency 

plan, and, perhaps most importantly, its collections stewardship plan. The 

collections stewardship plan will guide the content and development of NPM’s 

collection. The collections department will lead the staff in a coordinated and 

uniform direction to draft this plan, which will allow NPM to gain better control of 

its collections and ensure that it has appropriate staff and resources to manage 

them. 

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — The United States Postal Service provides 

the NPM with an annual grant, which supports more than 60 percent of the Museum’s 

core functions and operational costs. These costs include nonfederal salaries and 

benefits, facility maintenance, exhibitions, education, and collection management 

programs. Fundraising initiatives will continue to generate increased support from the 

private sector to develop and support new exhibitions, research opportunities, 

educational programs, and special events. 
152

SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019 

ENACTED 89 10,389 6 1,703 50 9,762 1 100

FY 2020

ENACTED 89 10,412 5 1,300 48 10,748 2 100

FY 2021 

REQUEST 90 11,089 7 1,987 51 11,617 2 136

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in vital arts and humanities research 6 722 6 754 0 32

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 7 849 7 886 0 37

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 13 1,493 13 1,562 0 69

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 25 2,845 25 2,977 0 132

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 2 271 2 282 0 11

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 19 2,101 20 2,407 1 306

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities operations and provide 

a safe and healthy environment 1 128 1 133 0 5

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 13 1,721 13 1,790 0 69

Information Technology

Improve the Institution's information technology 

systems and infrastructure 3 282 3 298 0 16

Total 89 10,412 90 11,089 1 677

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
153

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) is the nation’s Museum 

dedicated to the art and artists of the United States from colonial times to the present. It 

is the home of the largest and most inclusive collection of American art in the world, and 

its holdings of more than 44,000 works, spanning three centuries of the nation’s cultural 

development, tell the story of America through the visual arts. The Museum’s programs 

make the collection available to national audiences and beyond, as well as to those who 

visit its two historic landmark buildings in Washington, DC: the Donald W. Reynolds 

Center (DWRC) for American Art and Portraiture (shared by SAAM and the National 

Portrait Gallery) and the Renwick Gallery, dedicated to American crafts and decorative 

arts.

To achieve the strategic goal of Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research, SAAM 

curators and research Fellows-in-residence use the collection and other resources to 

develop new insights into America’s cultural and artistic legacy as well as current 

themes and explorations. The resulting knowledge informs collections development and

serves as the basis for exhibitions, associated award-winning catalogues and scholarly 

publications, and educational programs. The Fellowship program, which is celebrating

its 50th anniversary in 2020, cultivates the next generation of professors and curators. 

SAAM has hosted more than 700 scholars who now work at academic and cultural 

institutions across the United States, Australia, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle 

East and South America. The Museum’s peer-reviewed journal, American Art, serves as 

a primary venue for groundbreaking scholarship in the field. The Museum also hosts 

international symposia and seminars on topics of relevance in the field of American art

and encourages a deeper understanding of American art’s global connections.

SAAM will Expand Digital Technologies by offering a constellation of activities to 

engage users both online and in the galleries. The Museum takes full advantage of the 

latest technologies, with a focus on mobile-optimized websites and applications, video 

production, and social media engagement. SAAM is also undertaking significant 

experiments and pilot projects using new platforms such as virtual reality. Three

videoconference centers deliver the Museum’s education programs to classrooms 

around the world. The digitization of SAAM’s collections continues, allowing the 

Museum to add new assets and media to support its online resources.

The Museum will Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences through 

exhibitions, education, and public programs. An ambitious schedule of exhibitions 

developed in-house and complemented by shows obtained from other organizations 

attracts new visitors and encourages repeat visits. At the DWRC, large exhibition 

spaces, shops, and a renovated restaurant greet visitors with a broad range of activities

to maintain their interest. The Lunder Conservation Center provides a window on 

preservation of the national collections, and the Luce Foundation Center for American 

Art displays 3,500 collection objects in an inviting, visible storage center. The Renwick 

Gallery has additional space for exhibitions, public programs, and rotating displays of its 

permanent collection of American crafts. Multiple traveling exhibitions organized by the 

Museum are shared with other museums throughout the United States, enriching 

people’s lives by giving them direct access to their nation’s artistic and cultural heritage.
154

National education programs directly reach K–12 teachers and students. These 

include adoption of the latest technologies where most effective, as well as

incorporation of art into social studies, history, and language arts. Resident teacher 

institutes are supplemented by online/on-demand courses for the K–12 community. The 

Museum regularly collaborates with private and public organizations to provide teachers 

with new tools and resources. In addition, students are brought into the Museum as 

often as possible to provide that direct experience with great art. The MacMillan 

Education Center, located in the galleries, serves students in classrooms across the 

nation and U.S. military bases worldwide, as well as school groups touring the Museum, 

conservators, research Fellows, and educators.

Public programs complement Museum exhibitions and collections with

lectures, tours and gallery talks, and craft and sketching workshops. The McEvoy 

Auditorium is the venue for four of SAAM’s five lecture series as well as two of five 

music series. The others are either at the Renwick Gallery or the Kogod Courtyard. 

The latter space also hosts programs such as family days, heritage months, and artthemed movies. In FY 2019, SAAM hosted 318 programs and events.

The strategic goal of Preserving Our Natural and Cultural Heritage is achieved 

through multiple activities. Scholarship and research help set acquisition objectives. 

Gifts of art and private funds raised through advancement activities pay for additions to 

the national collection. Conservators research methods and tools to preserve the 

artwork. The Lunder Conservation Center is an important locus for conservation 

training and colloquia of interest to the conservation community and the public.

Conservation Fellowships ensure that experience and knowledge are shared with the 

larger community of conservation practitioners.

SAAM also has a robust safety program to ensure a safe and healthy 

environment for Museum staff and visitors.

Cost-Effective and Responsive Administration encompasses many activities. 

Information Technology (IT) staff implement and maintain the information framework on 

which so many other efforts depend. This includes exhibition space screens and kiosks 

that provide access to information available anywhere, on any device. Managers 

carefully plan, promote, protect, and conserve the Museum’s resources. 

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $677,000. The increase 

includes $477,000 for necessary pay and other related salary costs for existing staff,

and a programmatic increase of 1 FTE and $200,000 for a collections manager.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

Research on the collections and related American art topics by curatorial staff 

continues in support of exhibitions and the permanent collection, including two new 

exhibition catalogues scheduled for publication in FY 2021. Endowments and multiyear private support have allowed the Museum to hire a full slate of curators with 

specialties ranging from sculpture, photography and contemporary crafts to Media 

Arts. The Museum’s award-winning, peer-reviewed journal, American Art, will publish 
155

three issues of new scholarship. The Museum hosts approximately 20 research 

Fellows every year from throughout the country and internationally, thereby

increasing the number of scholars using the collections. The resulting discoveries and 

interpretations by staff and Fellows help Americans understand and appreciate their 

rich and diverse cultural heritage as well as advance scholarship in American art. 

Research also feeds into educational programs and provides content for the

Museum’s website and new media.

The Museum embraces the Web by making as much of its artwork and 

related data as possible freely available online to the public. Ninety-nine percent of 

SAAM’s collection now is online. The Museum hosts dynamic websites for visitors, 

researchers, and educators, most notably through the popular website at 

AmericanArt.si.edu. SAAM participates in collaborative digital initiatives with other 

organizations, implementing powerful tools such as Linked Open Data (LOD). The 

publication of SAAM’s collections data as LOD has established the Museum as a 

leader in promoting semantic Web standards in the museum community. SAAM 

maintains an active social media presence across many platforms — including 

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our blog, Eye Level — which focuses on 

engaging the public in conversations about art-related topics. The Museum produces 

dozens of educational videos and live streams each year, which are added to its 

non-profit YouTube channel. These assets are fully accessible and responsive, 

regardless of the type of device used. Custom-built interactive exhibition 

components, apps, and videos are used whenever appropriate to provide a richer 

and more varied learning experience for visitors.

SAAM is planning six exhibitions for FY 2021. Major exhibitions include 

Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women; Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian 

Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano; I Am an American: The East 

Baltimore Survey; Alma Thomas: Creating Color; and Chihuly at the Smithsonian. 

The Renwick Gallery hosts Janet Echelman’s 1.8 Renwick, a Grand Salon 

installation, and Venice and American Studio Glass.

As part of its ongoing effort to make as much material as possible accessible 

to the public, the Museum regularly rotates artworks in the permanent collection 

galleries to show the many facets of American art and culture, as well as to 

encourage return visits. The Luce Foundation Center for American Art displays an 

additional 3,500 collection objects in glass cases.

National outreach includes the touring exhibitions African American Art, Kara 

Walker, and William H. Johnson: Fighters for Freedom. Interactive exhibition 

components continue evolving to keep pace with proliferating information streams. In 

addition, whenever possible, SAAM honors requests by other museums for loans

from the national collection. 

SAAM engages diverse audiences through a range of public programs and 

online resources. The Museum staff and 200 trained volunteers will continue popular 

tours, gallery talks, demonstrations and workshops, as well as tours in American Sign 

Language for the hearing impaired and America InSight for visually impaired visitors. In 
156

addition, individuals bring in objects and talk with conservators about the proper care 

and handling of family heirlooms. Family Days and heritage month programs continue to

create and sustain new relationships between the American public and their cultural 

history. The Chinese New Year celebration, held in conjunction with the Chinese 

Embassy, remains a visitor favorite. Public programs in the galleries, McEvoy 

Auditorium, and Kogod Courtyard occur nearly every day. These are supplemented by 

new Web content, as well as by making all content accessible regardless of the media 

platform used.

Education initiatives continue to expand as the Museum takes advantage of new 

online tools and assets. SAAM continues to develop its highly successful distancelearning program with staff and 22 volunteers who create content that reaches 

classrooms worldwide. Three videoconference centers, including the MacMillan 

Education Center, enable the Museum to serve more students than ever before. 

Contracts and partnerships with Government agencies such as the Department of 

Defense, the Kennedy Center, and the Washington, DC Public Schools expand the 

Museum’s reach to more diverse audiences. The internship program hosted 48 students

in FY 2019 (from 20 states, Washington, DC, Italy and Japan), and helps to prepare the 

next generation of museum professionals. In addition, the Museum facilitated threeweek-long teacher training institutes; in FY 2019, 78 teachers from 24 states and 

Taiwan attended.

The safe storage and display of collection objects remain a top priority. SAAM

continues to develop public interest in and awareness of preservation issues through 

the Luce Foundation Center and the Lunder Conservation Center and their many 

public and professional programs. The acquisition of new tools and instrumentation will 

allow more complete monitoring of the collection and application of leading-edge 

conservation techniques to preserve the collection. Leased cool-storage space ensures 

that photographic material is preserved in ideal conditions. Artworks will be acquired to 

fill gaps in the collection identified through the Museum’s collections plan. Time-based 

media (i.e., works that exhibit a changing observable state, such as film, videos or 

lights) will continue to receive special attention in our Time-based Media Lab. Galleries 

in the DWRC continue to be converted to light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, which is

less damaging to the collection and more economical in reducing the costs of

maintenance and utilities.

Information technology and administrative procedures closely monitor 

resources and processes, resulting in Cost-Effective and Responsive Administration. 

Strong partnerships with Smithsonian central offices enable SAAM to provide an enduser perspective on policy changes. Use of the Museum’s intranet site keeps staff 

current on the ever-changing procedural and regulatory environment. Continual 

reviews of work processes and conditions result in safer techniques and materials for 

both staff and the environment.
157

EXPLANATION OF CHANGE 

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $677,000. The increase 

includes $477,000 for necessary pay and a programmatic increase of 1 FTE and 

$200,000 for a collections manager. 

Collections Manager (+$200,000, +1 FTE) 

The budget request includes an increase of $200,000 and 1 FTE to hire a 

registration specialist, collections manager to provide the severely understaffed SAAM 

Registrar’s Office the ability to work more effectively and efficiently. This position will 

allow SAAM to more consistently oversee and perform core collection needs such as 

storage maintenance and planning, object data entry and management, rehousing 

inventory, digitization, serving public visitors, and all other tasks associated with the 

oversight and care of more than 44,000 works in the permanent collection. This 

collections manager will provide an essential service that will allow SAAM to 

generously share the national collections. This position will enable smooth operations 

for SAAM loans and traveling exhibitions and support programs. These programs 

enhance the Museum’s and the Smithsonian’s visibility and prominence locally, 

nationally, and internationally. SAAM collections and their proper management 

represent a key facet of our successful public service. Rising to meet 21st century 

expectations, the Museum’s programming, outreach, and collection needs have rapidly 

escalated in recent years. This hire is an essential first step in building SAAM staffing 

to levels commensurate with its ambitions to achieve its own mission, sustain core 

functions, and operate as a fully functioning and engaged unit within the Smithsonian.

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — Nearly all of SAAM’s non-personnel costs, 

including those for exhibitions, educational and public programs, and purchases for

the national collection, are paid with funds provided by individuals, foundations, and 

corporations. Donor/sponsor-designated funds support specific programs and 

projects. Additionally, trust funds support salaries and benefits for one-third of staff, as 

well as all fundraising activities and related costs.
158

OUTREACH

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 64 9,333 47 6,758 9 5,552 1 183

FY 2020

ENACTED 64 9,333 33 6,371 21 4,806 3 581

FY 2021

REQUEST 64 9,804 30 5,866 24 5,184 5 1,028

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

All of the Institution’s outreach activities link the Smithsonian’s national 

collections, research, and educational resources with Americans from coast to coast. 

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in impactful scientific research and discovery 3 1,385 3 1,400 0 15

Engage in vital arts and humanities research 1 845 1 851 0 6

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 3 352 3 369 0 17

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 2 209 2 218 0 9

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 39 4,672 39 5,018 0 346

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 11 1,428 11 1,487 0 59

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 5 442 5 461 0 19

Total 64 9,333 64 9,804 0 471

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
159

These programs aim to: 1) broaden the audiences who share in the nation’s rich cultural 

heritage; 2) enhance widespread research-based knowledge of science, history, and 

art; and 3) provide opportunities for educators and scholars to further increase and 

diffuse knowledge.

Smithsonian outreach programs serve millions of Americans, thousands of 

communities, and hundreds of institutions in all 50 states, through loans of objects, 

traveling exhibitions, and sharing of educational resources via publications, lectures 

and presentations, training programs, and websites. Smithsonian outreach programs 

work in close cooperation with Smithsonian museums and cultural and research 

centers, as well as with more than 200 affiliated institutions and others across the 

nation.

This line item includes the programs which provide the critical mass of 

Smithsonian Across America outreach activity: the Smithsonian Institution Traveling 

Exhibition Service (SITES); Smithsonian Affiliations; the Smithsonian Center for 

Learning and Digital Access (SCLDA); the Office of Fellowships and Internships 

(OFI); and the Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press (SISP). Smithsonian 

Associates and the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC), which receive no 

direct federal funding, are also part of this national outreach effort. 

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $471,000, including 

$284,000 for necessary pay and other related salary costs for existing staff funded 

under this line item, and $187,000 in exhibit support for SITES.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) (39 FTEs 

and $5,018,000) — For more than 69 years, SITES has shared Smithsonian 

exhibitions and educational resources with people and places all across the country. 

More than 500 communities in all 50 states host SITES shows in formats ranging 

from large-scale interactive exhibits for mainstream art, history, and natural history 

museums to exhibitions for mid-size museums and cultural centers, and from small 

exhibitions for rural America to poster exhibitions tailored to school classrooms. 

Encompassing subjects that parlay the Smithsonian’s vast collections and research, 

SITES’ FY 2021 offerings will address such topics as artistic creativity, scientific 

exploration, and the mosaic of diverse cultures that have made America the great 

nation it is today. 

SITES is a national leader in exhibitions that honor and celebrate the diversity 

of cultural heritage in America — African Americans, Latinos, Asian Pacific 

Americans, Native Americans, and the many other peoples who give our nation its 

unique vitality. SITES strives to tell the complete American story, in person and 

online, in all its exhibitions. FY 2021 resources will continue to support and broaden 

our outreach to these communities, in addition to generating public engagement 

through exhibition topics related to the Grand Challenges of the American 
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experience, space exploration, world cultures, our biodiverse planet, and the 

transformative power of the visual arts. In particular, SITES will continue its national 

tour of the Apollo 11 command module, a national treasure, in celebration of the 

50th anniversary of the first moon landing.

FY 2021 resources will also continue to support SITES’ landmark Museum on 

Main Street (MoMS) initiative, enriching rural America where access to national 

cultural programs is limited. The MoMS team has won the Smithsonian Education 

Innovation Award in recognition of its outstanding accomplishments exemplifying the 

Smithsonian’s commitment to innovation in education. In FY 2021, MoMS will tour 

Crossroads: Change in Rural America, looking at profound transformations in 

20th-century small towns and how they are reinventing themselves by creatively 

focusing on new opportunities for growth and economic development. In addition, 

MoMS will continue to travel exhibitions examining the cultural and scientific 

relationships between people and water, and how hometown sports teams energize 

communities and instill local pride.

With every exhibition, SITES supports host venues so they can develop 

customized opportunities to engage and inspire people in their communities to learn 

about the subject of the exhibition. Exhibitions and related education materials are 

tailored to share local stories and the creativity, innovation and expertise of local 

residents — whether through school field trips, family festivals, lectures involving 

academics from local colleges and universities, or programs targeted for 

underserved youth and adults, such as teen-produced, multi-media community 

histories. 

While most Americans may know the Smithsonian from one-time school trips 

or family visits, the presence of the Institution’s resources in their hometowns has a 

deeper resonance. SITES exhibitions represent the valuable public impact of the 

federal dollar. They are a source of immense local pride, bringing together people 

from diverse ethnic, age, and socio-economic groups to celebrate the common 

bonds of a shared national heritage at the local level — in communities across the 

nation. 

Smithsonian Affiliations (2 FTEs and $380,000) — Now in its 24th year, 

Smithsonian Affiliations continues to build a strong national network of affiliated 

museums, educational, and cultural organizations that facilitate the display of 

Smithsonian artifacts and the dissemination of the Institution’s resources and 

expertise in communities across America. By working with both emerging and wellestablished museums of varying sizes, subject areas, diverse audiences, and 

scholarly disciplines, Smithsonian Affiliations creates the framework through which 

people unable to visit the Institution’s facilities in Washington, DC can still 

experience the Smithsonian in their own communities. In addition, the Smithsonian 

works closely with affiliated organizations to increase their audiences, expand their 

professional capabilities, and gain greater recognition in their local communities. 
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There are currently more than 200 Affiliate organizations in 45 states, Puerto Rico, 

and Panama.

These strategies have resulted in the display of more than 9,000 Smithsonian 

artifacts in Affiliate locations, including such historic and topical items as U.S. 

spacecraft, First Ladies’ gowns, Civil War arms and uniforms, outdoor sculptures, 

scientifically significant collections, and many more. Smithsonian scholars have 

participated in science literacy, American history, cultural diversity, and art education 

programs at Affiliate locations. Professional development workshops, internships, 

and visiting professional residencies have given Affiliate staff the opportunity to 

increase their knowledge and skills in areas such as collections management, 

exhibition planning, and museum administration. In addition, the Smithsonian 

Affiliations’ annual conference creates a forum for networking, information sharing, 

and future planning. Current Affiliate projects build on and amplify the core 

objectives outlined in the Smithsonian’s Strategic Plan.

Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access (SCLDA) (13 FTEs 

and $1,596,000) — The Smithsonian is creating new digital platforms for scholars 

and educators to better access Smithsonian collections, research, and education 

resources. SCLDA’s Smithsonian Learning Lab is a digital platform for educators and 

students, enabling everyone to find and customize resources for educational use and 

share them with others. Based on continual research and evaluation, the Lab evolves 

to provide valuable services to its global audiences. SCLDA also develops content 

and materials for classrooms and provides professional development to teachers. 

Within the Institution, SCLDA offers many services and technical support to other

units. These range from collaborations to create and disseminate content, technical 

modifications to the Learning Lab in response to unit requests, and outreach to 

broaden access and engage audiences with the Smithsonian’s educational offerings. 

SCLDA’s expertise in research also supports education and access initiatives across 

the Institution. 

Office of Fellowships and Internships (OFI) (6 FTEs and $1,993,000) —

The OFI has the central management and administrative responsibility for the 

Institution’s programs of research, Fellowships, and other scholarly appointments. 

One of its primary objectives is to facilitate the Smithsonian’s academic interactions 

with students and scholars at universities, museums, and other research institutions 

around the world. The Office administers Institution-wide research support 

programs, and assists other Smithsonian museums, research centers, and offices 

with diversifying and developing additional Fellowships and visiting appointments.

The Smithsonian Institution offers Fellowships to provide opportunities for 

graduate students, pre-doctoral students, and postdoctoral and senior investigators 

to conduct independent research in association with members of the Smithsonian 

professional research staff, and to more effectively use the resources of the 

Institution. 
162

To achieve the strategic goal of Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research and 

maintain the Smithsonian’s level of expertise in the research community, the 

Institution must continue attracting the best scholars. The OFI has increased

Fellowship stipends to provide awards comparable to other prestigious programs so 

the Smithsonian can maintain a competitive edge. Since funding for stipends has 

remained flat, the Smithsonian has increased the value of each award, but has 

decreased the number of Fellowships awarded. The Smithsonian is trying to raise 

private funding for the Institution’s Fellowships and Scholarly Studies Program to 

help today’s young scientists become the next generation’s top researchers. In 

addition, the OFI continues to provide current staff with the financial support needed 

to develop new research initiatives, collaborate with other scholars, and determine 

the scope and feasibility of projects.

Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press (SISP) (4 FTEs and $817,000) —

Through the Smithsonian Contributions Series program, continually published since 

1875, SISP publishes and disseminates research conducted by Smithsonian staff 

and collaborators. The federal funds support the production of first-class research 

results in science, art, culture, and history, with widespread distribution to the public 

and to libraries, universities, and other education and research organizations. SISP 

publishes open-access series, in digital and print formats, in core subject areas of 

anthropology, art, botany, history, marine sciences, museum conservation, 

paleobiology, and zoology, as well as open monographs in other disciplines, and 

disseminates interdisciplinary research and conference proceedings. 

Furthermore, federal resources underwrite the publication of scholarly books 

closely related to the national collections and SISP administration of the initiative to 

advance science by increasing public access to peer-reviewed scholarly articles and 

papers authored by Smithsonian staff. Toward this end, SISP recently revised 

Smithsonian Directive (SD) 806, Publishing at the Smithsonian Institution and by 

Smithsonian Employees, to provide updated guidance on disseminating the results of 

federally funded research. The performance objectives advanced by SISP’s scholarly 

publications and its program to increase public access to Smithsonian research 

results are Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research and support the strategic goal to 

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences.

EXPLANATION OF CHANGE

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $471,000, including 

$284,000 for necessary pay and other related salary costs for existing staff funded 

under this line item, and $187,000 in exhibit support for SITES.

Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) — Exhibit 

Support (+$187,000)

This budget request includes an increase of $187,000 to support SITES’ 

landmark Museum on Main Street (MOMs) initiative. The MOMs program continues 
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to enrich the underserved populations of rural America. The increased funding will 

support the broad array of educational resources each MoMS exhibition uses to 

reach local communities, engage and inspire more people where they are, and create

deep and impactful educational experiences for youth while catalyzing critical 

conversations on issues affecting them. 

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds defray the costs of staff 

salaries and benefits, fund raising, exhibition design and production, publications, 

materials, outside specialists, and contractual services. Donor/sponsor-designated 

funds cover costs related to specific projects and programs.
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COMMUNICATIONS

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019 

ENACTED 23 2,839 26 4,306 0 235 0 0

FY 2020

ENACTED 23 2,839 34 4,620 0 0 0 0

FY 2021

REQUEST 23 2,947 34 4,530 0 0 0 0

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Office of Communications and External Affairs (OCEA) consists of 

four departments: the Office of Public Affairs (OPA); the Office of Government 

Relations (OGR); the Office of Visitor Services (OVS); and the Office of Special 

Events and Protocol (OSEP).

The OCEA manages the Smithsonian brand strategy, coordinates brand 

marketing and oversees internal communications. Office resources support the 

Strategic Plan by training staff about the Institution’s priorities and objectives, and 

informing them about important initiatives, thereby enabling the Institution to 

better execute its mission. Accordingly, the OCEA is responsible for 

implementing the Smithsonian brand strategy, both internally and externally, so 

that the Institution reaches and engages more people with its mission. By 

improving internal communications to more effectively and efficiently inform staff 

of Institution-wide policies, initiatives, and events, the OCEA encourages crossPerformance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 17 1,996 17 2,080 0 84

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 6 843 6 867 0 24

Total 23 2,839 23 2,947 0 108

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
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unit collaboration to help the Smithsonian better achieve its strategic goals and 

core mission. 

The OPA coordinates public relations and communications with museums, 

research centers, cultural resource centers, and offices to present a consistent 

and positive image of the Institution. The Office supports the Strategic Plan by 

advancing the Institution’s objectives, connecting people with Smithsonian 

experts, research, exhibitions, and public programs, and by working with 

conventional media outlets and social media. The OPA connects to online 

audiences by overseeing content such as Visitor Information, Events, Exhibits, 

and Encyclopedia Smithsonian on the Institution’s central website. The Office 

also administers content on Newsdesk, the Smithsonian’s online newsroom, and 

on central Smithsonian social media accounts. In addition, the OPA works with 

units throughout the Institution to establish and maintain professional 

communications guidelines and standards.

The OGR is the liaison between the Smithsonian Institution and the 

federal Government. This includes members and staff of the U.S. House of 

Representatives and Senate appropriations and oversight committees and other 

congressional offices, the White House, the Office of Management and Budget,

and various federal agencies. The Office supports the Institution’s overall 

Strategic Plan by explaining the accomplishments, relevance, and wealth of the 

Smithsonian’s offerings to the Congress and the Administration. The OGR also 

works with other Smithsonian offices, informing them of federal-sector activities, 

tracking legislation pertinent to them, showcasing their exhibits, programs and 

discoveries for interested congressional offices, and managing their requests for 

high-ranking Government officials to participate in official Institution events.

The OVS is the main Office dedicated to designing, orchestrating, and 

improving visitors’ experiences with the Smithsonian. The Office enables the 

Smithsonian’s mission through its activities as the primary point of contact for 

Smithsonian visitors and volunteers. Office resources support the Strategic Plan 

by administering products and services that broaden visitor access to 

Smithsonian public programs and services.

The OSEP participates in strategic decision making for advancing the

Institution’s goals by identifying event opportunities which will help the 

Smithsonian achieve its objectives, and also helps plan special events to extend 

the reach of the Institution and energize its representation.

The FY 2021 budget request includes $108,000 for necessary pay and other 

related salary costs for existing staff funded under this line item.
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MEANS AND STRATEGY

The OPA allocates resources for national and international media publicity 

and to expand minority relationships through targeted media outlets. As the 

Smithsonian Office with primary responsibility for extending the Institution’s 

communications message to online audiences, the OPA manages content on the 

Institution’s central website, Newsdesk, and on the central Smithsonian social 

media accounts. The OPA works with units throughout the Institution to establish 

and maintain professional communications guidelines and standards. The OPA 

also produces Smithsonian Science, an online blog devoted to scientific 

research.

In addition, the OPA initiates and responds to all media inquiries in a 

timely manner with accurate, concise information, and generates story ideas for 

the media, featuring Smithsonian experts, exhibitions, research, and programs. 

In terms of new initiatives, the OPA also has a leading role in coordinating the 

rollout of the Institution’s One Smithsonian: Greater Reach, Greater Relevance, 

Profound Impact Strategic Plan and many other programs, as well as appeals for 

private support.

The OVS designs and administers systems that visitors use regularly to 

plan and enjoy their visits, as well as systems that enable Smithsonian staff to 

better aid on-site visitors. The OVS administers the Smithsonian Information 

Center at the Castle Building, the outdoor visitor information kiosks adjacent to all 

museums and galleries, Web applications, and selected publications. In addition, 

the OVS oversees a comprehensive visitor feedback system that includes the 

general Smithsonian email address, a telephone call center, comment cards, and 

surveys. 

The OVS also works with relevant units to deliver products and services 

which help their staff understand and meet the needs of their specific audiences. 

The OVS systematically analyzes visitor behavior, trends and insights, and 

delivers pertinent findings to museum and research center teams whose projects 

will affect how visitors experience the Smithsonian and get the most out of their 

time in our facilities. The OVS recruits and trains highly qualified, motivated, and 

diverse volunteers to engage with visitors and help Smithsonian staff conduct

research projects. The OVS also increases retention of volunteers by offering 

personal enrichment, award, and recognition opportunities. 

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support salaries and 

benefits of personnel and other related costs. In addition, these funds support 

information dissemination, outreach, publications, and general operations.
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INSTITUTION-WIDE PROGRAMS

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 0 16,784 0 0 0 0 0 0

FY 2020

ENACTED 0 23,284 0 0 0 0 0 0

FY 2021

REQUEST 0 23,284 0 0 0 0 0 0

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in impactful scientific research and discovery 0 1,300 0 1,300 0 0

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 0 966 0 966 0 0

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 0 10,600 0 10,600 0 0

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 0 8,197 0 8,197 0 0

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Information Technology

Improve the Institution's information technology 

systems and infrastructure 0 2,221 0 2,221 0 0

Total 0 23,284 0 23,284 0 0

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
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BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

Beginning in 1993, Congress has approved the creation of the following Institutionwide funding programs:

• Research Equipment Pool

• Information Resources Management Pool

• Latino Initiatives Pool 

• Collections Care and Preservation Fund

• Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool

• American Women’s History Initiative Pool

In 1993, Congress approved the Smithsonian’s reallocation of funds to create two 

Institution-wide funding programs: the Research Equipment Pool (REP) to support the 

units’ needs for state-of-the-art research equipment, and the Information Resources 

Management (IRM) Pool to systematically address information technology needs 

throughout the Institution. The Institution first received funds in FY 1995 to support the 

development of a third Institution-wide program, this one for Latino initiatives, including 

research, exhibitions, and educational programming. In FY 1998, Congress approved a 

$960,000 increase to the IRM Pool specifically dedicated to collections information 

systems’ needs. The FY 2006 appropriation included an increase of $1 million to establish 

the Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF). The CCPF provides resources for the 

highest priority collections management needs to improve the overall stewardship of the 

national collections. The FY 2016 appropriation included an increase of $400,000 to 

establish the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool (APAIP) to explore and share the 

contributions of Asian Pacific Americans to the American Experience. More recently, In FY 

2018, Congress approved a $2,000,000 increase to Institution-wide programs in support of 

the new American Women’s History Initiative (AWHI). Congress also approved increases to 

the Smithsonian Institution-wide programs in FY 2020, including $100,000 to the REP, 

$200,000 to the IRM Pool, $3,000,000 to the Latino Initiative Pool, $200,000 to the APAIP, 

and $3,000,000 to the AWHI.

MEANS AND STRATEGY — RESEARCH EQUIPMENT POOL ($1,300,000)

The Smithsonian’s ambitious research agenda requires appropriate equipment to 

achieve its goal of Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research. This basic equipment 

infrastructure requires regular maintenance, upgrades, and routine replacement. With the 

current allocation, the Institution will continue striving to prioritize and address the many 

research needs throughout the Smithsonian community. REP funds have enabled 

Smithsonian museums and research centers to undertake groundbreaking research in 

numerous areas. For example, genomics is offering new opportunities for exploring 

biodiversity. To be successful, biodiversity genomics requires a set of cutting-edge genetic 

technologies such as next-generation sequencing. Similarly, the Institution’s efforts in 

materials conservation have been greatly enhanced by using highly specialized equipment 

that has enabled conservators to better identify the age and provenance of artifacts as well 

as improve the preservation of fragile materials. Investing in equipment and maintenance 
169

contracts will allow the Smithsonian to better leverage its collections and expertise in these 

important areas of research.

MEANS AND STRATEGY — INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT POOL

($3,187,000)

Digitization funding directly supports the Smithsonian’s ambition to serve a national 

and international audience online, offering open access to important collections that are not 

currently on exhibit, and fulfilling the need to document collections for improved inventory 

control. Creating a portfolio of rapid-capture prototypes to capture some of the Institution’s 

most commonly held collection materials will help establish an infrastructure for 

standardized high-throughput digitization that brings the Smithsonian one step closer to 

sharing its vast collections with the world. Therefore, this funding supports the 

Smithsonian’s mission for the “diffusion of knowledge.”.

The IRM Pool supports network operations and server administration. Specifically, 

the requested funds are used for:

• upgrades and enhancements to the Smithsonian’s information technology 

infrastructure;

• contractor support in the Network Operations Center;

• services of Active Directory and desktop migration technicians;

• network hardware/software maintenance; and

• delivery of Smithsonian digital assets to the public.

MEANS AND STRATEGY — LATINO INITIATIVES POOL ($5,000,000)

To achieve the strategic goals of Enhancing Interdisciplinary Research and 

Understanding and Impacting 21st Century Audiences, the Latino Initiatives Pool (LIP)

provides funding for projects that support Latino programs and focus on U.S. Latino 

contributions to science, history, and culture. Pool funds have been used to support 

exhibition and collections development, public and educational programs, research and 

publications, digital content, and Fellowships and internships.

Projects are selected on a competitive basis as recommended by a peer review 

panel from proposals that demonstrate cost-effective deployment of pool funds, as well as 

coordination with other Smithsonian resources and external funding. Since its creation in 

1995, the LIP has provided more than $32.6 million in funding to more than 560

Smithsonian programs and projects.

In addition, the Latino Curatorial Initiative has supported 10 Latino curators and eight

curatorial assistants at various Smithsonian units. The Initiative was designed to increase

Latino representation and scholarship at the Smithsonian. Furthermore, the expanded 

funding of the LIP has broadened the Smithsonian’s outreach efforts nationwide. This

includes an increased number of traveling exhibitions, public and educational programs,

and institutional partnerships. These funds ensure that Smithsonian content is available to 
170

more visitors throughout the country and the world, including audiences using digital 

platforms. 

The LIP funding will continue to be directed to Smithsonian leadership and 

professional development programs as well. An example of this is the Smithsonian Latino 

Center’s Latino Museum Studies Program (LMSP), which now boasts a national alumni 

network of more than 300 professionals and scholars, some of whom are currently 

employed at the Smithsonian. Programs such as the LMSP play an important role in 

creating an extensive pool of qualified museum professionals and cultural specialists at

universities, museums, and cultural centers which also collaborate with the Smithsonian. 

The Smithsonian is also working toward opening the first exhibition and public 

program space in the National Museum of American History dedicated to the U.S. Latino 

experience. With a major gift from the Molina family and other private donors, along with 

LIP funding, this 4,500-square-foot gallery is scheduled to open in the fall of 2021. The 

Molina Family Latino Gallery will present stories of discovery, identity, migration, 

innovation, entrepreneurship, and success to millions of diverse, intergenerational visitors.

MEANS AND STRATEGY — COLLECTIONS CARE AND PRESERVATION FUND 

($8,197,000)

Collections stewardship is a key component and core priority of the Smithsonian’s 

Strategic Plan. Assembled throughout the Institution’s history, Smithsonian collections are 

fundamental to carrying out the Institution’s mission and serve as the intellectual base for 

scholarship, exhibition, and education.

Currently, Smithsonian collections total 155 million objects and specimens; 162,300 

cubic feet of archives; and 2.1 million library volumes that include irreplaceable national 

icons, examples of everyday life, and scientific material vital to the study of the world’s 

natural and cultural heritage, covering subjects from art to zoology. The proper stewardship 

of the collections is essential to the nation’s research and education infrastructure, enabling 

researchers to address such significant challenges as the spread of invasive species and 

the loss of biological and cultural diversity and its impact on global ecosystems and 

cultures.

To achieve the strategic goal of Preserving Our Natural and Cultural Resources, the 

CCPF provides essential resources to make targeted improvements in the accountability, 

documentation, care, preservation, storage, and accessibility of the Smithsonian’s vast and 

diverse collections. With this funding, the Smithsonian continues to strategically address

important Institution-wide collections care needs in a pragmatic and systematic manner,

based on sound collections assessment data, innovative collections care methodologies, 

economies of scale, and project-driven activities, including collections moves, re-housing,

and digitization. Smithsonian senior leadership acknowledges that an effective strategy for 

addressing our shared collections challenges depends on a coordinated, Institution-wide 

approach. Holistic collections-level management has enabled comprehensive 
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improvements which benefit the greatest number of collection items and collecting units in 

an efficient, practical, and cost-effective way.

Collections Physical and Digitization Assessments

In FY 2012, the National Collections Program (NCP) and the Digitization Program 

Office (DPO) developed and implemented an Institution-wide assessment tool — the 

Collections and Digitization and Reporting System (CDRS) — to annually assess the state 

of collections’ physical condition and their digitization, establish priorities, identify areas 

where improvements are needed, measure progress, and provide a practical framework for 

the allocation of limited resources. Based on the collections’ physical assessment results, 

the Smithsonian has used the centralized CCPF to achieve targeted improvements in the 

preservation and accessibility of collections, ranging from national icons to biomaterials, in 

the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible.

The NCP has strategically directed central collections care resources to specific 

collections across the Institution to improve substandard aspects of collections care to an 

acceptable level and meet professional standards. Working closely with the DPO, the NCP 

has provided essential resources to support the collections care activities required for the 

success, efficiency, and completion of numerous DPO-supported, unit mass-digitization 

projects. In addition, these funds have enabled staff to correct specific collections 

management deficiencies identified in the Smithsonian’s Inspector General audit 

recommendations; facilitate collections moves from substandard facilities and conditions; 

replace obsolete, substandard storage equipment; support the management and 

preservation of the Smithsonian’s cryo-collections; improve the preservation and 

management of time-based media, digital art, and audiovisual collections across the 

Institution; and strengthen Institution-wide collections emergency management and 

professional development.

Collections Space Planning

In FY 2015, the Smithsonian completed a multi-year, Institution-wide collections 

space planning initiative, culminating in the Collections Space Framework Plan (CSFP), 

that included a first-of-its-kind survey of existing collections space conditions, representing 

more than 2.1 million square feet of space, or 18 percent of total Smithsonian building 

space. The survey provided a snapshot of collections space conditions and rated the 

quality of collections space construction, storage equipment, accessibility, environmental 

conditions, security, and fire safety. The CSFP includes recommendations and a 30-year 

implementation plan for addressing current and projected pan-Institutional collections 

space requirements in a strategic, integrated, and collaborative manner. The plan is a road 

map to guide short- and long-term facilities, real estate, and collections care project 

decisions, and provides renovation and construction strategies that address unacceptable 

collections space conditions, allow for decompression of overcrowded collections to make 

them more physically accessible, anticipate future collections growth, and reduce reliance 

on leased space for collections storage.
172

To address near-term space requirements, the implementation of the CSFP

includes: (1) the completion of the decontamination of collections in Garber Buildings 15,

16, and 18, including processing, re-housing, and temporary storage in Building 37; (2) the 

construction of Pod 6 at the Museum Support Center to relocate at-risk collections from the 

Paul E. Garber Facility, and several Mall museums, as well as provide essential temporary 

swing and permanent collections space for the National Museum of American History 

(NMAH) East Wing public renewal project; (3) the construction of two new storage modules 

and a hangar adjacent to the Udvar-Hazy Center to support the continued move of the 

National Air and Space Museum (NASM) collections from substandard conditions at the 

Garber Facility and the immediate need for temporary collections swing space during the 

NASM Mall building renovation; and (4) the completion of the Suitland Collections Center 

master plan. The plan supports a phased development of the Suitland and Dulles 

campuses to address intermediate and long-term collections space needs.

The Smithsonian has robust Institution-wide data on the national collections, their 

physical condition, state of digitization, and current collections space conditions. When 

combined, this information provides key tools and direction for improving the management, 

care, and accessibility of Smithsonian collections. In FY 2021, the Smithsonian will 

continue to build on collections initiatives and strategically address the preservation, 

digitization, and storage space needs of collections, based on the results of the Institutionwide physical and digitization collections assessments and collections space survey. 

MEANS AND STRATEGY — ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN INITIATIVES POOL

($600,000)

To achieve the strategic goals of Enhancing Interdisciplinary Research and 

Understanding and Impacting 21st Century Audiences, and documenting the full spectrum 

of the American Experience, the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool (APAIP) provides 

funding to support research, exhibitions, educational programs, collections, digital and 

media projects, and partnerships with local and regional cultural organizations. 

Projects are selected on a competitive basis from proposals that demonstrate 

effective deployment of the pool funds, coordination with other Smithsonian resources, and 

successful external fund raising from the private sector. Since its inception in FY 2016, the 

APAIP has provided funding to more than 40 Smithsonian programs and projects, and

increased the Asian Pacific American presence in the Smithsonian’s presentation of and 

research into the American Experience. In FY 2018, the APAIP supported its first curator 

dedicated to Asian Pacific American History at the National Museum of American History. 

With the additional funding provided in FY 2020, the pool will be able to provide funding to 

more projects and contract for two curatorial assistants.

MEANS AND STRATEGY — AMERICAN WOMEN’S HISTORY INITIATIVE POOL

($5,000,000)

The American Women’s History Initiative (AWHI), first funded by Congress in 

FY 2018, will heighten the public’s knowledge and appreciation of the transformational role 
173

women have played in constructing our national identity and culture. The Smithsonian 

Institution, through AWHI, will: (1) magnify the contributions of women through exhibitions, 

programs and educational content; (2) increase the representation of women online by 

building on the Institution’s trusted resources; (3) hire curators committed to amplifying 

American women’s history; and (4) expand the national collection, both online and on site, 

to better portray how women have shaped this country. The Smithsonian Institution is 

partnering with public and private entities to secure funding for its outreach and impact. In

FY 2019, the Institution established a national advisory committee to play a key role in 

shaping the initiative and securing resources for representing the constituencies and 

stakeholders of the AWHI. The FY 2020 appropriation included an additional $3 million to 

expand the AWHI and to amplify women’s history for local, national, and international 

audiences.

In FY 2019, the American Women’s History Initiative launched the March opening of 

the Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery

(NPG). AWHI funds continued to support the development of Girlhood: It’s Complicated,

which is scheduled to open in 2020 at the National Museum of American History and then 

tour the nation. In FY 2019, AWHI funds also supported exhibits such as Tiffany Chung: 

Vietnam, Past Is Prologue at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and Reforestation of 

the Imagination at the Renwick Gallery. AWHI-funded curators worked across the 

Institution, and AWHI teams launched an ambitious digital strategy and identified key 

technology industry partners to better serve target audiences. This includes outreach to 

middle-school students, college students, and women and girls of color.

In FY 2020, the Smithsonian Institution continues to support and hire curators, 

promote research and education, and fund digital pool awards with federal allocations. We

anticipate a new acquisitions fund to help collecting units purchase important historical 

objects, personal papers, and works of art relating to American women’s history. We also 

plan to inaugurate an exhibitions pool to fund research for new women-centric exhibitions 

and expand the women’s history content of exhibitions already in the planning stages. With 

these funds, we plan to support the NPG’s new exhibition about First Ladies, which is 

scheduled to open later this year.

Presently and into FY 2021, the goal for the AWHI program includes continued 

private/federal partnership. With the combination of federal and non-federal funds, we have 

hired a women’s history digital content coordinator, who will generate online stories and 

narratives around key Smithsonian objects, and we anticipate hiring a data scientist to 

provide a more sophisticated analysis of our collections data around women’s history. We 

will use trust funds to hire a director to oversee the American Women’s History Initiative. 

Lastly, the AWHI Education and National Access Committee will continue to implement the 

#Because of Her Story internship program while developing programming and tools for 

audiences ranging from early learners through undergraduates. 
174

SMITHSONIAN EXHIBITS

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 28 3,169 19 394 0 0 0 0

FY 2020

ENACTED 28 3,169 17 276 0 0 0 0

FY 2021

REQUEST 28 3,308 17 276 0 0 0 0

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Smithsonian Exhibits (SIE) office is a full-service exhibit planning, design, 

and production shop supporting Smithsonian public exhibitions that connect the 

American people and international audiences with the richness of Smithsonian content 

and collections. SIE is the Smithsonian-wide exhibit resource available to all 

Smithsonian museums, research centers and Affiliates and, in partnership with 

colleagues throughout the Institution, delivers the highest quality exhibit design, 

interpretive writing, editing, project management, graphic production, fabrication, 

installation, and 3D services.

To achieve the strategic goal to Understand and Impact 21st Century 

Audiences, the SIE will continue to focus on its core mission of planning, designing,

and producing exhibitions for the Institution. Clients with full, limited or no design or 

production capabilities can use the SIE for complete or partial exhibition services, 

including exhibit development, design, refurbishing, signage, acrylic casing, cabinetry, 

model making, crating, and artifact mounting.

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 24 2,579 24 2,698 0 119

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 4 590 4 610 0 20

Total 28 3,169 28 3,308 0 139

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
175

The SIE fosters collaboration among units by providing expert consultation, 

especially in the early stages of exhibition planning. With a broad array of skills, the 

SIE exhibit specialists’ network across the Smithsonian, enabling the creation of more 

compelling exhibits that connect the American people to their history as well as their

cultural and scientific heritages.

For clients who seek specialized exhibition-related services, the SIE will 

continue to develop digital interactive and multi-media services and expand its 

expertise in computer-controlled production and automated modeling technologies

such as 3D scanning and printing. In addition, the SIE will provide opportunities for 

Smithsonian colleagues to take advantage of its state-of-the-art facility, allowing 

trained staff to work with the specialized equipment.

The SIE’s Object Storage Facility (OSF) offers secure, climate-controlled 

storage for artifacts during production. The SIE, in its work to advance the strategic 

goal to Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences, and the Smithsonian’s 

expansive collections, will continue to support exhibitions in the S. Dillon Ripley Center 

concourse, as well as in the Commons, Schermer, and Great Hall galleries in the 

Smithsonian Castle.

The SIE also conducts forums for exhibit staff throughout the Smithsonian to 

inspire creativity, innovation, and collaborations which result in cutting-edge 

exhibitions and technological advances. The SIE is expanding its skills in interpretive 

master planning and exhibition development services to include prototyping and 

interactive development for diverse design projects.

The FY 2021 budget request includes $139,000 for necessary pay and other 

related salary costs for existing staff.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

As the Institution’s most comprehensive producer of exhibits, the SIE is 

dedicated to providing its Smithsonian clients with first-class exhibition design, editing, 

production, and installation services. Each year, the SIE plans, designs and produces 

approximately 100 projects, large and small, for almost every office and museum in 

the Smithsonian. 

In FY 2021, most SIE resources will stay focused on achieving strategic goals

to Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences and Enable Cost-Effective and 

Responsive Administration by:

• improving the quality of exhibition planning, design, production, and installation 

services;

• increasing and maintaining staff knowledge and expertise in state-of-the-art 

technology, techniques, and advances in the exhibition field, and upgrading 

equipment to support emerging trends;

• cross-training staff within the SIE to share expertise and maximize efficiencies;
176

• demonstrating new exhibition design technologies to Smithsonian units; and

• promoting exhibition excellence, unit sharing of resources, and advancement of 

exhibitions as an interpretive medium throughout the Smithsonian Institution.

The SIE will accomplish these objectives by focusing exclusively on exhibitrelated work, freeing up SIE staff with specialized experience to concentrate on the 

planning, design, and production of museum exhibits. Building on well-established, 

collaborative relationships with other Smithsonian design and production staff, the SIE

will continue to play a strong role in sharing its expertise with other Smithsonian units. 

These initiatives will result in a more informed and expert staff that can do more to

maintain the Smithsonian’s leadership in the field of exhibition design and production.

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support SIE salaries and 

benefits for project management, design, and exhibit specialists, as well as general 

operations, equipment services, and maintenance requirements.
177

MUSEUM SUPPORT CENTER

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019 

ENACTED 18 1,906 0 1 0 0 0 0

FY 2020

ENACTED 18 1,906 0 1 0 0 0 0

FY 2021

REQUEST 18 1,967 0 1 0 0 0 0

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Museum Support Center (MSC) is the Smithsonian’s principal off-site 

collections preservation and research facility. Located in Suitland, Maryland, the

facility houses more than 77 million objects, or 55 percent of the Institution’s 

irreplaceable national collections, primarily from the National Museum of Natural 

History (NMNH). Other Smithsonian museums using the facility include the 

National Museum of American History, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture 

Garden, the Freer and Sackler Galleries, the National Museum of African Art, the 

National Postal Museum, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and 

the National Zoological Park. External agencies storing collections at the MSC

include the Walter Reed Biological Unit (WRBU), and the National Institutes of 

Health.

The collections at MSC are used to support scientific and cultural research 

for essential Government functions such as food and transportation safety, 

border security, criminal investigations, forensics, national defense, the 

evaluation of environmental disasters, cancer research, and much more.

The MSC accommodates collections with a variety of state-of-the-art 

equipment: collections in cabinets; mobile shelving for biological specimens 

preserved in alcohol; meteorites in nitrogen atmosphere; tissues and film in 

mechanical and nitrogen-vapor freezers; high-bay storage for oversized objects 

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 18 1,906 18 1,967 0 61

Total 18 1,906 18 1,967 0 61

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
178

such as totem poles, boats, and large mounted mammals; and large mobile 

racks for storing art works.

The facility includes four buildings, including a greenhouse, laboratory and 

oversized storage area in addition to the main building. These facilities house 

laboratories for Smithsonian scientists and other federal agencies, such as the 

WRBU. These laboratories focus on molecular systematics, ancient DNA, 

conservation, and other specialized research. The MSC supports contracted 

maintenance services and required calibration for much of the specialty 

collections preservation, laboratory equipment and safety systems, such as 

environmental chambers, freezers, nitrogen systems, reverse osmosis water 

systems, and oxygen-detection systems. The MSC staff provides project 

planning and construction coordination, collections care, safety and emergency 

management, access and logistical support, as well as administrative and 

shipping services.

The FY 2021 budget request includes $61,000 for necessary pay and 

other related salary costs for existing staff funded under this line item.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

To support the Smithsonian strategic goal of Preserving Our Natural and 

Cultural Heritage, the MSC will work to improve the stewardship of the national 

collections. The FY 2021 funding will be used to further enhance pest 

management, improve storage of hazardous collection materials, and assist 

museum staff in improving storage of collections at MSC. Additionally, with base 

funding the MSC will focus on integrating collections support and shipping 

functions. Shipping has become more complex and dynamic with the fast 

expansion of e-commerce, international sanctions, customs and duties changes,

and security threats to transportation systems. Irreplaceable objects are often 

received or sent out through loan programs. The integration of collections 

support and shipping staff will allow the Smithsonian to mitigate risks to the 

collections and museums by ensuring compliance with both national and 

international rules and regulations, including oversight of prohibited items.

In FY 2021, MSC staff will continue to support maintenance of the national 

collections and the research equipment needed to protect staff and collections, 

including projects to upgrade old environmental control systems for collections 

spaces. In addition, the MSC staff will support Smithsonian Facilities to replace

aging HVAC equipment and do a comprehensive study of the electrical 

infrastructure. Both projects will improve and update support systems and 

laboratory spaces at the facility. Staff will continue to work on space reallocations 

and collections improvement projects.
179

MUSEUM CONSERVATION INSTITUTE

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 22 3,359 0 74 4 598 0 0

FY 2020

ENACTED 22 3,359 0 58 3 634 0 0

FY 2021

REQUEST 22 3,503 0 4 3 477 0 0

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in impactful scientific research and discovery 7 1,140 7 1,180 0 40

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 1 123 1 133 0 10

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and disseminate 

information to the public 1 157 1 163 0 6

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 1 106 1 108 0 2

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 8 1,145 8 1,212 0 67

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 4 688 4 707 0 19

Total 22 3,359 22 3,503 0 144 

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
180

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute (MCI), located in Suitland, 

Maryland, is the center for specialized technical collections research and conservation 

for all Smithsonian museums and collections. The MCI combines knowledge of 

materials and the history of technology with state-of-the-art instrumentation and 

scientific techniques to provide technical research studies and interpretation of artistic, 

anthropological, biological, and historical objects. Through its Protecting Cultural 

Heritage and Preventive Conservation Programs, and by participating in the 

Smithsonian’s signature Preparedness and Response in Collections Emergencies 

(PRICE) program, the MCI responds to the threats facing cultural heritage in multiple 

and complex ways. This includes: analyzing and consulting on preservation 

environments; developing less invasive and damaging storage, display, and 

conservation techniques; and supporting U.S. agencies and the museum community in 

identifying illicitly trafficked cultural heritage artifacts and objects. For example, the MCI 

works with the U.S. Department of State on a highly successful training program at the 

Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage in Erbil, which supports 

the rescue and recovery of Iraqi and regional cultural heritage artifacts.

The MCI, as the only Smithsonian resource for technical studies and scientific 

analyses for most of the Smithsonian’s collections, brings unique analytical capabilities 

to Smithsonian researchers, including a central mass-spectrometry instrument core and 

advanced technological capabilities for analyzing biomolecules. These services are 

available to Smithsonian units at no charge. In addition to responding to requests for 

consultations from within the Smithsonian, the MCI handles requests from affiliates and 

outside organizations, such as the White House, U.S. Congress, U.S. Department of 

Homeland Security — Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Department of State, and 

many other federal, museum, and academic organizations.

The FY 2021 budget request includes $144,000 for necessary pay and other 

related salary costs for existing staff funded under this line item.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

To achieve the strategic goal of Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research, the MCI 

will collaborate with the Smithsonian’s scientific researchers and research centers and 

provide increased technical and research assistance to Smithsonian arts and 

humanities researchers, collections, and museums. The MCI will initiate, facilitate, and 

support technology transfer for the Smithsonian’s collaborative research projects by

using biomolecular mass-spectroscopy, including biological isotopes and proteomics 

(i.e., the large-scale study of proteins; particularly, their structures and functions). The 

MCI will also conduct fundamental research into mechanisms of degradation and 

biodeterioration, preserve cultural heritage, and harness new technologies. The MCI’s 

research programs will cross boundaries between Smithsonian units as well as support 

all of the Institution’s signature programs and Institution-wide stakeholders. The MCI will 

also support the conservation and heritage science fields through publications, hosted 
181

symposia, presentations, invitation-only seminars, lectures, and its website, to 

disseminate the results of its research programs.

In FY 2021, the MCI will continue to develop its biomolecular mass-spectrometry 

and proteomics capabilities as a part of the Smithsonian’s central research 

infrastructure. Proteomics is an area of rapid growth in biological and medical research 

that is being driven by advances in molecular separation and mass-spectrometry 

technology. Along with genomics, the field has potential for rapid acquisition of data that 

speeds the discovery and identification of organisms, the linking of genotypes and 

phenotypes, and the development of novel biomolecular markers. Proteomics, in 

tandem with genomics, is expanding our understanding of biological and ecological 

functions. These capabilities will allow the MCI to gather more information from 

Smithsonian collections, cultural objects, and biological specimens, and to learn more 

about their materials, their origins, and the causes of their deterioration.

To achieve the strategic goal of Expanding Digital Technologies, the MCI will 

provide improved digitization support for making Smithsonian research and collections 

accessible in ways that broaden public access to collections, exhibitions, and outreach 

programs. The MCI will conduct advanced research and development into effective and 

economical digital imaging technologies that are appropriate for Facebook, Twitter, 

YouTube, Flickr, blogs, mobile applications, and virtual reality. The MCI will achieve the 

Smithsonian’s goal of reaching one billion people by revitalizing the MCI webpages to 

engage 21st-century audiences and to highlight the Institute’s large, visionary, 

interdisciplinary research and scholarly projects. The MCI will make its own research 

products and records secure and accessible through network SharePoint workflows and 

Smithsonian digital research repositories, such as SIdora and Smithsonian Research 

Online.

To achieve the strategic goal of Understanding and Impacting 21st Century 

Audiences, the MCI will provide reference services and disseminate information to 

professionals and the public. The MCI’s technical information office will continue serving 

the museum and cultural heritage management communities, museum studies 

students, and the public. The technical information office answers direct inquiries and 

distributes general guidelines in printed and electronic formats, handling more than 800 

information requests annually. The MCI will continue to enhance its digital and social 

media to increase the impact of the Institute’s research and outreach programs. The 

MCI, in collaboration with Smithsonian museums and Affiliates, will offer public 

programs to present the results of MCI research, heighten awareness of the problems 

of preserving cultural heritage, and gain information about the nature and scope of 

problems that the Institute’s clients encounter. The MCI will also collaborate with 

Smithsonian museums and Affiliates to offer media events, printed and online materials, 

presentations, workshops, and demonstrations to reach new audiences, especially 

those that will be targeted by the Institution’s newest museums.

In addition, to achieve the goal of education, the MCI will engage and inspire 

diverse audiences, focusing on training higher-education students and professionals. 
182

The MCI will continue to promote career development for Smithsonian conservators and 

other collections care providers through colloquia, symposia, and workshops, as well as 

distance-learning opportunities. The MCI will continue to offer internships and 

Fellowships for students pursuing careers in conservation and conservation science, as 

well as support diversity programs inside and outside of the Smithsonian, which are 

seeking to attract students from a wider variety of backgrounds to pursue conservation 

and conservation science careers.

In particular, the MCI will participate in initiatives with Historically Black Colleges 

and Universities (HBCUs) and other local and national partners to highlight cultural 

heritage and conservation as possible career paths. Through its partnership in Science 

and Engineering in Arts, Heritage, and Archaeology (SEAHA), housed at the University 

College, London, the University of Oxford, and the University of Brighton, the MCI is 

supporting advanced training for museum professionals who want to learn new methods 

of digital documentation for cultural heritage collections and obtain new tools for 

evaluating museum storage environments.

In keeping with this goal, the MCI is providing in-kind support and leading a 

partnership with the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage 

program to train local communities in the rescue and recovery of regional cultural 

heritage. The crisis caused by ISIS endangered irreplaceable world cultural heritage, 

and efforts require consistent support to help the local citizenry recover from the 

destruction wrought by ISIS and ensure that these treasures are safe and preserved.

Currently, an interagency agreement with the Department of State and other grants are 

supporting salvage and recovery at the important archaeological site of Nimrud and 

other major cultural heritage sites in Iraq. The Smithsonian continues raising additional 

funds for operations and expanded programs at the Iraqi Institute. Given adequate 

support, the Institute can become a regional center to educate the local population in 

the preservation of cultural heritage.

To achieve the strategic goal to Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage, the 

MCI will support Smithsonian museums and research centers in their efforts to improve 

stewardship and scholarship of the national collections and will disseminate collections

information to the larger museum community and the public. To this end, MCI is chairing 

the new committee, Council of Conservators and Conservation Scientists, that seeks to 

share best practices, current research, and laboratory facilities and equipment across 

the Institution. In addition, the MCI will pursue collaborative conservation treatment 

projects with other Smithsonian units to provide conservation guidance and analytical 

technical consultations to the art and history museums for their more challenging and 

unique objects. The Institute has a proven track record of establishing scientificallybased environmental standards for museum collections, detecting unsafe conditions 

and materials for museum exhibition and storage, and solving biodeterioration problems 

— including those that involve buildings and monuments. The MCI is expanding its 

research in preventive conservation by developing new tools and partnerships that aid 

in understanding and avoiding deterioration caused by environmental factors. By cochairing the Smithsonian Collections Space Committee’s new preservation 
183

environments subcommittee and participating in the PRICE team, the MCI supports the 

development of best practices in collections care across the Institution. Through 

continued development of the photograph and paper conservation lab, the MCI will 

support conservation and research for the Smithsonian’s fragile and at-risk 

photographic collections. The MCI will continue its study of the assessment and 

remediation of collection hazards. 

In addition, the MCI will focus on using less invasive and damaging materials and 

procedures for collections conservation, reflecting the importance of incorporating 

energy-efficient and “green” materials and practices into the Institute’s work. Through 

continuing communication and interaction with museum conservators, the MCI will 

identify special training needs and research projects, and will develop research and 

symposia to address the most urgent collections preservation needs, such as 

preventive conservation in museum environments (involving light, temperature, 

humidity, and pollutants), and museum hazards (such as pests and pesticides).

To achieve the strategic goal of Enabling Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration, the MCI will support an efficient management infrastructure. The MCI 

will use the Smithsonian’s Strategic Plan and its own strategic plan to properly allocate 

its budgetary and human resources, and to secure additional financial resources for its 

high-priority programs. Resource allocations will be tracked against performance 

metrics in each of the strategic areas, and against the needs and goals of the 

Smithsonian’s museums and research centers. The MCI will encourage staff to 

participate in budget-performance integration, succession management, and leadership 

development programs. In addition, the MCI will continue to implement and 

communicate efficient, rational, and creative operational and administrative practices 

which enable staff to advance the Smithsonian mission in a manner that reflects 

transparency and the Smithsonian’s status as a public trust.

Finally, the MCI will maintain an efficient, collaborative, committed, innovative, 

and accountable workforce through leadership development, evaluation, and support of 

staff, and the recruitment, selection, and development of diverse, highly skilled 

employees. The MCI will promote diversity in working with the Institution’s employees, 

Fellows, interns, volunteers, and vendors. The MCI will also continue to improve 

communications with internal and external stakeholders in both the public and private 

sectors.

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — Annually, the MCI receives nonappropriated 

resources from gifts and endowments, grants and contracts, discretionary income, and 

business ventures. These sources provide funds for specific programs and projects in 

research, education, and outreach designated by the donor/sponsor, and for general 

activities at the discretion of the director of the MCI. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation 

challenge grant provides a restricted endowment of $5 million, with an annual payout of 

approximately $300,000. The funds generated by the endowment will remain in the MCI 

budget to strengthen conservation science research.
184

SMITHSONIAN LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 115 14,258 15 2,539 7 1,551 0 0

FY 2020

ENACTED 115 14,458 16 2,538 8 1,611 0 0

FY 2021

REQUEST 115 15,292 16 2,584 8 1,692 0 0

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in impactful scientific research and discovery 20 3,298 20 3,457 0 159

Engage in vital arts and humanities research 26 3,253 26 3,442 0 189

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 18 2,151 18 2,284 0 133

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Exhibitions 0

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 1 109 1 117 0 8

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 1 105 1 113 0 8

Public Programs

Provide relevant reference services and desseminate 

information to the public 5 431 5 459 0 28

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 33 3,459 33 3,689 0 230

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 11 1,652 11 1,731 0 79

Total 115 14,458 115 15,292 0 834

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
185

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives (SLA) was formally established 

with the approval of Congress in FY 2020 through the integration of Smithsonian 

Libraries and Smithsonian Institution Archives. FY 2021 will provide the 

opportunity to fully integrate the operations of the two units under a unified 

budget and leadership operations. The creation of SLA is a timely opportunity to 

develop a new organization with redefined priorities to better help the 

Smithsonian meet existing and new challenges.

The SLA serves as the institutional memory of a unique cultural 

organization and is responsible for ensuring institutional accountability. SLA's 

archival collections document the history of the Smithsonian, from its founding in 

1846 to the present, and support the Smithsonian community, scholars, and the 

public by acquiring, evaluating, and preserving the records of the Institution and 

related documentary materials. Accordingly, SLA manages the care, storage, 

and retrieval services for the Institution’s records in a wide variety of analog and 

digital formats. These permanent records are safeguarded and preserved in 

leased, specialized environments in facilities in Washington, DC; Landover, 

Maryland (Pennsy); and Iron Mountain in Boyers, Pennsylvania. Additionally, 

research library collections are held in the SLA’s network of libraries from the 

Republic of Panama to New York City. 

The library research collections play a dynamic role in advancing scientific 

and cultural understanding. Collections acquired and managed by SLA on behalf 

of Smithsonian researchers provide them with the resources and infrastructure 

needed to participate in the cycle of scholarly communication. SLA develops 

policies, provides guidance for managing and preserving the Institution’s vast 

archival collections, and offers a range of reference, research, and recordkeeping services. The expert staff who manage and preserve these collections 

are a crucial resource for research and education communities at the 

Smithsonian, within the United States, and around the world.

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $834,000 for 

necessary pay and other related salary and administration costs.

MEANS AND STRATEGY 

The core activity for FY 2021 will be to fully integrate the two existing units 

into the combined Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. Under the guidance of a 

new director of SLA, the integration strategy will incorporate the following areas:

• Finance and Administration. The combined SLA will leverage and 

extend existing financial resources for maximum value to the Smithsonian. 

Streamlining financial services and providing Smithsonian administrators 

with clear spending plans and resource needs will clarify SLA finances. 
186

The SLA administration will develop and sustain a skilled and engaged 

workforce that can succeed and thrive in an ever-changing environment; it 

will nurture and foster the development of talented archivists, librarians, 

and staff as well as develop an organizational culture of innovation, 

service, and collaboration.

• Digital Infrastructure. In addition to re-factoring and envisioning a 

combined sustainable digital infrastructure to support SLA collections and 

services, the SLA digital infrastructure will grow to support expanding 

modes of research, scholarly communication, and public outreach. Key 

areas will include linked data systems and services which will help 

connect Smithsonian museum collections with SLA collections, research 

data management programs, and digital preservation. SLA will participate

in the Smithsonian Open Access Initiative.

• Collections. Both library and archives collections have long been a core 

component of scholarly research and knowledge creation. The scholarly 

communications cycle remains firmly based in library and archival 

research collections even while those collections are increasingly moving 

to a digital and online environment. Legacy physical library and archives 

collections will remain an important component of the overall Smithsonian 

culture and means of conducting deeper research. The official records of 

the Institution under the stewardship of trained archivists provide depth to 

Smithsonian history as well as fulfill legal requirements. SLA will build on 

and establish new processes and support structures to ensure we can 

select, acquire, preserve, and provide access to the full spectrum of 

research materials.

• Education and Internships. SLA will expand its current engagement 

across the Smithsonian’s broader K–12 educational initiatives and 

continue expanding service to the unit-level education departments as well 

as support central Smithsonian education programs. Existing SLA 

internship programs will benefit from central SLA program management,

and SLA will expand the diversity of the intern community and aspire to 

100 percent funding of all internship opportunities.

• Internal Management and Relationship Building. SLA will build upon 

the collaborative environment found at the Smithsonian to continue to 

introduce staff across the Institution to relevant data sets and digital tools 

and services. SLA will foster enhanced communication between 

technology staff inside the SLA as well as across the Smithsonian. There 

will also be renewed efforts to streamline and develop more effective 
187

communication about the array of services offered to different

stakeholders.

• External Collaborations. SLA will build on existing national and global 

networks to promote Smithsonian resources for the public and the 

scholarly community. Robust involvement with organizations such as the 

Digital Public Library of America, the Society of American Archivists, the 

Biodiversity Heritage Library, the Coalition for Networked Information, 

Wiki-data information, and others promote not just SLA collections and 

services but provide a gateway for the Smithsonian to reach a broader 

community. SLA will build on existing tools (e.g., Smithsonian Research 

Online and Smithsonian Profiles) as well as relationships with federal 

agencies (and libraries) around such topics as open science and public 

access to federally funded research and data. 

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds help defray the 

costs of providing archival and information services to Smithsonian units, support

outreach (including publications, social media, and public programs), and 

fundraising efforts. The funds also support the work to manage and preserve the 

collections of the Institution and efforts to provide professional conservation 

expertise throughout the Smithsonian, to other institutions, and to the public. In 

FY 2021, SLA will continue to raise funds through its own advancement efforts. 

The even deeper cataloguing of collections and compelling stories provided by 

the combined SLA will provide further advancement opportunities. SLA continues 

to build upon its education program, with special emphasis on creating content 

for K–12 learners, and includes education among its established priorities of 

acquisitions, conservation, digitization, internships, Fellowships, and exhibitions. 
188

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 105 52,509 18 4,022 1 225 0 0

FY 2020

ENACTED 107 54,447 18 3,681 0 0 0 0

FY 2021

REQUEST 107 56,110 18 3,681 0 350 0 0

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) provides vision, leadership, policy, 

applications, services, and oversight associated with managing and operating leading-edge

information technology (IT) solutions for the Institution’s strategic priorities, as well as for

the Smithsonian’s many museums and research and cultural centers.

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in impactful scientific research and discovery 4 1,648 4 1,681 0 33

Expand Digital Technologies

Digitization and Web Support

Provide improved digitization and Web support 15 4,720 15 4,844 0 124

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 11 2,653 11 2,744 0 91

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities operations and provide 

a safe and healthy environment 10 1,917 10 2,000 0 83

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 23 12,806 23 12,997 0 191

Information Technology

Improve the Institution's information technology 

systems and infrastructure 44 30,703 44 31,844 0 1,141

Total 107 54,447 107 56,110 0 1,663

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
189

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $1,663,000. The increase 

includes $887,000 for necessary pay and other salary-related costs for existing staff, and 

an increase of $776,000 to cover higher communication costs, which are both justified in 

the Fixed Costs section of this budget submission.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

The OCIO will use best practices in the implementation, management, and 

operations of information technology to enhance the “increase and diffusion of 

knowledge” and achieve the Institution’s strategic goals, Greater Reach, Greater 

Relevancy, and Profound Impact. The OCIO collaborates with industry partners, cultural 

organizations, academia, and the public to develop innovative solutions for research

and digitization challenges, and to realize the vision of creating a Virtual Smithsonian.

The following strategies are cross-cutting and central to the Smithsonian’s 

strategic plan and mission of connecting Americans to their history and heritage, as well 

as to promote innovation, research, and discovery in science:

• Leverage commercially available and open-source technologies to provide digital 

platforms for the Institution to increase public access to digitized collections and 

research data;

• Use state-of-the-art, secure information systems to modernize financial, human 

resources, facilities management, collections, education, and research 

processes;

• Replace network equipment, servers, desktop computers, and scientific 

workstations on an industry best practice life cycle to increase reliability and 

improve the security of information systems and the data that they contain;

• Maintain and enhance the Institution’s telecommunications infrastructure to 

provide reliable, secure, and cost-effective voice and data communications 

systems that support Smithsonian missions;

• Meet federal requirements for providing timely and accurate financial information; 

• Increase the use of data science and artificial intelligence to drive innovation in 

research and collections management in a cost-effective manner;

• Invest strategically in creating a standard mass-digitization process that enables 

replicable, cost-effective, high throughput, and high-quality 2D digitization for all 

Smithsonian priority collections. Digitization efforts to implement this process 

have resulted in digital images for 3.8 million collection objects to date, thereby 

doubling the rate of digitization at the Smithsonian;

• Develop automation processes to scale up our 3D digitization efforts while 

ensuring that our 3D data models remain durable over time; and

• Continue to improve and refine the Institution’s IT Security Program.

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support salaries and 

benefits costs of personnel and other related costs of the OCIO. Donor/sponsordesignated funds cover costs related to some 3D digitization projects and a portion of 

the biennial Digitization Fair that opened to the public for the first time in FY 2017.
190

ADMINISTRATION

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR 

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019 

ENACTED 189 36,255 205 44,752 12 10,771 2 604

FY 2020

ENACTED 198 36,924 213 45,717 19 9,859 2 670

FY 2021 

REQUEST 202 38,714 217 46,748 26 11,149 2 675

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Smithsonian Institution Administration program provides vision, 

leadership, policy, and oversight associated with managing and operating the

Institution’s museums and research centers. Administration includes executive 

leadership provided by the offices of the Secretary and Board of Regents; the 

Deputy Secretary/Chief Operating Officer, the Under Secretary for Museums and 

Culture, the Under Secretary for Science and Research, the Under Secretary for 

Education, and Under Secretary for Administration. Other central activities include

human resources, diversity, financial and contract management, and legal services.

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enhanced Interdisciplinary Research 

Research

Engage in vital arts and humanities research 0 0 0 0 0 0

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 0 0 1 150 1 150

Education

Engage and inspire diverse audiences 1 398 4 909 3 511

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Collections

Improve the stewardship of the national collections 3 494 3 514 0 20

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 194 36,032 194 37,141 0 1,109

Total 198 36,924 202 38,714 4 1,790

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
191

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of 4 FTEs and

$1,790,000. This includes $1,140,000 for necessary pay and other related salary 

costs for existing staff funded under this line item and $650,000 and 4 FTEs for 

programmatic increases.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

The Smithsonian will continue to use best practices in management to 

enhance its mission for the “increase and diffusion of knowledge” and to achieve 

the Institution’s goals while translating James Smithson’s 19th century vision into a 

modern 21st century reality. The following strategies are cross-cutting and central 

to performing the Smithsonian’s mission and also help promote innovation, 

research, and discovery:

• Ensure the financial strength of the Smithsonian and provide the Institution with 

effective and efficient financial, contracting, and management support services, 

including reliable financial evaluation, auditing, and reporting.

• Provide oversight of the Smithsonian budget process as it is developed and 

executed to support the operating and facilities capital programs of the 

Institution, establish and enforce budgetary policies and procedures, and ensure 

that sufficient resources enable the Institution to achieve its goals.

• Conduct a comprehensive enterprise risk-management program to identify, 

monitor, and mitigate risk at all levels.

• Provide leadership and guidance for Institution-wide collections initiatives, 

policies, and programs to ensure the proper stewardship of the national 

collections.

• Support the Institution’s Board of Regents and its committees.

• Develop and implement necessary internal controls as recommended by the 

Board of Regents’ Governance Committee, which involves strengthening noncollections property management and meeting increased demands for 

acquisition of goods and services.

• Provide legal counsel to the Board of Regents and the Institution on issues such 

as museum administration, intellectual and real property, collections 

management, contracts, privacy and cyber security, finance, employment, 

ethics, conflicts of interest, international agreements, and requests for 

information.

• Manage human resources, foster diversity, hire a skilled workforce in a timely 

manner, and align human capital with the Institution’s goals and performance 

objectives. Conduct ongoing workforce and performance gap analyses, 

strengthen training and leadership policies and programs, develop succession 

planning, and evaluate and improve assessment tools for human resources 

performance.
192

• Provide leadership and oversight for all policies, programs, and activities of the 

Institution’s museums and research centers by attracting, recruiting, and 

retaining leaders with superior talent.

• Provide leadership, support, and resources to enable educators across the 

Smithsonian to share the depth and breadth of the Smithsonian’s collections 

and research; connect with diverse audiences; invite dialogue and exchanges;

and build on and contribute to best practices in teaching and learning. 

• Increase the Latino Center’s public and educational outreach in collaboration 

with Smithsonian units and affiliated institutions by developing exhibitions and 

programs on Latino history, art, culture, and scientific achievement; support 

Latino research, collections, exhibitions, publications, online content, and related 

projects; promote professional development opportunities for Latino youth

leaders, emerging scholars, and museum professionals; continue innovation in 

new media, including the Latino Virtual Museum, social media, mobile 

applications, and educational games; and continue developing a Smithsonian 

Latino Gallery at the Arts and Industries Building.

• Support the Smithsonian’s commitment to teaching Americans about their rich 

heritage by increasing the capacity and resources of the Asian Pacific American 

Center (APAC) to produce exhibitions and programs on Asian Pacific American 

history, art, and culture; continue innovative online initiatives that provide 

educational, programmatic, and outreach materials nationwide; and form 

national partnerships with museums and research centers to enrich the 

Smithsonian’s collections, research, and activities relating to Asian Pacific 

Americans.

• Establish and maintain partnerships with the various Administration agencies 

and initiatives related to underrepresented groups, such as Asian Americans 

and Pacific Islanders, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges 

and Universities, the American Association of University Women, and Tribal 

Colleges and Universities, and perform the necessary public outreach to 

enhance the Smithsonian presence in these communities.

• Coordinate efforts among the Secretary’s executive diversity committee, Office 

of Human Resources, and Office of Equal Employment and Minority Affairs to 

ensure compliance with federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 

mandates, promote the Smithsonian’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

and workforce diversity policies, (in accordance with Smithsonian Directive [SD] 

214, Equal Opportunity Program), and advocate for the use of small, 

disadvantaged, woman- and veteran-owned businesses throughout Smithsonian 

procurement operations (in compliance with the recently revised SD 216,

Supplier Diversity Program).
193

EXPLANATION OF CHANGE

The FY 2021 budget request includes a programmatic increase of 4 FTEs 

and $650,000 as described below:

Asian Pacific American Center (APAC) (+$150,000, +1 FTE) — The 

Smithsonian has a long tradition of raising private funds to design and install new 

exhibitions. For generations, these exhibitions have been the reason why millions of 

visitors have come to the National Mall. However, the Institution requires federal 

funding to manage these exhibits and to leverage the private funding necessary to 

install and maintain these exhibitions. The APAC requires additional resources to 

continue to expand the Asian Pacific American presence in the Smithsonian’s 

presentation of and research into the American experience.

Office of the Under Secretary for Education (+$500,000, +3 FTEs) —

The Smithsonian has a long history of being a trusted educational resource. The 

Institution provides authentic and inspiring science, technology, engineering, art, 

and mathematics (STEAM) experiences for teachers and students by drawing on 

the scientific and engineering assets of the federal Government, including 

scientists, laboratories, satellites, museums, and research centers. Accordingly, 

the Smithsonian plans to translate our nation’s treasures and stories through 

digital technology and cultivate the next generation of STEAM and history 

learners by sharing high-quality education content aligned with national 

education priorities. As we continue to make new discoveries, we must share 

them with future generations. The Institution is dedicated to ensuring we are a 

national leader in K–12 education, bringing the research and collections of the 

Smithsonian into classrooms across the nation through comprehensive, 

standards-aligned programming. Educational materials based on our science and 

scholarship can profoundly affect how students and teachers engage in 21stcentury learning.

In addition, with the leveraging of private funds, the Institution plans to

develop a model of the future of education and museums, through a collaboration 

with the Washington, DC public school system. Sharing that work nationwide and 

abroad while drawing on best practices and lessons learned will expand our 

impact and help us make the most effective use of our resources.

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support salaries and 

benefits of personnel and other related costs. General trust funds are also used to 

support administrative activities, information dissemination, outreach, publications, 

and fund raising. Donor/sponsor-designated funds support costs related to 

programs and projects such as scientific research, family days, and leadership 

development.
194

OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 24 3,538 0 0 0 0 0 0

FY 2020

ENACTED 27 4,077 0 0 0 0 0 0

FY 2021

REQUEST 27 4,231 0 0 0 0 0 0

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ FY 2020 FY 2021 Change

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Enable Cost-Effective and Responsive 

Administration

Management Operations

Enable efficient and responsive administrative 

infrastructure 27 4,077 27 4,231 0 154

Total 27 4,077 27 4,231 0 154

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, requires the Office of the

Inspector General (OIG) to conduct and supervise audits and investigations relating

to programs and operations of the Smithsonian Institution (SI) that are, in the

judgment of the Inspector General, necessary or desirable. Furthermore, the Act

requires the Inspector General to transmit a budget submission specifying the

aggregate amount of funds requested for the operations of the OIG, including the

amount needed to satisfy training requirements, as well as any resources necessary

to support the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE).

The FY 2021 budget request includes $154,000 for necessary pay and other

related salary costs for existing staff funded under this line item.

MEANS AND STRATEGY

The resources requested will be used to fund salaries, benefits, and support

costs for staff engaged in audits, investigations, and other activities necessary to

accomplish the OIG’s mission.

This request includes $60,000 for required training, and $14,000 needed to

support the CIGIE.
195

The Office of Audits conducts audits of the Smithsonian’s existing and

proposed programs and operations to help improve their efficiency and

effectiveness. To align its oversight responsibility with available resources, the Office

develops an annual audit plan by conducting a comprehensive risk assessment of

the Smithsonian’s programs and operations and seeking input from Smithsonian

stakeholders and Congress. The audit plan also includes mandatory audits, such as

the annual financial statement audits that the OIG oversees.

The Office of Investigations pursues allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, gross

mismanagement, employee and contractor misconduct, and criminal violations of

law that have an impact on the Smithsonian’s programs and operations. It refers

matters to federal, state, and local prosecutors for action whenever the OIG has

reasonable grounds to believe there has been a violation of criminal law. The Office

of Investigations also presents any evidence of administrative misconduct to

Smithsonian senior management for appropriate disciplinary action.

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — The OIG does not receive any nonappropriated funds.
196

FACILITIES MAINTENANCE

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 483 79,545 0 0 0 0 0 0

FY 2020

ENACTED 492 114,545 0 0 0 0 0 0

FY 2021

REQUEST 492 115,999 0 0 0 0 0 0

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Facilities Maintenance program is responsible for the maintenance and 

repair of the infrastructure of just under 14 million square feet of owned and leased 

buildings and structures, and 43,000 acres. This includes 19 museums, nine 

research centers, three cultural centers, and the National Zoological Park. The 680 

buildings and structures range from historical, one-of-a-kind landmarks and wellknown museums to critical research and state-of-the-art laboratories that support 

global efforts to save wildlife species from extinction and ensure long-term and 

cutting-edge ecological research. The primary role of Facilities Maintenance is to 

identify and manage facility reliability risks that could adversely affect the 

Institution’s operations, and preserve and conserve our national treasures. This 

broad role can be divided into three smaller, more manageable roles: system 

downtime elimination, risk management, and system (or asset) life-cycle 

management. The goal is to prevent failure and ensure full functionality of 

essential systems and maximize their useful life cycle.

The Facilities Maintenance program maintains all building systems 

(including HVAC, elevators/escalators, electrical, plumbing, roofing, interiors, 

exteriors, and the building structure), as well as the grounds maintenance 

associated with upkeep of Smithsonian sites. The program also maintains 

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Facilities and Safety

Deliver an aggressive and professional maintenance 

program 486 106,768 486 108,182 0 1,414 

Security

Provide world-class protection for Smithsonian 

facilities, collections, staff, visitors and volunteers 6 7,777 6 7,817 0 40 

Total 492 114,545 492 115,999 0 1,454 

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
197

systems related to electronic security, screening equipment, radio systems, and 

perimeter barrier equipment. The mission of Smithsonian Facilities (SF) is to 

provide world-class services and stewardship by building, operating, maintaining, 

and ensuring a safe, secure, and healthy environment to enhance the 

Smithsonian experience for all visitors. The Smithsonian attracts about 25 million

visits annually.

As new and renovated museum and research center spaces open, 

maintenance requirements rise due to increased square footage, technological 

advances, and the growing number of infrastructure-supporting systems. For

example, with the opening of the National Museum of African American History 

and Culture and the full renovation of the Renwick Gallery of Art, the total 

number of assets requiring periodic maintenance increased to more than 22,000. 

These new assets added new functionality, new technology, and a new, more 

complex level of maintenance requirements.

SF benchmarks its maintenance staffing levels with other museums and 

professional organizations to ensure that resources are being effectively 

deployed. These include meeting standards set by the Leadership in Educational 

Facilities (referred to as APPA), the International Association of Museum Facility 

Administrators, and the International Facility Management Association. The 

Smithsonian is a past recipient of the prestigious Award of Excellence from the 

APPA in recognition of the Institution’s excellence in facilities management and 

its efforts to establish measurable maintenance performance standards and 

staffing levels. The well-documented goal is to maintain Smithsonian facilities at 

APPA’s Level 1 standard for building maintenance, which is referred to as 

“Showpiece Facility.” In a “Showpiece Facility,” equipment and building 

components are fully functional and in excellent condition, service and 

maintenance calls are responded to immediately, and buildings and equipment 

are regularly upgraded, keeping them current with modern standards and usage. 

According to the National Research Council (NRC), “an appropriate 

budget allocation for routine Maintenance and Repair for a substantial inventory 

of facilities will typically be in the range of 2 to 4 percent of the aggregate current 

replacement value (CRV) of those facilities.” The CRV for the Smithsonian is 

$8.77 billion, including the National Museum of African American History and 

Culture. With this budget request, the Institution’s maintenance budget would be 

at $116 million.

With the increased funding received in the FY 2020 enacted appropriation, 

substantial improvements are being made in addressing the deferred 

maintenance backlog. The FY 2021 budget request will sustain this increased 

level of maintenance funding. Although the maintenance budget is below the two 

percent recommended CRV level, the total FY 2021 maintenance funding, along 

with the Facilities Capital request, will enable the Institution to continue to make

progress in addressing the maintenance backlog issue.
198

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $1,454,000 for necessary 

pay and other related salary costs for existing staff. 

MEANS AND STRATEGY

To support the Institution’s strategic goal to Preserve Our Natural and Cultural 

Heritage, SF continues an aggressive, long-range facilities maintenance and repair 

program, using the reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) approach, which is a widely 

accepted industry philosophy that incorporates a cost-effective mix of predictive, 

proactive, preventive, and reactive maintenance practices. With existing resources, the 

Smithsonian will operate at the lower end of APPA’s maintenance Level 3 “Managed 

Care,” which provides a minimal level of preventive maintenance and building system 

reliability to ensure that proper environmental conditions are maintained for collections 

and public expectations are met. 

The Smithsonian’s goal is to reduce its maintenance backlog, currently estimated 

at $1.02 billion, through the coordinated efforts of its maintenance and Facilities Capital 

programs. Proper maintenance funding prevents the accelerated degradation of building 

systems and components that would increase the frequency and cost of major repairs. 

Through proper preventive maintenance, the Institution can address deficiencies in a 

timely manner and realize the originally anticipated useful life of facility systems and

avoid the accelerated degradation of its infrastructure. The amount of deferred 

maintenance backlog is directly related to the rate of deterioration expressed as a 

percentage of CRV per year according to A Framework for Facilities Lifecycle Cost 

Management, a standards document created by a committee of representatives of the 

National Association of State Facilities Administrators, the Association of Higher 

Education Facilities Officers/APPA, the Federal Facilities Council, and the International 

Facility Management Association. The document further states, “while degradation rates 

vary as a function of multiple variables such as building type, current conditions, 

geographic location..., a benchmark deterioration rate for a well-maintained facility is 

approximately 2.5 percent per annum.” The average degradation rate for Smithsonian 

facilities from 2014 to 2018 was 5.8 percent, more than double the “well-maintained 

facility” rate. 

The deferred maintenance backlog poses a risk to our most prized national 

treasures. Environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, and water intrusion

are the Smithsonian’s most important facilities management issues. The Institution’s top 

three systems with the highest deferred maintenance backlog are roofs, exterior, and 

HVAC, which are essential systems for controlling temperature, humidity and water 

intrusion.

Smithsonian Facilities will continue to identify efficiencies in managing its existing 

resources to improve its current level of maintenance service in the most cost-effective 

manner possible. In addition, SF will continue to improve electronic security systems 

and physical security measures which protect the Institution’s facilities, collections, staff, 

visitors, and volunteers. With the increased funding level for FY 2020 and FY 2021, the 

Institution can make progress in addressing the top priorities listed above.
199

FACILITIES OPERATIONS, SECURITY, AND SUPPORT

APPLICATION OF OPERATING RESOURCES

FEDERAL 

APPROPRIATIONS

GENERAL 

TRUST

DONOR/SPONSOR

DESIGNATED

GOV’T GRANTS

& CONTRACTS

FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

FY 2019

ENACTED 1,286 230,248 18 3,165 2 334 0 0

FY 2020

ENACTED 1,286 236,163 20 2,843 2 355 0 0

FY 2021

REQUEST 1,286 242,697 20 2,890 2 280 0 0

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The mission of Smithsonian Facilities (SF) is to provide world-class 

services and stewardship by building, operating, maintaining, and ensuring a 

safe, secure, and healthy environment to enhance the Smithsonian experience 

for all visitors. The Smithsonian receives millions of visitors annually. 

The Facilities Operations, Security, and Support (OSS) program operates, 

secures, and supports the Smithsonian’s physical infrastructure in partnership 

with Smithsonian program staff. It provides operational security and support

services for approximately 13 million square feet of owned and leased facilities, 

including 19 museums, nine research centers, three cultural centers, and the 

National Zoological Park.

Resources within OSS support facilities operations, including activities 

such as custodial work; fire protection; building system operations; grounds care 

and landscaping; snow removal; pest control; refuse collection and disposal; 

Performance Objective/ 

 Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Understand and Impact 21st Century Audiences

Exhibitions

Offer compelling, first-class exhibitions 4 474 4 474 0 0

Preserve Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities operations and provide a 

safe and healthy environment 601 151,593 601 155,376 0 3,783

Security

Provide world-class protection for Smithsonian 

facilities, collections, staff, visitors and volunteers 681 84,096 681 86,847 0 2,751

Total 1,286 236,163 1,286 242,697 0 6,534

FY 2020 FY 2021 Change
200

motor vehicle fleet operations and maintenance; security services; and safety, 

environmental, and health services. Resources also support facilities planning, 

architectural and engineering design, as well as postage, utilities, and central 

rent costs.

The FY 2021 budget request includes an increase of $5,205,000 for 

necessary pay and other related salary costs for existing staff, and a net increase of 

$1,329,000 for utilities and other costs, which is justified in the Fixed Costs section 

of this budget submission. 

MEANS AND STRATEGY

SF will pursue the Institution’s strategic goal to Understand and Impact 

21st Century Audiences by continuing to develop exhibits and public programs 

for horticulture, architectural history, and historic preservation.

To support the Institution’s strategic goal to Preserve Our Natural and 

Cultural Heritage, OSS base resources will focus on meeting the growing 

operational requirements of the Institution’s facilities. SF will continue to 

effectively and efficiently use resources to operate and secure facilities and 

grounds, and to provide safe, attractive, and appealing spaces to meet program 

needs and public expectations. In addition, SF will continue benchmarking the 

Institution’s custodial staffing and service levels with other museums and 

professional organizations, including Leadership in Educational Facilities 

(referred to as APPA). SF is committed to measuring performance and staffing 

levels to ensure that the highest affordable levels of cleanliness, as well as 

efficient operations, are maintained. 

The Institution is committed to achieving APPA’s appearance Level 2 (out 

of 5) cleaning standard, referred to as “Ordinary Tidiness.” This level of 

appearance will provide an acceptable level of cleanliness that meets public 

expectations. With current resources, on average, SF achieves appearance 

Level 3, “Casual Inattention.” This level of appearance ensures a generally clean 

and odorless environment. 

In addition to providing the highest level of facilities care, the Smithsonian 

is equally committed to maintaining the highest levels of security. In support of 

that goal, the Institution is continuing a strategic security staffing analysis to 

determine exactly how many security and law-enforcement staff are needed at 

each of the Smithsonian’s major facilities. The ongoing analysis includes pay

levels, training/skill requirements, armed versus unarmed coverage, and the 

appropriate mix of Smithsonian officers versus contract security guards.
201

SF continues its commitment to ensure that Smithsonian employees have 

a safe and healthy workplace by creating a culture that embraces and promotes 

zero injuries; provides professional services promoting a culture of health and 

wellness; and ensures that all Smithsonian facilities comply with local building 

codes, environmental regulations, and management best practices. 

NONAPPROPRIATED RESOURCES — General trust funds support salaries

and benefits, and other related costs. Donor/sponsor-designated funds cover 

costs related to Smithsonian programs, such as horticulture operations,

architectural history, and historic preservation projects.
202
203

FACILITIES CAPITAL

FY 2019 Enacted $303,503,000

FY 2020 Enacted $253,700,000

FY 2021 Request $290,000,000

Federal Resource Summary by Performance Objective and Program Category

Performance Objective/ FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021

Program Category FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000

Facilities and Safety

Improve Smithsonian facilities 

operations and provide a safe 

and healthy environment

48 295,003 48 245,200 48 277,250

Security 

Provide world-class 

protection for Smithsonian 

facilities, collections, staff, 

visitors, and volunteers

0 8,500 0 8,500 0 12,750

Total 48 303,503 48 253,700 48 290,000

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Facilities Capital Program underpins the Smithsonian’s mission and 

represents an investment in the long-term interest of the nation. It is intended to help the 

Smithsonian provide modern facilities, often within our country’s national historic and 

culturally iconic buildings, which satisfy public programming needs, facilitate worldrenowned research efforts, and house our priceless national collections. 

In the Facilities Capital Program, revitalization involves making major repairs or 

replacing declining or failed infrastructure to address the problems of advanced 

deterioration. Once completed, these projects will enable the Smithsonian to avoid the 

failures in building systems that can create hazardous conditions for visitors and staff, 

harm animals, damage collections, and cause the loss of precious scientific data. 

The Institution uses the National Research Council’s (NRC) Facility Condition 

Assessments to calculate a Facilities Condition Index (FCI) rating. The FCI is the 

industry standard for the analysis of the condition of a facility or group of facilities that 

may vary in terms of age, design, construction methods, and materials. The FCI is 

calculated by dividing the sum of the deferred maintenance (based on the assessed 

condition ratings) of eight building systems (roofs, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, 
204

conveyance — i.e., elevators and escalators — interior, exterior, and structure) by the 

Current Replacement Value (CRV) of the facilities. FCI values of less than 90 percent 

are considered “poor.” The most recent overall FCI rating for Smithsonian facilities 

worsened from 88.9 percent in 2017 to 88.4 percent in 2018, remaining in the “poor 

category.” This percentage is based on an estimated overall CRV of $8.77 billion and 

an estimated $1,021 million value of the Smithsonian’s backlog of deferred 

maintenance and repair.

The individual FCI of nine of the 11 Smithsonian facility zones has declined. 

Two facility zones fell from the good to fair category, five remained in the poor 

category, two remained in the fair category, and two zones are in the good category. 

The NRC’s recommended goal of “good” is a rating of 95 percent or greater. 

Accordingly, to reverse a continuing downward trend in the FCI of many essential

facilities, reduce the growing backlog of deferred maintenance and capital repairs, and 

achieve an FCI equal to or greater than 95 percent, so that our national treasures and 

cultural properties are preserved and enhanced for generations to come, the 

Smithsonian requests $290 million for its Facilities Capital Program in FY 2021.

Funding for facilities’ routine maintenance and minor repairs is included in the 

Institution’s Salaries and Expenses request. These resources are used to realize the 

intended design life and full economic value of Smithsonian facilities and to protect the 

Institution’s investment in revitalization. 

EXPLANATION OF CHANGE

The Institution requests $290,000,000 and 48 FTEs for the Facilities Capital 

Program in FY 2021. The requested funds will enable the Institution to continue the 

major renovation project at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) and begin new 

major renovation projects needed for the Smithsonian Institution Building (the “Castle”)

and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (HMSG). Revitalization of building 

systems and infrastructure will continue at the National Zoological Park (NZP), the 

National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), the Suitland Collections Center, the 

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama, and the Smithsonian 

Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Edgewater, Maryland. These funds will also 

continue to address safety and security hazards throughout the Institution.

The following chart summarizes the Institution’s request for the highest priority

FY 2021 Facilities Capital projects. 
205

Federal Trust* Federal Trust* Congress Trust*

Enacted Estimate Enacted Estimate Request Estimate

$Millions

REVITALIZATION 

Major Projects

Arts & Industries Building 10.0

Anacostia Community Museum 0.5

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum 2.8 5.1

Donald W. Reynolds Center 1.0 3.5 1.7 3.5 0.5

Freer Gallery of Art 2.0 2.5

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden 0.7 8.5 0.8 16.3

National Air and Space Museum 210.0 50.0 135.0 53.3 55.0 60.0

NASM Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center 10.0 18.4

National Museum of American History 4.3 3.0 7.9 0.3

National Museum of the American Indian 4.0 7.5

National Museum of Natural History 3.5 1.5 13.4 0.1

National Zoological Park 15.4 5.0 25.0 7.8 25.0 3.7

Quadrangle 2.0 6.1

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory 0.9 0.8 3.4

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center 2.0 2.0 5.9 2.7

Smithsonian Institution Building (Castle) 1.5 5.0 1.0 5.0 52.5 25.0

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 1.5 1.7 1.0 4.5 0.9

Collections Space & Support Program 7.0 0.5 5.5 0.8 9.0 0.8

Fire-Alarm Panel Replacement and Transfer Switch 4.0 2.0 4.6

Multiple Site Projects and General Capital Support 18.6 14.0 16.9 2.1

PLANNING AND DESIGN 17.0 29.3 50.9

TOTAL PROGRAM 303.5 63.2 253.7 70.4 290.0 106.1

CATEGORY

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

Federal Facilities Capital Program Summary

FYs 2019 − 2021

FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021
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SUMMARY TABLES 

REVITALIZATION

Investment in revitalization projects provides for the replacement of failing or failed 

major building systems and equipment, and for major renovation projects to sustain existing 

buildings and sites. The Revitalization Program addresses critical deficiencies in the 

exterior envelope, heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC), electrical, and other 

utility systems at the Smithsonian’s older buildings. Projects also ensure compliance with 

life-safety regulations, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other codecompliance requirements, restoration, preservation and repair of historic features, and 

modernization of the buildings to support current program needs and sustain the viability of 

the Institution’s physical plant. Items listed on the Multiple Locations line are projects that 

cover multiple facilities or where the total cost of the museum and/or research center 

projects is less than $1.0 million. These projects usually involve capital repair or 

replacement of individual systems or components. 

Facility Project $000

National Air and Space Museum (NASM) Revitalize Building Envelope and Infrastructure 55,000

Smithsonian Institution Building (Castle) Revitalize Historic Core 52,500

National Zoological Park (NZP) Upgrade Living Collections Infrastructure

Improve Site Systems and Site Safety

Upgrade Fire Protection and Life Safety

Improve and Replace Building Envelopes at 

Great Cat House

Improve and Replace Building Systems: 

Amazonia Elevator

Renew Old Administration Building

Improve Long-Term Electronic/Physical Security

 Total

1,950

8,300

4,500

2,000

700

3,000

4,500

24,950

National Museum of Natural History 

(NMNH)

Upgrade Electrical Systems and Components

Upgrade Fire-Alarm Panel / Mass-Notification

Replace Rotunda Copper Roof

Modernize Elevators 32, 33, and 36

Upgrade Electronic Security (Ft. Pierce)

 Total

6,000

5,000 

1,000

900

500

13,400

National Museum of American History 

(NMAH)

Replace Center Core Finishes and Lighting

Replace MXL Fire-Alarm Panels

Improve Lower Level Workplace Pilot

 Total

3,000

2,700

2,200

7,900
207

Facility Project $000

National Museum of the American Indian 

(NMAI)

Replace Air-Handling Units (AHUs)-1 through 

AHU-4 (NY)

Replace Fire-Alarm Panels (DC)

 Total

5,500

2,000

7,500

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden 

(HMSG)

Replace Roof and Exterior Wall Panels

Modernize Elevators

 Total 

12,900

3,400

16,300

Quadrangle Refurbish Elevators and Escalator

Quad and Freer Upgrade Electronic Security 

System

Refurbish NMAfA Education Center

 Total

600

4,500

1,000

6,100

Donald W. Reynolds Center (DWRC) Replace Gallery Lighting 3,500

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 

(STRI)

Galeta, Replace and Improve Facilities (Ph 2)

Tupper, Renovate Kitchen and Dining Area

Tupper, Replace and Reinforce Library Roof

Gamboa, Refurbish Santa Cruz Building

 Total

2,500

400

300

1,300

4,500

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory 

(SAO)

Repair Roads at FLW Observatory (AZ)

Install Emergency Generator Ph 2 (AZ)

Replace PACU at SMA Control Bldg (HI)

 Total

800

600

2,000

3,400

Smithsonian Environmental Research 

Center (SERC)

Consolidate Maintenance Facilities

Install Site Infrastructure for Green Village

Implement Stormwater Management Campus 

Plan, Phase 1

 Total

4,000

1,500

400

5,900

Suitland Collections Center (multiple 

facilities)

Replace MSC Air-Handling Units (AHUs)

Replace MSC Botany Greenhouse

Upgrade Garber Fire Protection

Consolidate Garber Folklife Containers

 Total

5,000

2,000

1,500

500

9,000

Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design 

Museum (CHSDM)

Repair Miller-Fox Facade

Add Exterior Lighting, Power & Accessibility

 Total

3,000

2,100

5,100
208

Facility Project $000

Freer Gallery of Art Improve Courtyard Accessibility 2,500

Multiple Facilities Replace Fire-Alarm Panels, Install Transfer 

Switch

4,650

Multiple Locations Building projects less than $1,000,000 and 

Miscellaneous Repairs

Construction Supervision and Administration

 Total

8,900

8,000

16,900

TOTAL, REVITALIZATION PROJECTS $239,100

Smithsonian Institution Building (Castle) Design Revitalization of Historic Core 27,000

Other Facilities Planning and Design 23,900

TOTAL, FACILITIES PLANNING AND DESIGN $50,900

FY 2021 TOTAL REQUEST $290,000
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REVITALIZATION PROJECTS

PROJECT TITLE: Revitalize Building Envelope and Infrastructure 

INSTALLATION: National Air and Space Museum (NASM) — National Mall Building

LOCATION: Washington, DC

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $55,000*

PRIOR-YEAR FUNDING: $543,000*

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $0*

Total $598,000*

* Does not include funding in Facilities Planning and Design ($52 million)

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

NASM was built in 1976 to commemorate the national development of aviation and 

space flight. The 747,877-gross-square-foot building (including approximately 161,145 

square feet of exhibit galleries) preserves and displays artifacts, aeronautical and space 

flight equipment, significant historical data, and related technologies. The exhibit galleries 

hold the largest collection of historic air and spacecraft in the world and, in recent years, the 

Museum has received an average of more than seven million visitors annually.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

The exterior Tennessee Pink Marble façade of the NASM building is a feature of the 

original construction and forms the primary exterior weather seal for the envelope on all 

surfaces other than at the roofs, terraces, skylights, and window walls. The panels are 

porous, show signs of aging and, in some cases, damage in the form of visible warping 

and cracks. The current marble primary weather seal does not provide a continuous vapor 

barrier across the entire façade and the insulation is not consistent with current 

sustainable best practices and energy conservation. There is no secondary weather seal 

on the marble walls. This has created additional condensation and energy conservation 

problems.

NASM’s mechanical systems are original to the 1976 building and designed to 

support only two million visitors annually. Within six months of opening, five million visitors 

were recorded. Today, it remains the most visited museum in the United States (and 

second in the world), with between seven and eight million visitors annually. As a result, 

decades of strain on these systems have led to frequent breakdowns and failures, 

increasing costs to repair. They have exceeded their useful lifespans. The mechanical 

systems are further burdened by the deteriorated condition of the exterior façade, which 

allows moisture into the building. 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The multi-year, multi-phase building systems and envelope renovation project will 

replace the building’s marble façade, improve blast and earthquake resistance, upgrade the 

energy efficiency of the exterior envelope, replace the mechanical systems, and provide 

more secure access and egress. A primary goal for the planned HVAC replacement portion 

of the project is to provide the collections area and all occupied spaces with appropriate 
210

temperature and humidity controls. The Smithsonian requests $55.0 million in FY 2021 to 

fund construction activities, award contract(s) for artifact protection and swing space moves, 

and to prepare staff swing space.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

The Smithsonian erected a temporary covered walkway around vulnerable portions 

of the building in January of 2015 to protect pedestrians from falling objects and in case 

the exterior stone panels should fail. Pre-construction services began in January of 2017

with award of the Construction Manager as Constructor (CMc) contract. Based on the final 

construction documents, released in January of 2018, the CMc submitted a Guaranteed 

Maximum Price (GMP) in May of 2018, which was revised in August of 2018 following a 

series of value engineering proposals and scope clarifications. The construction contract 

was awarded at the GMP on August 20, 2018 and a notice-to-proceed (NTP) was issued 

on September 17, 2018. On-site mobilization activities started in the first quarter of FY 

2019 and construction activities started in the second quarter of FY 2019. By the fourth 

quarter of FY 2020, artifacts will be moved out (or protected in place) and construction will

be well under way in Zones 1 through 4-South. Construction will be complete in Zones 1 

through 4-South by the second quarter of FY 2022. Construction in Zones 4-North through 

7 will occur from the second quarter of FY 2022 through the third quarter of FY 2024. The 

following diagram provides a high-level view of the incremental sequence approach the 

Smithsonian will undertake throughout the renovation. The Smithsonian intends to keep 

approximately half of the Museum open during the project, while working on the exterior 

and interior projects in parallel by zone, as outlined below.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

During phased construction, building systems in zones yet to be renovated will 

remain open to the public and therefore must stay operational until they are ultimately 

replaced. If federal funding is delayed, the pace of revitalization work begun in FY 2018 will 

slow. The stone façade and building systems will continue to deteriorate, and the 

environmental conditions needed to safeguard the Museum’s collections and the visiting 

public will not be maintained. Building system breakdowns will become more frequent and 

unpredictable and will likely result in emergency building closures.
211
212

PROJECT TITLE: Revitalize Historic Core

INSTALLATIONS: Smithsonian Institution Building (SIB) and Arts and Industries Building 

(AIB) 

LOCATION: Washington, DC 

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $52,500* 

PRIOR-YEAR FUNDING: $0

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $551,500*

Total $604,000*

* Does not include funding in Facilities Planning and Design ($46 million)

BUILDING BACKGROUND:

The Smithsonian Institution Building, often referred to as the “Castle,” is the 

Institution’s first home and its symbolic heart. The Arts and Industries Building opened in 

1881 as the first home of the National Museum. Together, these two buildings make up the 

Smithsonian’s Historic Core. The Castle has historic architectural and institutional 

significance and is the public’s doorway to, and the symbol of, the Smithsonian Institution. 

Both buildings are listed by the Department of the Interior as National Historic Landmarks. 

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

Both buildings are in need of major revitalization work that will include new heating, 

air-conditioning, ventilation, electrical, and plumbing systems; and telecommunications, 

security, and life-safety systems. A goal of the revitalization will be to provide efficient and 

accessible space for visitors and staff. Public spaces will be restored after years of piecemeal 

remodeling that has diminished their original proportions and appearance. The last 

comprehensive refurbishment of the Castle occurred more than 50 years ago. Although the 

exterior shell of the AIB was revitalized six years ago, the interior is unfinished. 

 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: 

The Smithsonian requests $52.5 million in FY 2021 to refurbish these historic 

buildings into world-class facilities. This will include replacing or restoring all building 

elements and systems, including mechanical, electrical, plumbing, life-safety, security, 

telephone, and data systems. The Castle windows, roof, and exterior stonework will also be 

revitalized. Both buildings will be made compliant with modern construction and life-safety 

codes. Blast and seismic vulnerability will be addressed. A new, underground Central Utility 

Plant will provide mechanical and electrical infrastructure, and a newly expanded loading 

facility will improve the efficiency and safety of materials handling on the South Mall Campus. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Programming was completed in FYs 2019 and 2020. Design was initiated in FY 2020.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

If the project does not move forward, the Castle is at risk of catastrophic systems 

failure. All staff in the building will be relocated to swing space and the facility will be closed 

to visitors. The AIB will remain closed to the public.
213

PROJECT TITLE: Upgrade Living Collections Infrastructure 

INSTALLATION: National Zoological Park and Smithsonian Conservation Biology 

Institute (NZP/SCBI) 

LOCATIONS: Washington, DC and Front Royal, Virginia

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $1,950*

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $0*

Total $1,950*

* Does not include funding in Facilities Planning and Design

BACKGROUND: 

Multiple facilities, at both the 163-acre Zoo at Rock Creek Park, in Washington, DC 

and the 3,200-acre research center in Front Royal, Virginia, have major capital systems 

renewal needs due to failed and failing living collections infrastructure required to fulfill the 

mission of the National Zoological Park’s (NZP) endangered species program. These 

systems are unique and vastly different from systems required for non-living collections 

found elsewhere within our museum facilities. It is a struggle to keep the facilities current 

with constantly changing, improving, and evolving animal care codes and standards 

required to maintain accreditation by the governing body of the Association of Zoos and 

Aquariums (AZA), and by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Areas and 

systems requiring work include: improvements to animal habitats and yards; refurbishment 

of perimeter and interior separation/containment fences and barriers; human/animal safety 

separation barriers, which include shift gates, chutes, ladders, and dig barriers; predation 

and invasive species exclusion systems; highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) 

mitigation; pools/water systems: and quality improvements and controls required for 

captive animals living under human stewardship. 

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

The existing hydraulic shift animal doors at the Reptile Discovery Center (RDC), the 

Great Ape House and Think Tank buildings (home to gorillas and orangutans) at Rock 

Creek Park in Washington, DC are failed or failing, causing the doors to drift open and 

closed, risking animal escape and animal or human entrapment. In addition to being a 

safety hazard, they do not meet current codes and requirements. They must be replaced 

or modified with a new hydraulic system upgrade. In addition, funds are needed to 

upgrade living collections infrastructure to meet animal health, safety and welfare (HSW) 

requirements mandated by the AZA and the USDA and enforced with five-year cycle 

inspections, due in 2023. This infrastructure includes animal pools and primary and 

secondary containment fences, systems, and assemblies, including anti-predator 

measures to keep out local bears, coyotes, and foxes. These requirements, which are 

continually evolving, include taller fences, fence hot wire and associated electrical 

infrastructure, fence dig barriers, animal shift and human access safety gates, enrichment 

and climbing structures. These funds will also be used to upgrade multiple perimeter and 

interior containment fences at the SCBI animal yards in Front Royal, Virginia.
214

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $1.95 million in FY 2021 to upgrade living collections 

infrastructure, including $1.0 million to replace or modify the hydraulic shift animal doors at 

the Reptile Discovery Center (RDC), Great Ape House and Think Tank buildings at Rock 

Creek Park; $375,000 for animal Health, Safety and Welfare (HSW) pools and 

containment projects at Rock Creek Park; $375,000 for animal HSW pools and 

containment projects at Front Royal, Virginia; and $200,000 to upgrade perimeter and 

interior animal containment fences at Front Royal, Virginia. The shift doors at Rock Creek 

Park, in Washington, DC must be replaced or modified with a new hydraulic system 

upgrade, including new hydraulic lines, pumps, controllers, actuators, safety devices and 

door hardware. The living collections infrastructure projects will include required AZA 

and/or USDA improvements to ensure the health, safety and welfare of captive animals 

under the stewardship of the Smithsonian. This work is part of ongoing major capital 

renewal efforts to replace living collections infrastructure systems, pools and containment 

at both the Rock Creek Park and Front Royal campuses. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Previously completed living collections infrastructure projects include numerous 

animal gates, fences, and stainless steel exterior cable containment systems; dig-barriers, 

hotwire and hot grass containment improvements; chutes, commissary repairs, aquatic

filtration system and pool repairs; Kiwi and other animal cages and pens; sloped soil 

stabilization, erosion control and animal huts/gates at the cheetah yards in Front Royal; 

cushioned concrete floor coatings in hoof stock stalls at the Veterinary Hospital in Front 

Royal; installation of thermal heating and cooling systems at the quarantine holding rooms 

at the Veterinary Hospital at Rock Creek Park; installation of a clean steam humidification 

system at the orangutan holding spaces at Rock Creek Park; and predator prevention 

fencing at the Rivinnus Barn complex at Front Royal (home to endangered cheetahs, Eld’s 

deer, and extinct-in-the-wild scimitar-horned oryx antelope). 

 

 IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Failure to replace or modify the hydraulic animal shift doors at these facilities, which 

are failed or failing, causing the doors to drift open and closed (in one case, the door takes 

more than 20 minutes to close properly), will continue the increased risk of animal escape 

and animal or human entrapment, and potentially deadly accidental animal/human 

interaction. Failure to address the evolving AZA and USDA requirements for HSW pools 

and containment could result in loss of the Smithsonian’s AZA accreditation. As the 

Nation’s Zoo, the Smithsonian establishes standards for animal care both nationally and 

internationally. Other negative impacts could result in animal predation of extinct-in-thewild and highly endangered species, and animal escapes. Non-functioning pools waste

precious freshwater natural resources or result in substandard water quality levels for 

endangered species. As exemplified by these projects, failure to upgrade NZP/SCBI living 

collections infrastructure will result in operational emergency responses that are costly, 

disruptive, and preventable. In addition, not making these improvements and repairs could 

threaten NZP/SCBI’s accreditation by the AZA. The potential impact of delaying living 

collections system replacements and upgrades could result in serious harm to visitors, 

staff, and the animals in our care, along with the loss of precious scientific research data 

essential to ensuring the survival of rare and endangered species.
215

PROJECT TITLE: Improve Site Systems and Site Safety

INSTALLATION: National Zoological Park and Smithsonian Conservation Biology 

Institute (NZP/SCBI)

LOCATIONS: Washington, DC and Front Royal, Virginia

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $8,300*

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $0*

Total $8,300*

* Does not include funding in Facilities Planning and Design

BACKGROUND: 

Multiple facilities, at both the 163-acre Zoo at Rock Creek Park, in Washington, DC 

and the 3,200-acre research center in Front Royal, Virginia, have major capital systems 

renewal needs due to failed and failing living collections infrastructure required to fulfill the 

mission of the National Zoological Park’s (NZP) endangered species program. These 

systems are unique and vastly different from systems and utilities found elsewhere within 

our museums. Unlike our National Mall facilities, within the boundaries of both campuses 

of NZP/SCBI, the Smithsonian is required to operate and maintain site utilities. These 

include: domestic potable water systems and fire-suppression water distribution; 

emergency fire-hydrant systems; waste/recirculation water treatment plants for our aquatic 

exhibits: sanitary sewers and storm sewers; high-voltage power distribution systems, 

electrical sub stations, step-down transformers and emergency generators; data cabling 

and fiber networks; Federal Highway Administration traffic-rated bridges, public and staff 

area roads, curbs and gutters, public trails and walkways; public, staff, volunteer, and 

special events parking lots and pathways; stormwater management and storm flood 

mitigation/barrier systems; street light and pathway light systems; and, multiple localized 

cooling towers and chillers. Additionally, the NZP has a central boiler plant at Rock Creek

Park to generate distributed steam for heating via a combination of steam tunnels and 

direct-buried steam lines and a load-rated parking deck. At Front Royal, the SCBI has a 

natural spring/well water distribution system and a separate Front Royal city water 

distribution system. Also, at Front Royal, the SCBI has a two-acre green energy, groundmounted, photo-voltaic power-generating system and 50 miles of perimeter fence to 

maintain. In FY 2021, for the Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC site, this project will 

implement phases 3–9 of the Utility Master Plan, implement comprehensive stormwater 

management strategies, the repair or replacement of failing faux rock, and the 

replacement of the next section of the Asia Trail pavement. In FY 2021, for the Front 

Royal, Virginia campus, this project will include the revitalization of the natural spring and 

well water system and upgrades to the post area utilities phase 4 (city water, sewer, storm 

water management and electric power).

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

At Rock Creek Park, in Washington, DC, phases 3–9 of the Utility Master Plan 

includes renovations to an 80+ year-old steam plant, as well as water, telecom, electric 

power and natural gas systems, which are essential animal and human life-safety 

systems. Much of this infrastructure is obsolete and failing and therefore insufficient to 

protect and support the safety of animals, staff and visitors. These deficiencies must be 
216

addressed with appropriate upgrades to allow for the continued safe operation of the 

National Zoo. In addition, the Washington, DC Department of Energy and the Environment 

(DOEE) requested that NZP develop a 20-year stormwater management master plan to 

mitigate periodic flooding episodes. This project will initiate the implementation of this plan. 

Also, at Rock Creek Park, failing faux rock creates the potential for severe injury or death 

to animals and staff. This condition must be addressed with repairs or replacements, as 

well as warning signage and safety rails for humans and hot wires to deter animals from 

climbing on these structures. The Asia Trail pavement has deteriorated, creating tripping 

hazards for pedestrians and must be replaced. At the Front Royal, Virginia campus, the 

World War I-era natural spring and well water distribution system does not meet current 

health safety standards and must be upgraded. Aging post area utility systems, including 

city water, sewer, stormwater management and electric power, are obsolete and must be 

upgraded to avoid the risk of service interruptions, and modernized to meet current safety 

codes and standards. All of this work is part of the ongoing major capital renewal project to 

replace site utilities, including infrastructure and safety systems throughout both the Rock 

Creek and Front Royal campuses.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $8.3 million in FY 2021 to continue the NZP/SCBI’s 

major capital renewal program. For the Rock Creek campus in Washington, DC, this 

includes $2.0 million for the final phase of the repairs and replacement of the 80+-year-old 

centralized steam heat distribution system (part of the Rock Creek campus-wide Site 

Utilities Master Plan implementation), $750,000 for Phase 1 of the Stormwater Master

Plan flooding repair work, $1.25 million to repair/replace deteriorated interior and exterior 

faux rock, and $1.8 million to replace deteriorated paved pedestrian walkways at Asia 

Trail. For the Front Royal campus in Virginia, this includes $500,000 to replace the World 

War I-era natural spring and well water distribution system and $2.0 million to modernize

the World War I-era sewer and city domestic water distribution systems, as well as the 

buried electric power lines, site lighting, and fiber optic/data communications cable. This 

project will also implement code-mandated stormwater management strategies.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Visitor safety and animal containment improvement projects have been completed 

at the Lion/Tiger and Great Apes Houses and at the Zebra/Cheetah exhibit areas. Visitor 

safety/fall-protection improvements at the Giant Panda House rooftop overlook are 

complete, as are new visitor safety rails inside the Great Ape House and at the prairie dog 

exhibit. Site utilities completed to date at Rock Creek Park include steam line replacement 

of approximately 85 percent of buried piping, new electrical substations at Lot A and at the 

Lower Zoo, new site utilities serving the new Conservation Pavilion and Police Station, and 

the data and fiber backbone along Olmsted Walk. Upcoming work includes total 

replacement of 85-year-old steam and condensate return lines in the steam tunnels 

connecting the Small Mammal House to the Reptile Discovery Center and up Olmsted 

Walk to the Elephant House. The next phase of the project will focus on high-voltage 

electrical switchgear and motor control centers throughout most of the animal houses, 

followed by rebalancing the high-voltage distribution system main feeders. The site utilities 

project will continue with the steam system modernization and upgrades to the electric 

power, water, sewer and stormwater management systems. At Front Royal, Phase 1 of 

the site utilities project was completed as part of the Smithsonian/Mason School of 
217

Conservation work in 2013. Phase 2 was completed in 2017, also serving the central post 

area of the campus, and Phase 3 is currently about 60 percent complete. There are six 

more phases needed to complete site utilities at Front Royal, costing approximately $2.0 

million each. The project will provide buried power lines, and new sanitary sewers, site 

lighting, and water and backflow prevention. Additionally, the master plan requires the 

complete replacement of the 100-year-old spring water system. 

 

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Failure to upgrade NZP/SCBI site utilities, infrastructure and safety systems will 

result in operational emergency responses that are costly, disruptive and preventable, and 

if not implemented, could result in the loss of NZP/SCBI’s accreditation by the Association 

of Zoos and Aquariums. Delaying such system replacements and upgrades could result in 

serious harm to visitors, staff, and to the animals in our care, along with the loss of 

scientific research essential to the survival of rare and endangered species. At the Rock 

Creek Park site in Washington, DC, failure to replace the steam plant and upgrade the 

water, telecom, electric power and natural gas systems as part of the next phase of the 

Utility Master Plan will continue to endanger the lives of animals, staff and visitors with 

insufficient heating/cooling during cold/hot weather, and continued risk of interrupted 

water, telecom, electric power and natural gas service. Failure to begin implementation of 

the EPA requirements as delegated to the District of Columbia’s Department of Energy 

and Environment (DOEE) could result in hefty fines and penalties to the Smithsonian. 

Implementation of the DOEE-requested Stormwater Management Master Plan started in 

FY 2019 and will mitigate continued periodic flooding at vulnerable areas of the site. 

Failure to make repairs and replacements, and to implement warning systems at the 

deteriorated interior and exterior faux rock, will continue to put animals, staff and visitors at 

risk of serious injury. The failure to replace deteriorated pavement will make tripping 

hazards more likely, causing an unsafe condition for visitors. At the Front Royal, Virginia 

campus, failure to revitalize the obsolete spring and well water system will continue

contributing to a health safety hazard, and failure to modernize utilities, including sewer, 

city water, electric power, site lighting, fiber-optic communications cable, and stormwater 

management strategies, will increase the risk of disrupted service.
218

PROJECT TITLE: Upgrade Fire Protection and Life Safety

INSTALLATION: National Zoological Park and Smithsonian Conservation Biology 

Institute (NZP/SCBI)

LOCATIONS: Washington, DC and Front Royal, Virginia

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $4,500*

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $0*

Total $4,500*

* Does not include funding in Facilities Planning and Design

BACKGROUND: 

Multiple buildings, at both the Rock Creek, Washington, DC and Front Royal, 

Virginia locations, have major capital systems renewal needs due to failed and failing 

infrastructure. The facilities also do not meet current building and life-safety codes, and in 

the case of the General Services Building (GSB), require emergency structural life-safety 

repairs. The Panda House, Think Tank, Small Mammal House, and Lion/Tiger House 

need smoke control and smoke-evacuation systems. At Front Royal, many animal barns 

and outlying facilities beyond the central post area still require fire-suppression, detection, 

and alarm systems.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

At the Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC site Small Mammal House (SMH) 

maintenance staff must climb above animal cage enclosures to access electrical power 

receptacles, lighting and heat lamps positioned above the cages, risking falls into the 

animal exhibit cages below. Fall protection methods must be developed and installed to 

allow maintenance staff safe access to service these devices. The parking “Lot C” roof 

deck above the GSB has a known risk of “punching shear,” where the structural columns 

of the GSB can potentially “punch” through the parking surface above, likely resulting in 

the catastrophic collapse of the parking deck and several stories of the GSB floors below, 

causing injury or death to the people below as well as significant property damage. 

Structural reinforcement must be designed and installed to prevent this from occurring. At 

the Giant Panda House, smoke controls allowing for smoke evacuation in the event of fire 

must be installed to allow the animals, which are captive within the building, to continue to 

breathe safely. In addition, the primary containment animal-to-human separation window 

wall is failing and needs replacement to maintain separation for staff safety. At the Front 

Royal, Virginia campus, there is no fire-protection for the outlying Meade, Green Hill and 

Waller barns. In the event of fire, a fire-protection system must be installed to protect the 

animals which are held captive within these structures. This work is part of the major 

capital installation and renewal of life-safety infrastructure systems throughout both the 

Rock Creek and Front Royal campuses.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $4.5 million to address a known risk of structural failure 

at the GSB and install fall protection, fire-protection, smoke evacuation and other lifesafety infrastructure systems at both the Rock Creek Park and Front Royal campuses. At 

the Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC site, this includes $400,000 to address SMH fall 
219

hazards, $2.0 million for reinforcements to address the risk of catastrophic structural 

failure at the parking lot C / GSB, and $800,000 for a smoke-evacuation system and to 

replace the primary containment animal-to-human separation window wall at the Giant 

Panda House. At the Front Royal, Virginia site, this includes $1.3 million to install fireprotection systems at outlying animal facilities.

 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

The North Road structural retaining wall and fire-protection/life-safety systems 

were completed at the General Services Building, as was the smoke-evacuation and firesafety system at the Great Ape House. Designs for the Giant Panda House smokeevacuation system and mechanical systems improvements are complete and await 

Animal Care Science’s approval for implementation and coordination with the Giant 

Panda breeding program. Multiple projects are in the planning and design stages for the 

current Five-Year Capital Plan. 

 

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

At the Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC site, failure to install fall-protection 

measures at the SMH will continue to put maintenance staff at risk of falling into animal 

enclosures when servicing devices located above. Failure to reinforce the structure of the 

parking lot C over the GSB will continue the risk of catastrophic collapse, potentially killing 

or severely injuring staff housed below. Failure to install a smoke-evacuation system and 

replace the animal-to-human separation window wall at the Giant Panda House will 

continue to put the animals at risk of death due to smoke inhalation during fires, and put 

the staff at risk if the physical separation wall between them and the animals fails. At the 

Front Royal, Virginia campus, failure to install fire-protection systems at the outlying barns 

will continue to put the animals housed within these facilities at risk during fires. Failure to 

upgrade NZP/SCBI fire and life-safety infrastructure systems will result in operational 

emergency responses that are costly, disruptive and preventable. The potential impact of 

delaying such system replacements and upgrades could result in serious harm to visitors 

and staff, as well as to the animals in our care, along with the loss of precious scientific 

research essential to the survival of rare and endangered species.
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PROJECT TITLE: Improve and Replace Building Envelope at Great Cats House

INSTALLATION: National Zoological Park and Smithsonian Conservation Biology 

Institute (NZP/SCBI)

LOCATIONS: Washington, DC and Front Royal, Virginia

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $2,000*

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $0

Total $2,000*

* Does not include funding in Facilities Planning and Design

BACKGROUND: 

Multiple buildings, at both the Rock Creek, Washington, DC and Front Royal, 

Virginia locations, have major capital systems renewal needs due to failed and failing 

infrastructure, including building envelope roofs, skylights, window walls, exterior 

cladding, curtain walls, exterior walls, and regular and overhead doors. Many of these 

envelope systems were constructed before the 1970s-era energy crisis, before current 

thermal, air, water, and vapor barrier assemblies were invented, and some before the 

advent of indoor air conditioning. This project will renew building roofs and exteriors, 

replace failed and failing systems that are beyond their life expectancy, stop active leaks 

allowing stormwater to penetrate the interiors, causing damage and other indoor air 

quality and adverse health issues to both human and animal occupants. This project will 

provide state-of-the-art roof and wall assemblies to conserve energy by reducing heat and 

cooling loads, air infiltration, and interior condensation and mold, using current building 

technologies with energy efficient and environmentally sustainable designs. 

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

The roof assembly at the Great Cats House, which also serves as the asphalt 

paved surface pedestrian walk above, has completely failed. It is an ongoing tripping 

hazard and leaks stormwater into offices, archives, and animal holding spaces below. 

This roof and pedestrian walkway must be completely replaced to properly address these 

safety and water infiltration issues. Along with improving the integrity of the building 

envelope by replacing this roof structure, four 1970s-era air-handling units which are well 

past their service life must be replaced to adequately address chronic internal 

environment issues.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $2.0 million in FY 2021 to replace the Great Cat House 

(Lion/Tiger) roof and circular visitor path as well as four obsolete air-handling units. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

At Rock Creek Park, building envelope projects have typically been incorporated 

into larger major capital renewal projects like the LEED certified Seals/Sea Lion buildings 

on American Trail, all the animal buildings along Asia Trail One, Asia Trail Two (LEED 

Gold Elephant Trails), and the currently active LEED Gold candidate Bird House Project. 

At Front Royal, the LEED Gold Smithsonian/Mason School of Conservation project 

included a new roof and new exterior envelope, as does the currently active LEED Silver 

candidate Building 1 Bio-repository project. 
221

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Failure to replace the roof assembly and pedestrian walk at the Great Cat House 

will allow the asphalt roof/walk surface to continue to deteriorate, increasing tripping 

hazards for the visiting public and worsening water infiltration into offices, archives, and 

animal holding areas below. Failure to replace air-handling units, which are more than 40 

years old, will risk complete failure in the near future, potentially making the building 

uninhabitable until emergency replacement of long lead equipment can take place. 

Failure to upgrade these NZP/SCBI building envelope systems will result in operational 

emergency responses that are costly, disruptive, and preventable. The potential impact of 

delaying such system replacements and upgrades could result in serious harm to visitors 

and staff, as well as to the animals in our care, along with the loss of precious scientific 

research essential to the survival of rare and endangered species. 
222

PROJECT TITLE: Improve and Replace Building Systems: Amazonia Elevator

INSTALLATION: National Zoological Park and Smithsonian Conservation Biology 

Institute (NZP/SCBI)

LOCATIONS: Washington, DC and Front Royal, Virginia

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $700*

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $0*

Total $700*

* Does not include funding in Facilities Planning and Design

BACKGROUND: 

Multiple buildings, at both the Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC and Front Royal, 

Virginia locations, have major capital systems renewal needs due to failed and failing 

infrastructure, including: elevators; American with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility chair 

lifts; air-handling units; variable-air volume and terminal boxes; building automation 

controls and interlocks/interlinks with security and fire-alarm systems; chillers, duct work 

and fire/smoke dampers; actuators; controls; emergency generators and load test banks; 

emergency lighting; electrical panels; loading dock levelers and compactors; composting

stations; grease ducts and grease hoods with related dry-chemical and wash-down 

systems; heat hoods; fume hoods; laboratory exhaust systems; and specialized veterinary 

hospital systems. Many of these systems are beyond their useful life and are in need of

replacement and/or upgrades to meet current life-safety and building codes. 

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

The elevator at the Amazonia Rain Forest exhibit at Rock Creek Park in 

Washington, DC is past its useful life and is frequently out of service for repairs. To 

continue to allow code compliant public access to the exhibit, it must be completely 

overhauled with waterproof / water-resistant components above and beyond minimum 

code requirements to endure extremely wet conditions and condensation in this 

environment that simulates a high-humidity rain forest. 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $700,000 in FY 2021 to replace and refurbish all major 

components of the Amazonia Rain Forest exhibit elevator. This will include the elevator shaft, 

cab, all equipment, controllers, safety devices, cables and hoist way.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Phased refurbishment of the elevators at the Rock Creek campus began in 2012 

and will be completed with this project. Additionally, the Smithsonian partnered with the 

Department of Energy (DOE) to implement a $25 million Energy Savings Performance 

Contract (ESPC) at both campuses. This project replaced most of the least efficient 

mechanical air handlers, two chillers, and a cooling tower; replaced thousands of light 

fixtures with new energy-saving LED ones; and installed many water conservation 

measures. This project will continue the master plan implementation and provide funding 

to replace equipment not addressed via the ESPC.

 
223

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Failure to refurbish the Amazonia elevator will continue to risk complete breakdown 

of these mechanical components, especially in the harsh environment of high humidity 

necessitating the closure of this exhibit to visitors. Failure to upgrade NZP/SCBI systems 

equipment will result in operational emergency responses that are costly, disruptive, and 

preventable. The impact of delaying such system replacements and upgrades could result 

in serious harm to visitors and staff, as well as to the animals in our care, along with the 

loss of scientific research essential to the survival of rare and endangered species.
224

PROJECT TITLE: Renew Old Administration Building 

INSTALLATION: National Zoological Park and Smithsonian Conservation Biology 

Institute (NZP/SCBI)

LOCATIONS: Washington, DC and Front Royal, Virginia

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $3,000*

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $0*

Total $3,000*

* Does not include funding in Facilities Planning and Design

PROJECT BACKGROUND: 

Multiple buildings, at both the Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC and Front 

Royal, Virginia locations, have major capital systems renewal needs due to failed and 

failing infrastructure. The 2008 Comprehensive Facilities Master Plan (CFMP) calls for 

a series of major capital renewal projects to be executed in order of priority during the 

next 20–25 years. Much progress has been made renewing the failing buildings, but 

there are several buildings that still need renewal. At Front Royal, the next building in 

the master plan to be renewed is the Old Administration Building, to be followed by the 

Veterinary Hospital, Police Station, Building 2, and other major research and support 

buildings of the Central Post Area, including Residence Row and all World War I-era 

animal barns. At Rock Creek Park, buildings that still need renewal are the Reptile 

Discovery Center, to be followed by the Small Mammal House, Think Tank, Lion/Tiger 

House, Amazonia, Science Building, Veterinary Hospital, Visitors Center, and Holt 

House. 

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

This project will continue the major renewal projects in the Old Administration 

Building at Front Royal. The HVAC system in this facility is outdated and currently fails 

to keep occupants warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It needs to be upgraded 

to new standards and current code requirements. Other building systems, such as 

plumbing, electrical, fire protection and security systems, are also outdated and must 

be renewed, along with the HVAC system, to avoid the risk of service disruptions which 

could make this facility uninhabitable unless these systems are modernized to meet 

current safety codes and requirements. 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $3.0 million in FY 2021 to renew the Old 

Administration Building at Front Royal. The HVAC system will be upgraded to new 

standards and current code requirements. In addition, plumbing, electrical, fireprotection and security upgrades will be made to comply with current codes and 

requirements. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

At Rock Creek Park, major capital and long-term master plan renewal projects 

completed to date include the Seals/Sea Lions Facility along American Trail, Asia Trail 

Phase 2 “Elephant Trails,” and the Conservation Pavilion/Public Restrooms/Police 
225

Station Renovation. The Bird House is being renovated and is expected to reopen to 

the public in 2021. Additionally, multiple site utilities and visitor safety/animal 

separation projects have been completed. At Front Royal, major renewal projects 

completed to date include work on the Smithsonian Mason School of Conservation, 

with partnership funding provided by George Mason University for a new dormitory and 

dining hall. Central post site utilities phases 1 and 2 and multiple fire-protection projects 

were completed at the Veterinary Hospital, the Auditorium, Small Mammal Facility, and 

the new Administration Building renovation. The State Route 522 turning lanes were 

provided at Gates 2 and 3, along with a new main entrance guard booth and security 

access controls at Gate 2. 

 

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Failure to renew the Old Administration Building HVAC and other building 

systems will allow interior environmental conditions to continue to deteriorate to the 

point of complete failure, necessitating the closure of the building and the relocation of

staff on an emergency basis. Failure to upgrade NZP/SCBI life-safety systems and 

infrastructure will result in operational emergency responses that are costly, disruptive, 

and preventable. Delaying such system replacements and upgrades could result in 

serious harm to visitors and staff, as well as to the animals in our care, along with the 

loss of vital scientific research essential to the survival of rare and endangered species. 
226

PROJECT TITLE: Improve Long-Term Electronic and Physical Security

INSTALLATION: National Zoological Park and Smithsonian Conservation Biology 

Institute (NZP/SCBI)

LOCATIONS: Washington, DC and Front Royal, Virginia

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $4,500*

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $0*

Total $4,500*

* Does not include funding in Facilities Planning and Design

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

Multiple buildings, facilities, and perimeter fences, at both the Rock Creek Park, 

Washington, DC and Front Royal, Virginia locations, have major capital security 

renewal and upgrade needs due to antiquated or non-existent electronic and/or 

physical security systems, equipment, and perimeter fencing. Many of the facilities 

have not been updated to meet current Smithsonian Office of Protection Services 

(OPS) security codes and standards. Site security systems which need to be 

upgraded, repaired, or installed include: perimeter and interior security fences; 

automatic and motorized vehicular and pedestrian gates; bollards; traffic-rated safety 

fences; access controls; and electronic security devices such as card readers; cameras 

and motion sensors; glass break sensors; door and window contact sensors; 

emergency call stations/kiosks for visitors; animal holding areas; staff offices; control

equipment; wiring; conduits, and security panels. 

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

These projects continue the major capital renewal of security infrastructure, 

including devices, badge readers and electronic door lock interfaces, to replace the 

failed and/or failing electronic and physical security systems throughout both the Rock 

Creek Park and Front Royal campuses. The security fence project was partially funded 

in FY 2019 to include the segments along North Road from the vehicular entrance from 

Connecticut Avenue, past Lot A, the Bus Lot, Lot B, down the hill to the entrance to Lot 

C by the Boiler Plant, and from the Boiler Plant to the Lower Zoo Entrance. All new 

fencing will be able to withstand the impact of vehicles traveling at up to 50 miles per 

hour to reduce the risk of accidental and terrorism-related vehicle strikes. 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $4.5 million in FY 2021 for the following projects: 

$3.0 million to continue replacing the perimeter security fence, consolidate visitor 

entrances and bus lots, and add bollards; and $1.5 million to upgrade the Rock Creek 

and Front Royal campus-wide electronic security systems. This project will also 

address fencing segments from the Lower Zoo entrance around Kid’s Farm to the 

Stone Bridge at Amazonia. At Rock Creek Park, the project will also complete the blue 

light emergency kiosks around the Bird House plateau and will enable individual animal 

houses to receive electronic security devices, including cameras, access controls,

including door badge readers and electronic lock interfaces, glass break sensors, door 

and window sensors, and motion detectors. At Front Royal, the project will enable 

ongoing upgrades to vehicle and pedestrian gates for access controls. The project will 
227

help bring both campuses closer to full compliance with OPS security standards for 

Smithsonian’s facilities.

PROGRESS TO DATE:

At Rock Creek Park, new security panels and head-end devices have been 

installed in all major animal houses along Olmsted Walk, and all buildings were rekeyed on a new grandmaster keying system. New electronic security system devices 

and venomous snake-bite and dangerous carnivore alarm systems were completed at 

the Reptile Discovery Center. Public-staff separation projects were completed at the 

Visitor Center and elsewhere throughout the campus, and emergency blue-light call 

stations were added throughout the campus and in the visitor/staff parking lots. At 

Front Royal, emergency blue-light call stations were added throughout the Central Post 

area of the campus, all buildings were re-keyed on a new grandmaster keying system, 

the main gates 2 and 3 were secured, and a guard booth was installed at Main 

Entrance Gate 2. In addition, thousands of feet of fencing along State Route 522 was 

upgraded to meet current perimeter fencing standards, and multiple buildings had card 

readers, doors, and gates upgraded. 

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

For the first time in its 130-year history, the NZP implemented visitor screening 

during the 2019/2020 Zoolights Winter Holiday event, confirming the need to address 

security threats. This funding is for risk reduction and mitigation measures identified in 

the threat assessment report developed by the Smithsonian’s Office of Protection 

Services and associated local and federal law enforcement agencies, including 

fencing, consolidated visitor entrances and bollards. Failure to upgrade NZP/SCBI 

electronic and physical security systems and infrastructure, including the fence, 

consolidated entrances and bollards, will result in operational emergency responses 

that are costly, disruptive and preventable. The impact of delaying such system 

replacements and upgrades has already resulted in serious harm to visitors. Further 

delays in this project could result in future harm to visitors, staff and volunteers, as well 

as to the animals in our care, along with the loss of scientific research essential to the 

survival of rare and endangered species.
228

PROJECT TITLE: Upgrade Electrical Systems and Components 

INSTALLATION: National Museum of Natural History (NMNH)

LOCATION: Washington, DC

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $6,000*

PRIOR-YEAR FUNDING: $1,500*

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $2,500*

Total $10,000*

* Does not include funding in Facilities Planning and Design

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The NMNH building opened to the public in 1910. The East and West Wings 

were added in the early 1960s. Two infill buildings were constructed in the original 

building’s East and West courtyards in the late 1990s. In addition to its wide array of 

public exhibits, the 1.5-million-square-foot-building houses more than 60 million 

specimen collections (used by both resident and visiting researchers), and educational, 

scientific, and administrative facilities serving approximately 1,200 people. The NMNH is 

one of the most visited museums in the world and hosts between seven and eight 

million visitors annually. 

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

Most of the building’s electrical systems were installed in the early 1960s and 

they need major replacement. Breakdowns of the systems are frequent, repair parts are 

often difficult to find, and the systems are not code-compliant, presenting a safety 

hazard to visitors and collections. The reliability of the electrical system is compromised 

by the deteriorated condition of the antiquated switchboards, bus ducts, network 

protectors, generators, transfer switches, and distribution and branch circuit panel 

boards.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $6.0 million in FY 2021 to continue the ongoing 

renovation process, with a particular focus on upgrading the electrical systems. To that 

end, specific electrical work includes correcting all inadequate short-circuit rating 

equipment, replacing obsolete equipment, installing new dedicated life-safety panels,

and abating hazardous material encountered during this upgrade.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

As part of ongoing renovations, an exhaustive survey and analysis of current 

electrical systems was completed to inform a feasibility study. In 2018, the scope was 

expanded to include relocation of life-safety circuits to new panels and coordinate

changes with the Building Automated System. The completed contract documents are 

expected in February of 2020. For each discreet area of the building — Main Building, 

wings and courts — there is a plan for what needs to be replaced and upgraded, 

including emergency device coordination. This well-defined infrastructure renovation is 

essential to maintain the NMNH’s continued service to the public. Award of the 

construction contract is expected in July of 2020.
229

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Electrical currents introduce large amounts of destructive energy into a facility in 

the form of heat and magnetic force. The reliability and safety of an electrical system 

depend on protective devices and electrical equipment being updated regularly and 

checked for code compliance. If a building is not properly protected, equipment will be 

damaged and maintenance personnel will be at risk of injury. An upgrade is required to 

protect the Museum’s collections, staff, and visiting public. Ultimately, a compromised 

electrical system would also impede the Museum’s ability to maintain regular operations

and delay the exhibit re-installation program.
230

PROJECT TITLE: Upgrade Fire-Alarm Panels and Mass-Notification Systems

INSTALLATION: National Museum of Natural History (NMNH)

LOCATION: Washington, DC

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $5,000* 

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $12,000*

Total $17,000*

* Does not include funding in Facilities Planning and Design

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

The current NMNH fire-alarm panels are out of date and became obsolete when 

production ended in September of 2018. Over time, parts will become difficult or 

impossible to find and eventually they will be incompatible with newer equipment. Firealarm panels must be upgraded to the new Siemens XLS model in order to stay current 

and maintain the safety and reliability of the system. A simultaneous upgrade to the 

mass-notification system is well-timed because the two systems are integrated. 

Currently, NMNH has no comprehensive way to notify the public and staff during 

emergencies. The speakers installed as part of the fire-alarm upgrade would provide 

mass-notification capacity. 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $5.0 million in FY 2021 to begin upgrading the firealarm panels and mass-notification system. The Museum’s existing Siemens MXL 

panels must be upgraded to the new Siemens XLS panels, and a comprehensive massnotification system needs to be designed and implemented as well. There is economy 

and efficiency in combining the fire-alarm panel replacement with the new speaker 

installation. The speaker layout for the mass-notification system will take into account the 

Museum’s acoustic issues, which are significant due to the grand and historic nature of 

the building with its many high ceilings and large galleries.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

The final feasibility report, completed in March of 2019, provided the basis for the 

design contract scope, which was awarded in July of 2019 with expected completion in 

spring of 2021. The construction contract award is planned for the third quarter of FY

2021. 

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

An aging and out-of-date system runs the risk of failure and the possibility of 

endangering collections, visitors, and staff. In the worst-case scenario, a malfunctioning 

fire-alarm system could shut down the building. In addition, mass-notification systems 

are rapidly becoming an essential feature in public buildings, because they are 

necessary to quickly broadcast life-saving information in the event of natural or 

manmade emergencies. 
231

PROJECT TITLE: Replace Rotunda Copper Roof

INSTALLATION: National Museum of Natural History (NMNH)

LOCATION: Washington, DC

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $1,000

Total $1,000

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

The slate dome of NMNH’s Rotunda is surrounded by large areas of a flat copper 

roof. This flat-seam copper roof is in very poor condition. It has a lot of broken solder 

seams which have led to multiple water leaks throughout the Museum, endangering 

both the priceless collections and sensitive equipment below.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $1.0 million in FY 2021 to begin the project, which will 

include the removal and replacement of the existing copper roof, existing flashing 

around the curbs, and repair of other roof penetration such as around pipes and drains. 

Additionally, the project will include removal (and then later replacement) of the first 

three rows of slate on the Rotunda dome in order to install the new copper and 

waterproofing sub-layers to continue up under the slate — a best practice for avoiding 

water infiltration. Replacement of the Portico roof is also included in this scope.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

A feasibility report for the Rotunda copper roof replacement was recently

completed and formed the basis for a scope-of-work and cost estimate for the project. 

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

If the corroded copper roof is not replaced in a timely manner, water leaks will 

damage the building fabric, sensitive equipment, and collections, as well as pose a 

danger to staff and the public. 
232

PROJECT TITLE: Modernize West Court Elevators 

INSTALLATION: National Museum of Natural History (NMNH)

LOCATION: Washington, DC

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $900 

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $900

Total $1,800

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

Elevators 32, 33, 35 and 36 were installed when the West Court of the Museum 

was newly constructed in 1996, and are overdue for an upgrade because of their high 

usage and age. Many of the elevator door operators and controllers require constant 

maintenance and are always at risk of failure. 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $900,000 in FY 2021 to begin the modernization of 

the four elevators that are more than 20 years old. Elevators 32 and 33 provide 

access to food service areas and therefore have had high usage since their 

installation. The door operators, controllers, and other door components have 

developed many problems and should be replaced with modern parts. The elevator 

door upgrade will provide an opportunity to address the other numerous deficiencies 

of these two elevators. Elevator 35 is a passenger/freight elevator that requires new 

counter rollers. Elevator 36 is a freight elevator that is used more often than any other 

elevator in the West Court and therefore requires complete modernization. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

By working with vertical transportation experts, the Smithsonian has identified 

the new parts and equipment required to bring the four elevators up to modern 

standards, including life-safety compliance. Preliminary scopes of work have been 

developed for each of the deficient elevators.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

If any of the elevators were to fail, it would have a significant impact on 

operations in the West Court area of the Museum. Due to the advanced age of the 

equipment, it takes a long time to locate replacement parts, keeping the elevators out 

of service. Without reliable elevators, food service and trash removal into the 

basement would be very difficult, which would negatively affect the visitors’ experience 

to a great extent.
233

PROJECT TITLE: Upgrade Electronic Security

INSTALLATION: National Museum of Natural History (NMNH)

LOCATION: Fort Pierce, Florida 

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $500

Total $500

BUILDING BACKGROUND:

Fort Pierce is the NMNH’s Florida outpost for marine biology research. The 

property consists of a small campus with a main building, offices, lab space, and a 

small marine animal collection. To facilitate its mission, the facility is located close to 

the Florida Intracoastal Waterway and is within eyesight of beach access. 

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

The Smithsonian Office of Protection Services (OPS) determined the Facility 

Security Level (FSL) of Fort Pierce is a Level 2. OPS then conducted a risk 

assessment by using the Interagency Security Committee (ISC) Risk Management 

Process and the Smithsonian’s Security Design Criteria (SDC). Based on the FSL 

determination and risk assessment, additional security measures are required.

Fort Pierce has operated as an open facility with limited physical and electronic 

security, generally controlling access through the use of cipher locks and the 

situational awareness of the staff. This practice fails to meet ISC and SDC 

requirements or industry best practices. New infrastructure and equipment to include 

physical access control and video surveillance are required to bring the current 

configuration into greater alignment with ISC and the Smithsonian’s OPS standards 

for a Level 2 facility.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: 

The Smithsonian requests $500,000 in FY 2021 to design and install electronic 

security system (ESS) equipment for physical access control and video surveillance 

as well as to do the necessary work to bring the Fort Pierce site into closer compliance 

with ISC and SDC standards for an FSL 2 facility. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

At the beginning of FY 2018, the OPS performed a risk assessment/security 

management review for the Fort Pierce facility to identify and prioritize the security 

needs of the site. This review identified key deficiencies that must be fixed to bring the 

site into closer compliance with FSL 2.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

As initially outlined, security at Fort Pierce is below the overall standards that 

an FSL 2 property requires. Delaying the electronic security upgrades will continue to 

put this facility and Smithsonian staff at greater risk of a security incident.
234

PROJECT TITLE: Replace Center Core Finishes and Lighting

INSTALLATION: National Museum of American History (NMAH)

LOCATION: Washington, DC

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $3,000

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center (NMAH), 

opened to the public in 1964, and is one of the Smithsonian’s most visited museums. This 

classic modern building (752,000 gross square feet) contains a variety of exhibitions that 

explore America’s technological, scientific, cultural, and political history. A 2006 master 

plan generated a series of public space renewal projects, clarifying circulation, 

modernizing building systems and finishes, and incorporating innovative black box 

galleries for exhibit installations. To date, renewal of public floors one, two, and three, 

totaling approximately 240,000 square feet in the center core and West Wing of the 

Museum, is complete. The future East Wing public space renewal project will begin in 

FY 2026. An updated master plan, completed in 2018, contains recommendations for 

continued modernization of building systems, renovations of the spaces on the remaining 

floors of the building primarily containing workspaces, collections storage and food 

service, and improvements to the extensive grounds surrounding the Museum, including 

flood protection.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

This project is necessary to address safety and maintenance items in the public 

space center core and to improve the visitors’ experience.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $3.0 million in FY 2021 to replace finishes and enhance 

lighting in the public space center core. This will include replacing the glass floor finish,

which is frequently subject to cracking at gallery thresholds and at the treads and landings 

of the monumental stair, with a more durable floor finish, as well as enhancing the lighting 

in the dark area beneath the stair. This project will also replace difficult-to-maintain finishes 

and lighting at the ceilings in the east elevator concourse.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Design began in FY 2018 and will be completed in FY 2020. The construction 

contract will be awarded in FY 2021. 

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Delaying this project will continue to put visitor and staff safety at risk due to 

frequent cracking and breaking of glass floor finishes in these public areas. These 

surfaces cannot be repaired rapidly because replacement parts must be custom ordered 

and have long lead times. 
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PROJECT TITLE: Replace MXL Fire-Alarm Panels

INSTALLATION: National Museum of American History (NMAH)

LOCATION: Washington, DC

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $2,700

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center (NMAH), 

opened to the public in 1964, and is one of the Smithsonian’s most visited museums. This 

classic modern building (752,000 gross square feet) contains a variety of exhibitions that 

explore America’s technological, scientific, cultural, and political history. A 2006 master 

plan generated a series of public space renewal projects, clarifying circulation, 

modernizing building systems and finishes, and incorporating innovative black box 

galleries for exhibit installations. To date, renewal of public floors one, two, and three, 

totaling approximately 240,000 square feet in the center core and West Wing of the 

Museum, is complete. The future East Wing public space renewal project will begin in FY 

2026. An updated master plan, completed in 2018, contains recommendations for 

continued modernization of building systems, renovations of the spaces on the remaining 

floors of the building primarily containing workspaces, collections storage and food 

service, and improvements to the extensive grounds surrounding the Museum, including 

flood protection.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

This project is necessary to replace obsolete fire-alarm panels to improve public and 

staff safety.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $2.7 million in FY 2021 to replace the existing MXL 

fire-alarm panels with new fire panels that comply with current building and life-safety 

codes. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Design began in FY 2017 and will be completed in FY 2020. Funds permitting, 

construction will be awarded in FY 2021. 

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Delaying this project will increase the risk of failure of these obsolete fire-alarm 

panels, for which replacement parts are no longer manufactured. 
236

PROJECT TITLE: Improve Lower Level Workplace Pilot

INSTALLATION: National Museum of American History (NMAH)

LOCATION: Washington, DC

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $2,200

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $2,150

Total $4,350

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center (NMAH), 

opened to the public in 1964, and is one of the Smithsonian’s most visited museums. This 

classic modern building (752,000 gross square feet) contains a variety of exhibitions that 

explore America’s technological, scientific, cultural, and political history. A 2006 master 

plan generated a series of public space renewal projects, clarifying circulation, 

modernizing building systems and finishes, and incorporating innovative black box 

galleries for exhibit installations. To date, renewal of public floors one, two, and three, 

totaling approximately 240,000 square feet in the center core and West Wing of the 

Museum, is complete. The future East Wing public space renewal project will begin in

FY 2026. An updated master plan, completed in 2018, contains recommendations for 

continued modernization of building systems, renovations of the spaces on the remaining 

floors of the building primarily containing workspaces, collections storage and food 

service, and improvements to the extensive grounds surrounding the Museum, including 

flood protection.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

This project is necessary to consolidate the Museum’s Office of Building Renovation 

and Exhibition Services, Museum Resources, the Office of Audience Engagement, and the 

Office of Curatorial Affairs to create room on the upper floors for collections storage swing 

space. This is to prepare for Phase IV of the Public Space Renewal Project (PSRP) of the 

East Wing public space. Construction is expected to begin in FY 2026.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $2.2 million in FY 2021 to renovate 8,500 square feet of 

space on the lower level that currently houses the Graphic Department and vacated 

spaces. This will include architectural, structural, electrical, and HVAC upgrades. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Design began in FY 2018 and will be completed in FY 2020. The construction 

contract award is expected in FY 2021. 

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Delaying this project will impair the Museum’s ability to make more room available 

on the upper levels for swing space for collections storage necessary to clear the East 

Wing before the PSRP IV Renovation Project.
237

PROJECT TITLE: Replace Air-Handling Unit (AHU)-1 through AHU-4 

INSTALLATION: National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI-NY)

LOCATION: New York City, New York

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $5,500

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $4,500

Total $10,000

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The National Museum of the American Indian in New York (George Gustav Heye 

Center) opened on October 30, 1994 and occupies approximately 80,000 square feet of 

the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House Building in lower Manhattan. The NMAI-NY 

occupies portions of the basement, first, and second floors. The Smithsonian NMAI-NY 

has its own chiller plant, heating plant, and air-handling systems dedicated to serving only 

the portions of the building occupied by the NMAI program. The building is operated by the 

General Services Administration (GSA) and the Smithsonian holds a 99-year lease. The 

balance of the building is occupied by other U.S. Government tenants. 

The United States Custom House at 1 Bowling Green, New York, New York dates 

from 1907 and was designed by architect Cass Gilbert. It is a national Historic Landmark 

listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This beaux arts monument to sea trade, 

the United States Customs Service, and the City of New York, is as rich in historic 

associations as it is in architectural details and intelligent planning. Its siting in an open 

and historic space, unashamed exuberance, internationality and pride make this very large 

building an important cultural artifact and easy to admire.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

Air-handling units (AHUs) 1–4 were installed in the initial construction of the NMAINY in the 1990s and serve the galleries and support space in the basement, first, and 

second floors. They are approximately 25 years old and are at, or past, most estimates of 

useful air-handling unit service life. Reliability and increased maintenance due to age are 

issues with the operation of the AHUs.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $5.5 million in FY 2021 to begin replacing the four main

AHUs. This project will also replace and enlarge the existing heating water plant to support 

the conversion from steam to hot water for the new AHU preheat coils. Sequential 

implementation is proposed for FYs 2021–2022 and will be accomplished by first replacing 

AHUs 2 and 4 in the west mechanical room, followed by replacement of AHUs 1 and 3 in 

the east mechanical room. To maintain a continuous flow of conditioned air to the 

Museum, a temporary air handler located outside the building will shift from the west side 

of the building to the east side in support of the work sequence. The new AHUs will 

efficiently deliver conditioned air and supplement the new chillers and cooling towers 

recently installed and brought on line through a predecessor project. After the AHU 

replacement is completed, a significant improvement to the energy use profile of the total 

system is expected.
238

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

A study, completed in April 2017, provided requirements and the basis of design for 

new AHUs to replace the existing ones, as well as the timing, sequence, and logistics of 

installing the replacements. Construction documents based on these requirements were 

initiated in 2018 and completed in 2019.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Air-handling equipment will continue to degrade, and increased maintenance will be 

required. Collections in the exhibition spaces and visitor comfort will be at higher risk due 

to potential failures and emergency shut-downs. The energy efficiency anticipated from a 

fully renewed HVAC system will not be achieved. 
239

PROJECT TITLE: Replace Fire-Alarm Panels 

INSTALLATION: National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI-DC)

LOCATION: Washington, DC

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $2,000

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $1,500

Total $3,500

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The National Museum of the American Indian was created by Congress in 1989 as the 

16th Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. The NMAI is the only national museum 

dedicated to the Native peoples of North, South, and Central America. Its educational mission

is to preserve, present, and celebrate the Native cultures of the Americas.

With campuses in New York City, Washington, DC, and Suitland, Maryland, the 

NMAI has one of the largest and most extensive collections of Native American art and 

artifacts in the world — approximately 800,000 objects representing more than 10,000 

years of history, from more than 1,000 indigenous cultures throughout the Western 

hemisphere. The exterior of the building reflects traditional Indian culture by facing east 

toward the rising sun, reflecting Native American tradition, and the landscaping contains 

indigenous plants from areas where Indians once lived. Water flows around three sides of 

the building, adding to the illusion of water-worn limestone on the curved exterior. More 

than 40 boulders surround the building, representing ancestors of the Native Americans. 

Designed by Douglas Cardinal of the Canadian Blackfoot tribe and architecture firms 

GBQC and Polshek Partnership, the Museum opened to the public in 2004. 

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

The Museum’s existing Siemens MXL fire-alarm system has been discontinued as 

of October 2018, which means spare parts are difficult to obtain. The MXL fire-alarm 

control panels need to be upgraded to the XLS series panels. The graphic annunciator 

panels and LCD displays at the main and south entrances also need to be upgraded with 

new internal components and new LCDs. Additionally, initiating devices are becoming 

obsolete and require replacement. 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $2.0 million in FY 2021 to replace and upgrade the 

14 fire-alarm panels, two annunciator panels, and all other required elements for the 

NMAI-DC facility, including initiating devices. In order to install a future mass-notification 

system throughout the Smithsonian Institution, the design of the new fire-alarm panels will 

incorporate the capacity for a mass-notification system into the panels.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Architecture and engineering design services for the full fire-alarm panel and 

initiating device replacement are at the 35 percent design stage and will be at 65 percent

and ready for design assist procurement by the fourth quarter of FY 2020. 

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

An aging and out-of-date system runs the risk of failure and the possibility of 

endangering collections, visitors, and staff. In the worst-case scenario, a malfunctioning 

fire-alarm system could shut down the building.
240

PROJECT TITLE: Building Envelope — Replace Roof and Exterior Wall Panels

INSTALLATION: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (HMSG)

LOCATION: Washington, DC

 

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $12,900*

PRIOR-YEAR FUNDING: $8,500*

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $3,400*

Total $24,800*

* Does not include funding in Facilities Planning and Design

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (HMSG), the Smithsonian 

Institution’s Museum of modern and contemporary art, was designed by architect Gordon 

Bunshaft, FAIA, of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, and opened to the public in 1974. The 

Museum is located at the northwest corner of 7th Street and Independence Avenue, SW, 

and the Sculpture Garden is north of the Museum across Jefferson Drive. The building is 

cylindrical in shape, 231 feet in diameter, and raised 14 feet above a paved plaza, on 

four concrete piers. The building is clad with precast concrete panels with crushed pink 

granite aggregate. The center of the drum is a circular courtyard with a large, shallow, 

bronze fountain. The Museum building has four above-ground stories and a lower level 

below the plaza that surrounds the building.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

This project is necessary to replace building envelope components which have 

reached the end of their useful life. The roof is more than 25 years old, and the section

located directly above collections storage on the fourth floor occasionally leaks and is in 

need of replacement. The galvanized steel attachments for the exterior concrete wall 

panels have deteriorated and are beginning to corrode. The exterior wall lacks insulation 

and a vapor barrier, which causes problems with condensation and poor thermal 

performance. 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $12.9 million in FY 2021 to replace the roof and 

exterior wall panels at the HMSG. This is a multi-year funded project that will begin in

FY 2020. The project includes replacing the precast concrete panels and their 

attachment system, adding insulation and a vapor barrier at the exterior wall, and 

replacing the roof and balcony storefront system to ensure continuity of waterproofing. 

Future building envelope projects will include replacement of waterproofing at the plaza 

and new glazing at the lobby and courtyard windows when the Museum closes for major 

revitalization of the building systems. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

A study of the building envelope was completed in FY 2017, followed by testing in 

FY 2018 to obtain additional information. Construction drawings were completed in 

January of 2020. 
241

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Continued corrosion of the exterior panel attachment system creates the risk of 

panels becoming detached and falling to the plaza below, causing a public safety 

hazard. Water damage to the collections on the fourth floor could result if replacement of 

the roof is delayed. 
242

PROJECT TITLE: Modernize Elevators 

INSTALLATION: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (HMSG)

LOCATION: Washington, DC

 

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $3,400*

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $700*

Total $4,100*

* Does not include funding in Facilities Planning and Design

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (HMSG), the Smithsonian 

Institution’s Museum of modern and contemporary art, was designed by architect Gordon 

Bunshaft, FAIA, of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, and opened to the public in 1974. The 

Museum is located at the northwest corner of 7th Street and Independence Avenue, SW, 

and the Sculpture Garden is north of the Museum across Jefferson Drive. The building is 

cylindrical in shape, 231 feet in diameter, and raised 14 feet above a paved plaza, on four 

concrete piers. The building is clad with precast concrete panels with crushed pink granite 

aggregate. The center of the drum is a circular courtyard with a large, shallow, bronze 

fountain. The Museum building has four above-ground stories and a lower level below the 

plaza that surrounds the building.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

The passenger and freight elevators at the Museum are 20 years past their life 

expectancy and have frequent breakdowns. Many of the parts are becoming obsolete or 

difficult to obtain, which creates a delay in repairs. There is only one passenger elevator 

and one freight elevator, with no redundancy if an elevator breaks down. 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $3.4 million in FY 2021 to modernize the elevators at the 

HMSG. This is a multi-year funded project that begins in FY 2021. Major steel parts in the 

hoist-way will remain, but the controls, motors, and cabs will be replaced. The elevators 

and machine rooms will be brought up to current building codes, and the passenger 

elevator will become compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

A Vertical Transportation Study was funded in FY 2018 and is now completed. This 

study was a comprehensive analysis of the deficiencies of the current elevators, the 

escalators, and the loading dock lifts. Design for modernization will begin in October of 

2020. Escalator repair and replacement of the loading dock lifts will be separate projects. 

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Continued delay of modernization of the elevators poses the risk of more frequent 

breakdowns with longer repair times. The passenger elevator is the only means of access 

for visitors with strollers and people with disabilities to the galleries on the lower level, 

second and third floors. A functional freight elevator is essential for moving art and for the 

daily operations of the Museum.
243

PROJECT TITLE: Refurbish Elevators and Escalator

INSTALLATION: Quadrangle

LOCATION: Washington, DC

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $600 

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $1,000

Total $1,600

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The Quadrangle Building, which comprises the National Museum of African Art, the 

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, and the Ripley Education Center, is a three-story underground 

building that opened to the public in 1987. There are pavilion entrances to the three 

facilities located in the Haupt Garden, the structure's green roof. The 389,000-square-foot 

building was designed by Shepley, Bullfinch, and Abbott, architects.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

 The building’s elevators and escalators are original to the building and more than 30 

years old. Although the elevators most used by the visiting public have been upgraded, 

those in staff areas have not, nor has the public escalator. The escalator and the staff 

elevators break down with increasing frequency, inconveniencing both visitors and staff.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $600,000 in FY 2021 to initiate the refurbishment of the 

Quadrangle elevators and escalator.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Planning for the work is being led by the vertical transportation division of the 

Smithsonian’s Office of Facilities Maintenance and Reliability.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

If not funded, the required equipment upgrades will be further postponed, 

increasing the probability of catastrophic failure of these essential systems.
244

PROJECT TITLE: Quad and Freer Electronic Security System

INSTALLATION: Quadrangle

LOCATION: Washington, DC

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $4,500 

Total $4,500 

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The Quadrangle Building, which comprises the National Museum of African Art, the 

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, and the Ripley Education Center, is a three-story underground 

building that opened to the public in 1987. There are pavilion entrances to the three 

facilities located in the Haupt Garden, the structure’s green roof. The 389,000-square-foot 

building was designed by Shepley, Bullfinch, and Abbott, architects. The 225,000-squarefoot Freer Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian’s first Museum dedicated to the fine arts, was 

designed by Charles Platt and opened to the public in 1923.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

 The Quadrangle and the Freer Gallery of Art are linked facilities and do not have 

dependable, comprehensive electronic security systems. Existing devices and equipment 

are obsolete and do not meet Smithsonian security design standards.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Work includes the removal and replacement of existing security devices and 

replacing them with new security devices required by the Smithsonian's security design 

criteria, as well as minimal electrical and architectural finish and hardware modifications 

necessary for the security equipment to be powered and installed within the existing 

buildings. The Smithsonian requests $4.5 million in FY 2021 to upgrade the electronic 

security system.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

The design of the system will be completed in FY 2020. 

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

If the work is not funded, the building occupants and collections will face increased 

security risks.
245

PROJECT TITLE: Refurbish National Museum of African Art (NMAfA) Education Center

INSTALLATION: Quadrangle

LOCATION: Washington, DC

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $1,000 

Total $1,000

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The Quadrangle Building, which comprises the National Museum of African Art, 

the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, and the Ripley Education Center, is a three-story 

underground building that opened to the public in 1987. There are pavilion entrances 

to the three facilities located in the Haupt Garden, the structure’s green roof. The 

389,000-square-foot building was designed by Shepley, Bullfinch, and Abbott, 

architects.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

 The Museum’s library, education facilities, and administrative areas have not 

been updated since the building’s opening in 1987. Public access to the library and 

education facilities is compromised.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $1.0 million in FY 2021 to fund the reconfiguration of 

the public entrance to the library, education facilities, and administrative offices. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

The design of the proposed remodeling will be completed in FY 2020.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

If not funded, public access to the library and education facilities will continue to 

be compromised, making it more difficult for visitors to use these resources.
246

PROJECT TITLE: Replace Gallery Lighting 

INSTALLATION: Donald W. Reynolds Center (DWRC)

LOCATION: Washington, DC

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $3,500

PRIOR-YEAR FUNDING: $4,500

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $3,500

 Total $11,500

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

Originally constructed as the Patent Office Building in 1840, the Donald W. Reynolds 

Center is an excellent example of a Greek Revival public office building. The South Wing is 

the original building and is distinguished by a monumental Greek Doric-style portico. The 

East, West, and North Wings, added between 1852 and 1867, expanded the building to 

occupy two entire blocks between 7th and 9th Streets and between F and G Streets NW, 

Washington, DC. The total gross square footage is 669,931 square feet. A major renovation 

of the building was completed in 2006 by Hartman Cox. In 2007, the center courtyard was 

enclosed by a glass canopy designed by Norman Foster. 

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

The track lighting at the Reynolds Center overheats, causing a hazardous situation. 

Repairing the track requires replacement parts; however, the current type of track lighting 

used is no longer being manufactured and parts are no longer available for repairs. Track 

lighting throughout the building must be replaced. The new LED light fixtures will provide 

greater flexibility and improved energy efficiency. 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $3.5 million in FY 2021 to continue replacement of the 

existing track lighting in the galleries and other locations at the Reynolds Center with a new 

LED track lighting system. This is a multi-year funded project that began in FY 2019 and 

will be completed in FY 2022. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Design for the new lighting system was completed in March of 2019. A detailed 

schedule was developed for the sequence of work in the galleries and has been 

coordinated with exhibit dates and museum programs. Installation of the new lighting 

system in the third-floor galleries was completed in October of 2019. Installation of lighting 

in the first-floor café, gift shops, and corridors began in late January of 2020. 

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Without the funds requested, there could be potential damage to the collections and 

safety risks to staff and visitors due to fire. Sensors have been installed to provide a 

warning that the light track is overheating, but the risk needs to be eliminated by replacing 

the track and fixtures.
247

PROJECT TITLE: Galeta, Replace and Improve Facilities (Phase 2)

INSTALLATION: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI)

LOCATION: Panama

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $2,500*

PRIOR-YEAR FUNDING: $1,700*

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $6,500*

Total $10,700*

* Does not include funding in Facilities Planning and Design

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The Galeta Marine Station is located near the Caribbean terminal of the Panama Canal 

and the city of Colon. It serves as a laboratory, marine and wetland environmental monitoring 

station, as well as an education and outreach center for STRI. The site includes several small 

dormitories, a laboratory building, a small administration structure, and support buildings.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

The buildings at Galeta Marine Station are located directly on an eroding shoreline and 

are experiencing seawater infiltration during high tides and windy conditions. In addition, the 

existing laboratory and dormitories are located in old, outdated buildings that are not 

compliant with current building codes. Among many deficiencies, they do not have a 

fire-suppression system and the current sanitary and potable water systems are substandard. 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $2.5 million in FY 2021 for Phase 2 of this project, which 

includes the installation of a new wastewater treatment plant and sanitary system that will 

serve current and future facilities. As part of STRI’s Facilities Master Plan, the existing 

dormitories and laboratory will be replaced with code-compliant structures to safely host the 

research, education, and outreach activities at Galeta. A fire-protection system will be 

installed to provide full sprinkler coverage to new and existing buildings. Additional 

infrastructure work includes a new wastewater system and upgrades to the existing potable 

water and main electrical systems. Subsequent phases for this project will incorporate a 

replacement laboratory/ administration building (Phase 3), and a replacement dormitory 

building (Phase 4).

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Design is ongoing and the construction contract for Phase 1 is scheduled to be 

awarded by the end of FY 2020. Phase 2 will begin construction in FY 2021.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

The Galeta Marine Station requires major renovations at many essential facilities, 

including the laboratory, administration building, and dormitories. Basic infrastructure services 

like sanitary and potable water urgently need upgrades. To meet Smithsonian standards for 

fire protection and life safety, a fire-suppression system must be installed at existing facilities 

and included in the designs for future facilities. Delaying this project will increase maintenance 

costs and impair STRI’s ability to conduct research and educational programs at Galeta, and 

potentially endanger visitors and staff.
248

PROJECT TITLE: Tupper, Renovate Kitchen and Dining Area 

INSTALLATION: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI)

LOCATION: Panama

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $ 400* 

* Does not include funding in Facilities Planning and Design

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The Tupper Center for Research and Conference, inaugurated in 1990, includes a 

staff cafeteria and dining space for staff and visitors. Through the years, these dining 

facilities have been occupied by various concessionaries. Although originally envisioned

to serve light meals such as salads and sandwiches, the need for more diverse food 

options required small renovations to more intensively use the space to serve cafeteriastyle hot meals. 

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

The cafeteria space needs a complete renovation to replace the mechanical, lifesafety, and fire-protection systems to meet code compliance.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $400,000 in FY 2021 to renovate and expand the 

kitchen and dining areas. Since the ongoing Tupper renovation project will provide 

additional exterior dining space, the kitchen and service areas will be renovated to better 

accommodate the food storage and cooking functions. Exhausts and air-conditioning 

systems will be completely revamped, as will the fire-detection and fire-suppression 

systems. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

A scope of work for design services is being prepared and design funds have been 

requested for FY 2020.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Delaying this project will continue to impact STRI ́s ability to obtain food service 

operators, few of which are willing to operate within the limitations of the current space. A 

new and improved cafeteria with modern systems and bigger spaces will provide STRI 

staff and visitors a better experience, with a diversity of meal options within the 

Smithsonian ́s main campus in the Republic of Panama.
249

PROJECT TITLE: Tupper, Replace and Reinforce Library Roof

INSTALLATION: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI)

LOCATION: Panama

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $ 300*

* Does not include funding in Facilities Planning and Design

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The Tupper Center ́s Library Building was built in the 1980s as part of the 

Tupper Campus Complex. It has served for many years as one of the most complete 

and diverse libraries in the world for tropical biology publications, with enormous 

historical and scientific research value. The building is made up of two main wings: 

the library-reading and office area, and the storage-deposit area for books, other 

publications, and special collections. 

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

Preservation of this facility and the publications within it is essential to STRI’s 

historical mission. Maintenance repairs have continued through the years to stop 

water from leaking into the reading space wing, but the roof material and its entire 

construction is reaching the end of its projected lifespan.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $300,000 in FY 2021 to begin replacing and 

reinforcing the library roof. The project will also require a structural evaluation of the 

existing framing system, which will support the new roofing material. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

A scope of work for design services is being prepared and design funds have 

been requested for FY 2020.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Delaying this project will increase maintenance costs for immediate repairs 

and for temporary solutions implemented to keep the roof from leaking. Water 

leakages will create a variety of safety hazards to STRI’s staff and visitors and could 

damage precious historical and research publications and books inside the building.
250

PROJECT TITLE: Gamboa, Refurbish Santa Cruz Building

INSTALLATION: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI)

LOCATION: Panama

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $1,300* 

* Does not include funding in Facilities Planning and Design

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

STRI has a research facility at Gamboa, which is located on the east bank of 

the Panama Canal, 17 miles north of Panama City and 13 miles south of Barro 

Colorado Island (BCI), is midway between both sites, and provides an excellent 

location for terrestrial scientific investigation. 

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

Given the increased activity of STRI at Gamboa, generated by the recently 

constructed laboratory building, there is a need to establish a maintenance 

operations center at this site. Furthermore, with the Gamboa dock less than a mile 

away from the new lab building, the new maintenance center will allow the 

Smithsonian Facilities office to operate more efficiently at both the Gamboa and BCI 

sites.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $1.3 million in FY 2021 to retrofit approximately 

550 square meters of the old Santa Cruz school building into maintenance shops for 

the Smithsonian Facilities Gamboa branch. The building was originally a three-story 

wooden structure on a concrete foundation, but today only the concrete ground floor, 

columns, and masonry walls remain. In 2012, the building was retrofitted and roofed 

for the temporary field office and warehouse of the Gamboa Lab project contractor. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

The construction documents for this project are nearing completion. 

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Delaying the project will prevent STRI’s maintenance unit from establishing a 

much-needed centralized operation at Gamboa to support the new Gamboa 

research laboratory as well as BCI’s motor vehicle and marine fleet. 
251

PROJECT TITLE: Repair Roads at Fred L. Whipple Observatory (AZ) 

INSTALLATION: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO)

LOCATION: Tucson, Arizona 

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $800

PRIOR-YEAR FUNDING: $1,700

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $3,200

Total $5,700

PROJECT BACKGROUND:

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is located at the summit of Mt. 

Hopkins, at an elevation of 8,550 feet, reachable only by Mt. Hopkins Road, a 12-milelong, unimproved, single-lane access road. The road was constructed by the Smithsonian 

more than 50 years ago to accommodate traffic by SAO research faculty, staff and 

students, as well as contractors and some members of the public. Telescopes are sited 

on the summit peaks. SAO activities on Mt. Hopkins require access to and from its 

facilities at the Base Camp (located at 4,500 feet) and the summit to conduct basic 

operations, research, and educational activities that form its core mission.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $800,000 in FY 2021 to stabilize the road and replace 

the metal culverts with concrete culverts to mitigate life-safety issues. The surface of the 

single-lane road is largely unpaved, outsloped to the canyons 1,300 feet below, and is 

uneven with numerous switchbacks. Several sections are sloped at a 24-percent grade, 

which is well outside the anticipated capability of drivers, standard vehicles and 

pedestrians. Severe weather is commonplace, and the road requires frequent grading 

and maintenance to provide a minimum level of safety. Most crucially, in addition to 

ongoing repair and replacement/extension of guardrails, SAO has identified six sections 

of the road that have been stabilized against collapse by 60–70-year-old landing mats 

and steel cables. There has been significant movement and rupture of this system that 

must be corrected immediately. In addition, the road has numerous metal drainage 

culverts in close proximity to the 13-kilovolt (KV) power line that services the summit. 

These culverts require frequent clean-out operations, during which the power to the 

mountain is shut off because of the proximity of the power line to the conductive culverts. 

PROGRESS TO DATE:

Design is complete. Construction for the first two of the prioritized six sections was 

completed in FY 2019, and the contract for the third section was awarded in FY 2019 and 

construction started in October of 2019. The requested funds will continue to rectify this 

significant safety hazard.

IMPACT OF DELAY:

Until funding is available to complete the necessary road work, SAO staff, 

visitors, and scientists will continue to face increased life-safety risks when driving to 

and from the Observatory.
252

PROJECT TITLE: Install Emergency Generator, Phase 2 (AZ)

INSTALLATION: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) 

LOCATION: Amado, Arizona

 

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $600

PRIOR-YEAR FUNDING: $75

 Total $675

PROJECT BACKGROUND: 

SAO’s Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in Arizona conducts worldrenowned astrophysical research from the MMT (Multiple Mirror Telescope) building on 

the summit of Mt. Hopkins and from its Base Camp facility. Currently, the MMT has 

emergency generator capability but the Base Camp does not. It is essential for the 

Base Camp facility to operate life, fire, safety, communications and other full 

operational functions with emergency systems in place. Additionally, because the two 

facilities are remote from each other, and both are located in high wildfire risk areas, 

the system will ensure better communication and improve staff and public safety. 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $600,000 in FY 2021 to install a complete emergency 

generator system at the Base Camp. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Design will be completed in FY 2020.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Without adequate emergency power generation, the Base Camp’s ability to 

respond to critical life-safety threats will be severely compromised, creating a danger to 

staff and public visitors.
253

PROJECT TITLE: Replace Packaged Air-Conditioning Unit (PACU) at SMA Control 

Building (HI)

INSTALLATION: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO)

LOCATION: Summit of Maunakea, Hawaii

 

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $2,000

PRIOR-YEAR FUNDING $335 

Total $2,335

PROJECT BACKGROUND: 

The SAO’s Submillimeter Array (SMA) Control Building, located at the 13,476-

foot summit of Maunakea, is world-recognized for leading-edge astrophysical research 

and discovery of our universe through examination of submillimeter wavelengths. This 

capability is possible through an extensive computer facility within the building, which 

requires cooling to maintain accuracy and reliability. The PACU is responsible for this 

critical function. It is 15 years beyond its expected lifespan and all available spare parts 

are now gone. 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $2.0 million in FY 2021 to install a new PACU to 

ensure continued research and reliability to meet the mission of SAO.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Design will be completed in the third quarter of FY 2020.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

A failure of this system will shut down the entire facility for a minimum of nine 

months, and result in the loss of all ongoing scientific research as well as delays in 

planned research.
254

PROJECT TITLE: Consolidate Maintenance Facilities

INSTALLATION: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC)

LOCATION: Edgewater, Maryland

 

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $4,000

PRIOR-YEAR FUNDING $1,000

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $3,500

Total $8,500 

PROJECT BACKGROUND: 

The substantial expansion of the SERC facilities during the last decade has 

increased SERC’s maintenance needs campus-wide and has placed an increasing 

burden on the existing facilities maintenance resources. This need was identified by the 

Smithsonian Office of Facilities Management and Reliability (OFMR) in 2004 and 

validated again in the 2008 SERC Master Plan. This need is now vital to support 

existing facilities as well as future mission-critical initiatives.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $4.0 million in FY 2021 to begin Phase One of the 

project, which consolidates grounds maintenance functions (previously at the Research 

Core) along the Dock Road location, allowing de-intensification of the Research Core, 

and to prepare the site by installing utilities, lighting, staging areas, communications, 

and stormwater management systems. Later, Phase Two will renovate the auto-shops 

and hazmat functions. In addition to reducing utility and maintenance costs, the project 

will revitalize maintenance response, enhance physical safety, build future flexibility,

increase the lifespan of equipment, support sustainable operations, streamline 

operations, and increase productivity.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Design will be completed in FY 2020.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

The impact of a delay will be continued loss of productivity, advanced decline of 

equipment and structures, longer response times to requests for service, and 

increased cost of all maintenance activities at SERC.
255

PROJECT TITLE: Install Site Infrastructure for Green Village

INSTALLATION: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC)

LOCATION: Edgewater, Maryland

 

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $1,500

PRIOR-YEAR FUNDING $220 

Total $1,720

PROJECT BACKGROUND: 

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center relies on the active participation 

of visiting scientists who work at the Edgewater facility for periods from a few weeks to 

six months or more. There are no on-site family housing facilities; therefore, these 

scientists and their families are left to find housing on their own, which severely 

discourages participation. The Green Village is a fully sustainable project at SERC, 

envisioned to be zero-net-energy consumption and designed as a public/private 

partnership to provide six two-story, two-family, grant-funded housing units for visiting 

scientists. The units will be approximately 1,200 square feet each, and a future 24-unit 

Citizen’s Scientist Lodge will also be constructed. The housing units, and lodge, will be 

built along a central utility corridor. The housing units will be completely funded with 

grant money, but the required utility corridor will be built using federal funding. All 

maintenance for the Green Village will be offset by rent.

 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $1.5 million in FY 2021 to construct all required utility 

infrastructure, transportation and paving systems, lighting and communications, grading, 

landscaping, and stormwater management systems.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Design is under way and will be completed in the second quarter of FY 2020.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

The impact of a delay will be a later start construction date of the Green Village 

build-out, which has raised more than $600,000 in grant funds for the first two housing 

units. A delay will put these funds at risk, as well as compromise future grant funding 

currently in progress. 
256

PROJECT TITLE: Implement Stormwater Management Campus Plan, Phase 1

INSTALLATION: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC)

LOCATION: Edgewater, Maryland

 

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $400

PRIOR-YEAR FUNDING $85

Total $485

PROJECT BACKGROUND: 

As identified in the 2008 SERC Comprehensive Facilities Master Plan, and 

pursuant to current federal Clean Water Act regulations, SERC has prioritized 

environmentally responsible stormwater management responses which are now 

reflected in the current Stormwater Management Campus Plan. This plan identified the 

Reed Education Center site, at the foot of the waterfront’s Dock Road, as the highest 

priority. Continued flooding has entered the Reed Center, which is frequented by 

between 5,000–7,000 schoolchildren a year, and mitigation has been necessary to 

prevent mold from forming on surfaces.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $400,000 in FY 2021 to construct all required 

stormwater management mitigation necessary to protect the site and structures. This will 

involve relocating existing drainage patterns, constructing bioswales as necessary, 

repaving as required to re-route stormwater away from the Reed Center, and 

repairing/removing/replacing drains, culverts and outfalls. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Design is under way and will be completed in FY 2020.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

The impact of a delay will be continued deterioration of the Reed Education 

Center and resultant risk to the visitors and staff using the structure, as well as continued 

non-compliance with current government mandates.
257

PROJECT TITLE: Replace MSC Air-Handling Units (AHUs) 

INSTALLATION: Suitland Collections Center 

LOCATION: Suitland, Maryland

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $5,000

PRIOR-YEAR FUNDING: $5,259

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $19,000

Total $29,259

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The Museum Support Center (MSC) at the Smithsonian Institution’s Suitland 

Collections Center (SCC) is the Smithsonian’s largest collections storage facility. Opened in 

1983, the three-story structure has five separate storage areas (Pods), as well as labs and 

office areas to support the care and analysis of the Institution’s valuable collections of 

objects and documents. The storage pods and offices are separated by an access corridor 

(the Street) that allows movement of objects within the building.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

Eleven of the air-handling units (AHUs) supporting the heating, ventilation, and airconditioning (HVAC) system in Pods 1, 2, and 4, the Street, and the lab/office areas are 

original to the building and have exceeded their useful lives. They urgently require 

replacement.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $5.0 million in FY 2021 to continue replacing the lab/office 

AHUs. The lab/office AHUs are first priority, due to the numerous changes in the space use 

during the past 37 years. Pod AHUs will be replaced one at a time to ensure that the 

collections environment is maintained in the facility throughout the process. Additional 

funding in FYs 2022–2024 will be used to finish replacing the remaining AHUs.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Design for pod AHU replacement was completed in June of 2017. Lab/office AHU 

design is 95 percent complete, and the final design was completed in January of 2020.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Failure to replace the AHUs in a timely manner will put the facility’s collections 

environment, and the priceless objects contained in the pods, at risk. 
258

PROJECT TITLE: Replace Museum Support Center (MSC) Botany Greenhouse 

INSTALLATION: Suitland Collections Center 

LOCATION: Suitland, Maryland 

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $2,000

PRIOR-YEAR FUNDING: $1,284

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING $5,000

Total $8,284

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $2.0 million in FY 2021 to replace the National Museum 

of Natural History (NMNH) Botany Greenhouse at its Suitland Collections Center. This 

work is necessary due to the upcoming Museum Support Center (MSC) Pod 6 addition, 

which is scheduled to begin construction in FY 2023. The Pod 6 project will extend onto 

the site of the existing Botany Greenhouse. An addition to the existing Smithsonian 

Gardens greenhouse complex on the Suitland campus will be made to accommodate the 

NMNH greenhouse contents.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

The design for this project is currently at the concept phase. The design will be 

completed in FY 2021.

IMPACT OF DELAY:

Failure to construct an addition to existing Smithsonian greenhouse infrastructure 

before the existing NMNH greenhouse is demolished will result in the need to lease 

greenhouse space to continue NMNH’s research into botany-related science, making the 

work more expensive to accomplish.
259

PROJECT TITLE: Upgrade Garber Fire-Protection Systems

INSTALLATION: Suitland Collections Center 

LOCATION: Suitland, Maryland 

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $1,500

PRIOR-YEAR FUNDING: $137

Total $1,637

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $1.5 million in FY 2021 to upgrade the fire protection in 

11 buildings at the Suitland Collections Center Garber facility. The buildings, which house 

Smithsonian collections, are 40–50 years old and do not meet current codes and 

standards for fire protection. The project will upgrade the fire-alarm and fire-protection 

systems in each building to meet the latest codes and standards.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

The design work for this project was completed in FY 2016.

IMPACT OF DELAY:

Failure to upgrade the fire-protection systems in the collection storage buildings 

means that the collections in those buildings will continue to be poorly protected by 

decades-old fire-alarm and protection systems, thereby putting priceless objects and 

specimens at risk.
260

PROJECT TITLE: Decontaminate and Dispose of Garber Containers 

INSTALLATION: Suitland Collections Center 

LOCATION: Suitland, Maryland 

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $500

Total $500

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $500,000 in FY 2021 to remove the Center for Folklife 

and Cultural Heritage (CFCH) and the National Museum of American History (NMAH) 

collection items from 12 temporary containers that are contaminated with asbestos. The 

project includes decontaminating the collections, moving the items to safe locations, and 

safely disposing of the containers. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

The planning for this work is complete.

IMPACT OF DELAY:

Failure to decontaminate the collections and dispose of the containers will continue 

to delay access to the collection items, as well as leave the collections exposed to 

hazardous conditions in dilapidated containers. It would also pose an ongoing health risk 

to Smithsonian staff at the facility.
261

PROJECT TITLE: Repair Miller-Fox Façades

INSTALLATION: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (CHSDM)

LOCATION: New York, New York

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $3,000

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $3,000

 

 Total $ 6,000

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The 64-room Carnegie Mansion, designed by the architectural firm of Babb, Cook & 

Willard, was built between 1899 and 1902. It was the first private residence in the United 

States to have a structural steel frame and one of the first in New York to have a 

residential Otis passenger elevator (now in the collection of the Smithsonian’s National 

Museum of American History). The Mansion was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1972 

and the Museum opened there in 1976. In 1996, the adjacent Miller and Fox houses were 

acquired and a major renovation to link the houses to the Mansion was begun, creating 

the full campus that presently houses the Museum.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

The façade elements of the Cooper Hewitt Miller and Fox houses have deteriorated 

and become a source of water intrusion and structural concern. Stone coping and 

decorative elements require repair, masonry mortar joints require repointing and, in some 

cases, rebuilding due to instability. Copper clad bows and bays have aged and become a 

source of water and air leakage. Window frames have deteriorated from winter 

condensation and some need to be replaced. Numerous water intrusion events have 

occurred in recent years and risk disruption to staff areas and danger to collections.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $3.0 million in FY 2021 to begin the first sequence of the 

Miller-Fox façade and envelope repairs. The first sequence will include the areas of 

highest risk, including the unstable masonry parapet. Because scaffolding will be 

necessary, the work of several trades will progress one façade at a time. This will include 

brick and stone masonry repairs, copper bows and bays sheathing repairs, and window 

repairs/replacements.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Construction documents for the repair of the copper façade bows and bays were

completed in 2017. The A-E design contract for the masonry and window repairs will be 

awarded in the second quarter of FY 2020 and completed in the first quarter of FY 2021. 

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Delaying this project will continue to risk damage to collections areas and 

interruptions to staff operations due to water intrusion. Resulting condensation will remain 

unmitigated.
262

PROJECT TITLE: Add Exterior Lighting, Power and Accessibility

INSTALLATION: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (CHSDM)

LOCATION: New York, New York

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $2,100

 Total $2,100

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The 64-room Carnegie Mansion, designed by the architectural firm of Babb, Cook & 

Willard, was built between 1899 and 1902. It was the first private residence in the United 

States to have a structural steel frame and one of the first in New York to have a 

residential Otis passenger elevator (now in the collection of the Smithsonian’s National 

Museum of American History). The Mansion was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1972 

and the Museum opened there in 1976. In 1996, the adjacent Miller and Fox houses were 

acquired and a major renovation to link the houses to the Mansion was begun, creating 

the full campus that presently houses the Museum.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

The CHSDM Mansion lacks night lighting to accent the architectural character of 

the building and highlight and identify the Museum along the Fifth Avenue “Museum Mile.” 

Existing security lighting is crude and not well paired with the security camera installation 

to be included with this project. The available power in the garden is inadequate for the 

many special events that occur. Special event power needs include food preparation 

equipment, lighting, audiovisual and media facilities. Larger events require permits for a 

portable power generator to stage activities at the Fifth Avenue location. The 90th Street 

accessible lift for staff and visitors is not reliable and requires frequent maintenance. It is 

usually out of service and not available for those with disabilities. A new fully accessible 

entrance through the garden into the Miller house security lobby is needed, enabling the 

removal of the high-maintenance and unreliable exterior lift. The Mansion-accessible lift 

(LULA Elevator #5) is often not working and parts are no longer available. The Museum 

Café sales area and dining bridge is excessively hot in the summer and cold in the winter, 

causing discomfort to the employees and visitors. 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $2.1 million in FY 2021 to provide several campus 

improvements. Exterior and night lighting will be improved by adding exterior architectural 

lighting to the base of the Mansion and the inefficient security light wall packs will be 

replaced with focused, parapet-mounted security lighting that is compatible with the newer 

generation of security cameras to be installed. Additionally, the project will make existing 

campus power sources available to the garden for special events by installing conduit and 

panel boxes on the Miller House walls.

The project also includes a fully accessible staff/ visitor entrance through the 

garden and into the staff entrance lobby of the Miller House. This includes a new intercom 

at the garden gate, appropriate accessible hardware and hold-open devices at the lobby 

door, and removal of the existing exterior mechanical lift, as well as restoration of the 
263

historic Miller House stairs that were removed to install the lift. The accessible lift (LULA 

#5) in the Mansion lobby will be replaced with a reliable, new lift.

Finally, the project will provide split-system heating and cooling for the Café sales 

area and the dining bridge to temper the indoor air during extreme summer and winter 

weather conditions.

PROGRESS TO DATE:

An architecture and engineering (A/E) concept study for the exterior Mansion 

lighting was completed in FY 2019, providing various options and preliminary cost 

estimates. An A/E schematic design and cost estimate, including all elements of the 

project scope, was delivered in August of 2019. Final design will commence in the second 

quarter of FY 2020 and complete design is expected by the fourth quarter of FY 2020.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

If this project is not funded, security and night lighting will continue to be less than 

optimal, people with disabilities coming to the staff entrance on 90th Street will continue to 

navigate a challenging work-around, using the existing intercom and requiring a security 

guard to escort them into the building through the garden. The existing lift will continue to 

be an eyesore for the CHSDM neighbors. Visitors and staff entering through the Mansion 

will continue to experience unreliable performance from the accessible lift. Special events 

in the garden will continue to require leasing and permitting for temporary power 

generators. Staff in the Café sales area will continue to experience excessive heat in the 

summer and bitter cold in the winter.
264

PROJECT TITLE: Improve Courtyard Accessibility

INSTALLATION: Freer Gallery of Art 

LOCATION: Washington, DC

 

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $2,500

Total $2,500

BUILDING BACKGROUND: 

The 225,000-square-foot Freer Gallery of Art was constructed between 1916 and 

1923 on the National Mall to house the art collections of Charles Lang Freer. It was the first 

Smithsonian Museum devoted to the fine arts.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

The Museum courtyard is several steps below the first floor level and is not 

accessible to visitors using wheelchairs. As a result, the public cannot be given access to

the courtyard.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $2.5 million in FY 2021 to install a ramp, which will feature 

a design to be compatible with the architecture of the landmarked building.

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Design will be completed in FY 2020.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Without the construction of a ramp, the courtyard cannot be used by the visiting 

public.
265

PROJECT TITLE: Install Transfer Switch

INSTALLATION: Herndon Data Center

LOCATION: Herndon, Virginia

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $2,650

BUILDING BACKGROUND:

This facility, located at 380 Herndon-Spring Park in Herndon, houses the Office of 

the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and includes 53,000 square feet of the Smithsonian’s 

centralized computer network Data Center equipment, offices, the Institution’s network 

help call center, and support spaces.

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

The transfer switch is necessary to eliminate a single point of failure for the entire 

Smithsonian Data Center and network operations by allowing the emergency generators 

and the Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) to bypass the main switchgear to keep the 

facility operational.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $2.65 million in FY 2021 to install a transfer switch and 

associated electrical components to allow the Smithsonian Data Center, located in a 

leased facility in Herndon, Virginia since 2005, to continue to function should the main 

switchgear fail. Currently, all electrical backup systems energize the Data Center through 

the main switchgear. Should the main switchgear become inoperable, the entire 

Smithsonian computer network, Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone system, 

and Data Center will shut down entirely. This transfer switch will also allow for regular 

maintenance of the main switchgear. 

PROGRESS TO DATE: 

Design began in FY 2019 and will be completed in FY 2020. Construction will be 

awarded in FY 2021.

IMPACT OF DELAY: 

Delaying this project will put the Smithsonian computer network, Voice-over Internet 

Protocol (VOIP), and the Data Center at risk of catastrophic failure if the main switchgear 

becomes inoperative.
266

PROJECT TITLE: Replace Fire-Alarm Panels

INSTALLATION: Multiple Facilities

LOCATION: Institution-wide

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $2,000

PRIOR-YEAR FUNDING: $6,000

FUTURE-YEAR FUNDING: $4,000

 Total $12,000

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Smithsonian requests $2.0 million in FY 2021 to continue the phased 

replacement of MXL fire-alarm panels with XLS panels in facilities across the Institution. 

Current MXL fire-alarm panels have been discontinued and the parts will cease to be 

available once supplies run out. The old MXL panels will be salvaged and used for parts 

until all panels are upgraded to XLS. As many as 75 panels at various facilities throughout 

the Smithsonian require eventual replacement. For some facilities, the fire-alarm panel 

replacements are being incorporated in larger renovation projects. However, for facilities 

where no large renovation projects are planned in the near future, these funds will be used 

for stand-alone fire-alarm panel replacement projects. Thus far, panel replacements were

completed at the Donald W. Reynolds Center (DWRC) and have begun at the National 

Zoological Park (NZP) Rock Creek Park campus in Washington, DC. In FY 2020, panel 

replacements will take place at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York 

(NMAI-NY) and will be initiated at the Garber facilities on the Suitland Collections Center 

campus. In FY 2021, fire-alarm panel replacements for the rest of the Garber buildings at 

the Suitland Collections Center campus and at the National Air and Space Museum’s 

Udvar-Hazy Center (NASM-UHC) will take place. The program will continue with futureyear funding for fire-alarm panel replacements at the remaining buildings at both NZP sites

at Rock Creek in Washington, DC and Front Royal, Virginia. The new fire-alarm panels will 

have the capability to link to future mass-notification systems. Improved mass-notification 

systems, in turn, will permit the use of specific emergency notification messages about 

events such as active shooters, fires, and terror attacks in buildings throughout the 

Institution. 
267

PROJECT TITLE: Building Projects Less than $1,000,000 and Miscellaneous Repairs

INSTALLATION: Multiple Locations

LOCATION: Institution-wide

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $8,900

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

This request includes smaller individual projects of less than $1 million each, which 

usually involve replacement of individual systems or components, and miscellaneous 

capital repairs needed for unplanned emergencies. In addition, this supports other 

Smithsonian operations, such as copying and library services, security guard services, 

collections upgrades, electronic security system modernization and upgrades, and 

conservation studies. 

PROJECT TITLE: Construction Supervision and Administration

INSTALLATION: Multiple Locations

LOCATION: Institution-wide

FY 2021 COST ESTIMATE (Thousands of Dollars): $8,000

PRIOR-YEAR FUNDING: $7,000

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

This request includes costs for permanent construction management and 

cost-engineering staff, program/project managers, five (5) contract specialists, and term and 

temporary staff required to perform specialized work associated with Facilities Capital 

Program projects. A total of 53 FTEs will be funded from the $8.0 million. 

Construction management staff supervise and administer construction contracts. 

They directly supervise construction contractors to ensure quality work is performed safely, 

resolve issues that arise during construction, negotiate change orders, approve payments, 

and perform other administrative functions as contracting officers’ technical representatives 

(COTRs). Cost engineers develop Independent Government Estimates for every stage of 

project development, as well as analyze consultant-prepared construction cost estimates and 

contractor cost proposals for construction contract awards and change orders. This request 

also funds contract specialists who support the procurement process for acquiring the 

necessary contract services to execute the Facilities Capital Program by providing essential 

expertise to ensure the timely award of planning, design, and construction contracts.
268

FACILITIES PLANNING AND DESIGN 

Feasibility studies, needs assessments, and design for capital projects are required 

before site work can take place. This category includes all costs for contract facility master 

planning, preliminary and final design for all revitalization and construction projects, 

special studies, and a small amount for facility engineering, capital leveraging, and 

research activities, such as those functions performed at the Department of Defense and 

the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The funding will enable 

development of project baselines, including costs, scope, and schedules, prior to receiving 

funds to perform the work. 

In order to plan and design ahead of Capital Program execution, funding of 

approximately 15 percent of the following year’s program is required each year. The 

funding requested for FY 2021 will complete designs for projects planned for FY 2022

and will provide necessary planning and design to the 35 percent stage for most projects 

included in the planned FY 2023 program. This will move the Institution closer to meeting 

the National Academy of Public Administration’s (NAPA) recommendation that firm 

baselines be established before funding requests to provide more accurate cost 

estimates and to enable timely award of construction contracts upon receipt of futureyear funding. 

The Institution requests a total of $50,900,000 for planning and design in FY 2021. 

These funds will be used to complete design for the Revitalization of the Historic Core, 

which includes the Smithsonian Institution Building (Castle) and the Arts and Industries 

Building ($27.0 million). The request will also continue design for the new Museum 

Support Center-Suitland Pod 6 collections storage building ($1.0 million), which will be 

shared with the National Gallery of Art under a unique partnership agreement. These 

funds will also be used for design work for major revitalization projects at the National 

Zoological Park ($2.5 million); the National Museum of Natural History ($2.0 million); the 

National Museum of American History ($1.5 million); and the Hirshhorn Museum and 

Sculpture Garden ($1.0 million). In addition, this request includes funding to prepare 

master plan updates for the National Museum of Natural History ($1.0 million), and the 

National Zoological Park ($1.0 million) and prepare designs for numerous smaller 

revitalization projects, including security upgrades, space utilization studies, and master 

planning ($13.9 million), to guide future facilities decisions and ensure more effective use 

of existing space.
Board of Regents

Secretary Chief of Staff

General Counsel

Office of the Regents

Inspector General

Assistant Secretary

Communications and 

External Affairs

and

Chief Marketing Officer

 Assistant Secretary

Advancement

 Director, Equal Emp. 

& Minority Affairs

Chief Financial Officer

Human Resources

Information Technology

Investments

Smithsonian Enterprises

Smithsonian Facilities

Smithsonian Organization Audience & 

Research

Smithsonian Security

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

FEBRUARY 2020

Deputy Secretary

and

Chief Operating Officer

Under Secretary

for

Administration

Anacostia Community Museum

Archives of American Art

Arts and Industries Building

Asian Pacific American Center

Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Freer|Sackler Galleries of Art

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

National Air and Space Museum

National Museum of African American History 

and Culture

National Museum of African Art

National Museum of American History

National Museum of the American Indian

National Portrait Gallery

National Postal Museum

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Smithsonian Exhibits

Smithsonian Latino Center

Museum Conservation Institute

National Museum of Natural History

 National Zoological Park/Smithsonian 

Conservation Biology Institute

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Fellowships and Internships

Smithsonian Affiliations and Traveling 

Exhibition Service

Smithsonian Associates

Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital 

Access

Smithsonian Science Education Center

Under Secretary 

for 

Education

Under Secretary 

for

Museums and Culture

Under Secretary

for

Science and Research

269
270

VISITS TO THE SMITHSONIAN

FYs 2015–2019

MUSEUM FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2019

MALL

SI Castle 1,103,499 1,094,311 1,131,280 1,082,016 955,949

A&I Building1 0 56,427 64,343 18,329 27,514

Natural History 7,049,730 6,942,276 6,103,289 5,177,357 4,228,940

Air and Space 6,902,206 7,354,352 7,120,722 6,382,500 3,869,046

American Indian 1,307,568 1,120,359 1,157,460 1,109,424 985,781

Freer Gallery2 389,113 88,989 0 294,866 300,066

Sackler Gallery 155,998 187,473 195,051 142,548 153,213

African Art 226,743 209,239 165,343 144,175 130,414

Ripley Center 156,318 155,548 164,853 127,850 150,663

American History 4,100,718 3,849,115 3,914,493 4,026,325 3,061,396

Hirshhorn 658,312 647,915 1,097,847 808,498 982,816

African American 

History and Culture3

0 83,802 2,508,403 2,039,364 1,923,563

OFF MALL

DW Reynolds 

Center (AA/PG)

1,265,223 1,224,282 1,242,707 2,118,434 1,819,355

Anacostia 32,983 28,458 31,775 37,562 11,038

Cooper Hewitt

4 218,840 408,846 355,672 316,732 267,948

American Indian5

(Heye Center/CRC)

514,527 472,124 439,325 417,829 357,554

Renwick6

National Zoo 

0

2,194,194

829,735

2,593,559

371,201

2,025,148

795,523

1,664,579

430,101

1,885,116

Postal 401,124 359,562 470,723 525,168 489,120

Udvar-Hazy Center 1,529,293 1,592,416 1,570,706 1,546,780 1,317,082

TOTAL7 28,206,389 29,298,788 30,130,341 28,775,859 23,346,675

1 The Arts and Industries (A&I) Building closed to the public in January of 2004 and hosts special events only.

2 The Freer Gallery closed to the public in January of 2016 for renovation and reopened in October of 2017.

3 The National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in September of 2016.

4 The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum closed to the public in October of 2011 for phase two of the Carnegie 

Mansion renovation project and reopened in December of 2014.

5

Includes the George Gustav Heye Center in New York City and the Cultural Resources Center (CRC) in Suitland,

Maryland.

6 The Renwick Gallery closed to the public in December of 2013 and reopened in November of 2015.

7 The drop in visits in FY 2019 is due to the federal Government shutdown (in January of 2019), the partial closure of the 

National Air and Space Museum for a major renovation project, and a revised counting methodology.
271

TRUST FUNDS

In addition to support provided by federal appropriations, the Smithsonian

Institution receives and generates trust funds to expand and enrich its programs.

Trust funds are used to leverage the Smithsonian’s research capacity through 

partnerships with federal agencies, universities, non-Governmental 

organizations, industry, and other private organizations, both national and 

international. Trust funds are raised to renovate and modernize exhibits 

throughout the Institution. The following provides an overview of the current 

sources of trust funds.

The Institution’s trust funds include general trust funds with limited or no 

restrictions on their use, funds restricted by the donor or sponsor, and 

Government grants and contracts. Projections are subject to the uncertainty of 

the size of donations, grants, and contracts; to fluctuations in visitor attendance;

and to the volatility of the economy, which together directly affect the return on 

the endowment, short-term interest income, and donor giving, as well as 

restaurant, magazine, catalogue, and museum shop revenues, memberships, 

and other business activities. The Institution’s gross operating revenue, less the 

expenses of the auxiliary activities, represents the net operating revenue 

available for programmatic and related purposes. The following table 

summarizes the sources of trust operating funds.

(Dollars in Millions)

FY 2019

Estimates

FY 2020

Estimates

General Trust 89.5 81.5

Donor/Sponsor-Designated 249.2 238.9

Government Grants and Contracts 78.1 81.3

Total Available for Operations $416.8 $401.7

SOURCE AND APPLICATION OF TRUST FUNDS — The following sections 

describe the sources of each category of trust funds as well as a general account 

of how they are used.

General Trust Funds — The sources of general trust funds are 

investment income; payout from unrestricted endowments; net proceeds from the 

museum shops, catalogues, and food service concessions; sales of Smithsonian 

books, records, and other products based on designs and objects in the 

collections; theater/planetarium operations at the National Air and Space 

Museum; student travel programs; rental of exhibitions of the Smithsonian 

Institution Traveling Exhibition Service; membership programs (including

subscriptions to Smithsonian and Air and Space magazines); the sale of posters, 

exhibition brochures, catalogues, and other publications; and admission fees. 

Projected sources of FY 2020 general trust funds total $81,500,000. These funds 
272

are used to support administrative programs such as central management, legal 

counsel, accounting, personnel, contracting, and budget, as well as fund raising, 

education, research and public programs, scholarly studies, and exhibitions.

Donor/Sponsor-Designated Funds — Designated trust funds include 

gifts, grants, and earnings on endowments from individuals, foundations, 

organizations, and corporations which specify the purpose of the funds. 

Designated funds in FY 2020 are projected to total $238,900,000. Generally, 

these funds support a specific exhibition or program, or are used to manage the 

Smithsonian collections and/or support research projects in accordance with the 

Institution’s mission.

Government Grants and Contracts — Various Government agencies 

and departments provide grants and contracts for specific projects that align with

the Smithsonian’s expertise in a particular area of science, history, art, or 

education. For FY 2020, Government grants and contracts are projected to total 

$81,300,000. Of this amount and the Donor/Sponsor-Designated Funds shown 

above, $66,272,000 is planned for astrophysical research and development 

programs carried out by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
273

APPROPRIATION LANGUAGE AND CITATIONS

The Act of August 10, 1846, codified within 20 U.S.C. §§ 41–70, established 

the Smithsonian Institution “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge,” and provided 

the organizational structure for the Institution’s administration. The mission of the 

Smithsonian Institution has remained unchanged throughout its 174-year history, 

although additional authority for many of the Institution’s programs and operations has 

been enacted over the years. Selected provisions of those statutes, along with 

selected provisions of the Smithsonian charter and prior-year appropriations acts, are 

cited below as authority for the Smithsonian Institution’s FY 2020 appropriations

language included in the Department of Interior, Environment and Related Agencies 

Appropriations Act, 2020, Division D of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

2020 (Public Law 116-94, approved December 20, 2019). 

Appropriation: Salaries and Expenses

1. For necessary expenses of the Smithsonian Institution, as authorized by law, 

including research in the fields of art, science, and history;

20 U.S.C. § 50 provides that “...all objects of art and of foreign and 

curious research, and all objects of natural history, plants, and geological 

and mineralogical specimens...shall be so arranged and classified...as 

best to facilitate the examination and study of them...” 

20 U.S.C. § 53a provides that “Appropriations are hereby authorized 

for...the making of solar observations at high altitudes...” 

20 U.S.C. § 69 provides that “The Secretary of the Smithsonian 

Institution is hereby authorized...to continue independently or in 

cooperation anthropological researches among the American Indians 

and the natives of lands under the jurisdiction or protection of the United 

States...” 

20 U.S.C. § 75b(b) provides that “The [National Portrait] Gallery shall 

function as a free public museum for the exhibition and study of 

portraiture and statuary depicting men and women who have made 

significant contributions to the history, development, and culture of the 

people of the United States and of the artists who created such 

portraiture and statuary.” 

20 U.S.C. § 76bb(c) provides that “The Joseph H. Hirshhorn Museum 

and Sculpture Garden...shall be used for the storage, exhibition, and 

study of works of art...” 

20 U.S.C. § 77a provides that “Said national air and space museum 

shall...provide educational material for the historical study of aviation and 

space flight.” 
274

20 U.S.C. § 78 provides that “The Secretary of the Smithsonian 

Institution is hereby authorized to cooperate with any State, educational 

institution, or scientific organization in the United States, for continuing 

paleontological investigations...” 

20 U.S.C. § 80m(a)(3) provides that “(a)...the Board [of Regents] may--

...(3) conduct programs of research and education [in the Museum of 

African Art]...”

20 U.S.C. §§ 80q-1(b)(1) & (3) provide that “(b)The purposes of the 

National Museum [of the American Indian] are to-- (1) advance the study 

of Native Americans, including the study of language, literature, history, 

art, anthropology, and life;...(3) provide for Native American research 

and study programs...”

20 U.S.C. § 80r-2(b)(1) provides that “(b) The purpose of the [National] 

Museum [of African American History and Culture] shall be to provide 

for-- (1) the collection, study and establishment of programs relating to 

African American life, art, history and culture that encompass [certain 

periods of the African American diaspora]...”

2. development, preservation, and documentation of the National Collections;

20 U.S.C. § 50 provides that “...all objects of art and of foreign and 

curious research, and all objects of natural history, plants, and geological 

and mineralogical specimens...shall be delivered to such persons as 

may be authorized by the Board of Regents to receive them, and shall 

be so arranged and classified...as best to facilitate the examination and 

study of them...” 

20 U.S.C. § 50a provides that “The Smithsonian Institution is . . . 

authorized to include in its estimates of appropriations such sums as 

may be needful for the preservation and maintenance of the [John 

Gellatly art] collection.” 

20 U.S.C. § 59 provides that “All collections of rocks, minerals, soils, 

fossils, and objects of natural history, archaeology, and ethnology...when 

no longer needed for investigations in progress shall be deposited in the 

National Museum.” 

20 U.S.C. § 69 provides that “The Secretary of the Smithsonian 

Institution is hereby authorized...to continue independently or in 

cooperation...the excavation and preservation of archaeological 

remains.” 
275

20 U.S.C. § 75e(1) provides that “...the Board [of Regents] may-- (1) 

purchase, accept, borrow, or otherwise acquire portraiture, statuary, and 

other items for preservation, exhibition, or study.” 

20 U.S.C. § 76c(b) provides that “...the Regents are hereby 

authorized...to acquire (by purchase or otherwise) and sell contemporary 

works of art or copies thereof...” 

20 U.S.C. § 76cc(a) provides that “There is established in the 

Smithsonian Institution a Board of Trustees...which shall have the sole 

authority (i) to purchase or otherwise acquire (whether by gift, exchange, 

or other means) works of art for the Joseph H. Hirshhorn Museum and 

Sculpture Garden...” 

20 U.S.C. § 77a provides that “Said national air and space museum 

shall...collect, preserve, and display aeronautical and space flight 

equipment of historical interest and significance...”

20 U.S.C. § 80a(a) provides that “...the Smithsonian Institution shall 

collect, preserve, and exhibit military objects of historical interest and 

significance.” 

20 U.S.C. §§ 80m(a)(1) & (2) provide that “(a)...the Board [of Regents] 

may-- (1) purchase, accept, borrow or otherwise acquire additional 

works of art or any other real or personal property for the Museum [of 

African Art]; (2) preserve, maintain, restore...or otherwise hold any 

property of whatsoever nature acquired...” 

20 U.S.C. § 80q-1(b)(2) provides that “(b) The purposes of the National 

Museum [of the American Indian] are to--...(2) collect, preserve, and 

exhibit Native American objects of artistic, historical, literary, 

anthropological, and scientific interest...” 

20 U.S.C. § 80r-2(b)(3) provides that “(b) The purpose of the [National] 

Museum [of African American History and Culture] shall be to provide 

for-- ...(3) the collection and study of artifacts and documents relating to 

African American life, art, history, and culture...”

20 U.S.C. § 81 provides that “The National Zoological Park is placed 

under the direction of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, who 

are authorized to transfer to it any living specimens, whether of animals 

or plants, in their charge, to accept gifts for the park...[and] to make 

exchanges of specimens...” 
276

3. presentation of public exhibits and performances;

20 U.S.C. § 75b(b) provides that “The [National Portrait] Gallery shall 

function as a free public museum for the exhibition and study of 

portraiture and statuary...” 

20 U.S.C. § 76c(b) provides that “In order to encourage the development 

of contemporary art and to effect the widest distribution and cultivation in 

matters of such art, the Regents are hereby authorized to...conduct 

exhibitions...” 

20 U.S.C. § 76bb(c) provides that “The Joseph H. Hirshhorn Museum 

and Sculpture Garden...shall be used for the storage, exhibition, and 

study of works of art...” 

20 U.S.C. § 77a provides that “Said national air and space museum 

shall...collect, preserve, and display aeronautical and space flight 

equipment of historical interest and significance...” 

20 U.S.C. § 80a(a) provides that “...the Smithsonian Institution shall 

collect, preserve, and exhibit military objects of historical interest and 

significance.” 

20 U.S.C. § 80m(a)(2) provides that “(a)...the Board [of Regents] may--

...(2)...display...any property of whatsoever nature acquired [for the 

Museum of African Art]...” 

20 U.S.C. § 80q-1(b)(2) provides that “(b) The purposes of the National 

Museum [of the American Indian] are to--...(2) collect, preserve, and 

exhibit Native American objects of artistic, historical, literary, 

anthropological, and scientific interest...”

20 U.S.C. § 80r-2(b)(3) provides that “(b) The purpose of the [National] 

Museum [of African American History and Culture] shall be to provide 

for-- ...(3) the collection and study of artifacts and documents relating to 

African American life, art, history, and culture...”

4. collection, preparation, dissemination, and exchange of information and 

publications; 

20 U.S.C. § 53a provides that “Appropriations are hereby authorized 

for...preparation of manuscripts, drawings, and illustrations for 

publications.”
277

5. conduct of education, training, and museum assistance programs;

20 U.S.C. §§ 65a(a)(1),(3) & (4) provide that “(a)The Director of the 

National Museum under the direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian 

Institution shall-- (1) cooperate with museums and their professional 

organizations in a continuing study of museum problems and 

opportunities, both in the United States and abroad;... (3) prepare and 

distribute significant museum publications; (4) perform research on, and 

otherwise contribute to, the [development of] museum techniques....”

20 U.S.C. § 77a provides that “Said national air and space museum 

shall...provide educational material for the historical study of aviation and 

space flight.”

20 U.S.C. § 79a provides that “The purpose of setting aside such an 

area [Barro Colorado Island] is to preserve and conserve its natural 

features...thus providing a place where duly qualified students can make 

observations and scientific investigations for increase of knowledge, 

under such conditions and regulations as may be prescribed by the 

[Smithsonian Institution].”

20 U.S.C. § 79e provides that “There are authorized to be appropriated 

annually...such sums as are necessary for the administration of [the 

Canal Zone Biological Area] ... and for the maintenance of laboratory or 

other facilities...”

20 U.S.C. § 80m(a)(3) provides that “(a)...the Board [of Regents] may--

...(3) conduct programs of research and education [in the Museum of 

African Art]....”

Section 2 of Public Law 114-151 (May 9, 2016), to protect and preserve 

international cultural property, provides that the Smithson Institution 

should be included in an interagency coordinating committee 

to...”consult with governmental and nongovernmental organizations, 

including... museums, educational institutions, and research institutions, 

and participants in the international art and cultural property market on 

efforts to protect and preserve international cultural property.”

6. maintenance, alteration, operation, lease agreements of no more than 30 

years, and protection of buildings, facilities, and approaches;

20 U.S.C. § 53a provides that “Appropriations are hereby authorized for 

the maintenance of the Astrophysical Observatory and...for repairs and 

alterations of buildings and grounds occupied by the Smithsonian 

Institution in the District of Columbia and elsewhere...” 
278

20 U.S.C. § 76ee provides that “There is authorized to be 

appropriated...such additional sums as may be necessary for the 

maintenance and operation of such [Hirshhorn] museum and sculpture 

garden.” 

20 U.S.C. § 79b(c) provides that “The ...[Smithsonian Institution] 

shall...(c) be responsible for the construction and maintenance of 

laboratory and other facilities on the area provided for the use of 

students authorized to carry on studies within the confines of the area...”

20 U.S.C. § 80m(a)(2) provides that “(a)...the Board [of Regents] may--

...(2) preserve, maintain...any property of whatsoever nature acquired 

[for the Museum of African Art]...” 

20 U.S.C. § 81 provides that “The National Zoological Park is placed 

under the direction of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, who 

are authorized...to administer and improve the said Zoological Park for 

the advancement of science and the instruction and recreation of the 

people.” Public Law 101-512 making appropriations for the Department 

of the Interior and Related Agencies for the fiscal year 1991 extended 

the maximum term for federal leases from ten years to thirty. 

7. not to exceed $ for services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109;

5 U.S.C. § 3109(b) provides that “When authorized by an appropriation 

or other statute, the head of an agency may procure by contract the 

temporary (not in excess of 1 year) or intermittent services of experts or 

consultants or an organization thereof, including stenographic reporting 

services.”

8. and purchase, rental, repair, and cleaning of uniforms for employees,

5 U.S.C. § 5901(a) provides that “There is authorized to be appropriated 

annually to each agency of the Government of the United States...on a 

showing of necessity or desirability, such sums as may be necessary to 

carry out this subchapter. 

40 U.S.C. § 6306(c) provides that “The employees designated as special 

police under subsection (a) [covering the Smithsonian Institution] may be 

provided, without charge, with uniforms and other equipment as may be 

necessary for the proper performance of their duties...”

9. $_______, to remain available until September 30, 20__, except as otherwise 

provided herein;

Wording added by the Congress in Public Law 111-88 making 

appropriations for the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies 
279

for fiscal year 2010 to extend the availability for the Salaries and 

Expenses account from one year to two years unless otherwise 

provided.

10. of which not to exceed $________ for the instrumentation program, collections 

acquisition, exhibition reinstallation, and the repatriation of skeletal remains 

program shall remain available until expended; 

Wording added by the Congress in Public Law 100-446 making 

appropriations for the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies 

for fiscal year 1989 to permit the Institution to establish no-year funding 

within the Salaries and Expenses account for the development of major 

scientific instrumentation. Public Law 101-512, making appropriations for 

the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies for fiscal year 1991, 

allowed no-year funding to be used for the instrumentation program as 

well as purchases for museum collections; reinstallation of museum 

exhibitions; and the repatriation of skeletal remains. 

31 U.S.C. § 1301(c)(2) provides that “(c) An appropriation in a regular, 

annual appropriation law may be construed to be permanent or available 

continuously only if the appropriation--... (2) expressly provides that it is 

available after the fiscal year covered by the law in which it appears.” 

11. and including such funds as may be necessary to support American overseas 

research centers:

Wording added by the Congress in Public Law 99-190 making 

appropriations for Other Related Agencies for fiscal year 1986. 

12. Provided , That funds appropriated herein are available for advance payments 

to independent contractors performing research services or participating in 

official Smithsonian presentations.

31 U.S.C. § 3324(b)(1) provides that (b) “An advance of public money 

may be made only if it is authorized by-- (1) a specific appropriation or 

other law...”

13. Provided further, That the Smithsonian may expend Federal appropriations 

designated in this Act for lease or rent payments, as rent payable to the 

Smithsonian Institution, and such rent payments may be deposited into the 

general trust funds of the Institution to be available as trust funds for expenses 

associated with the purchase of a portion of the building at 600 Maryland 

Avenue, S.W., Washington D.C. to the extent that Federally supported activities 

will be housed there: Provided further, That the use of such amounts in the 

general trust funds of the Institution for such purpose shall not be construed as 

Federal debt service for, a Federal guarantee of, a transfer of risk to, or an 

obligation of the Federal Government: Provided further, That no appropriated 
280

funds may be used directly to service debt which is incurred to finance the 

costs of acquiring a portion of the building at 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., 

Washington D.C., or of planning, designing, and constructing improvements to 

such building: Provided further, That any agreement entered into by the 

Smithsonian Institution for the sale of its ownership interest, or any portion 

thereof, in such building so acquired may not take effect until the expiration of a 

30 day period which begins on the date on which the Secretary submits to the 

Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and Senate, 

the Committees on House Administration and Transportation and Infrastructure 

of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Rules and 

Administration of the Senate a report, as outlined in the explanatory statement 

described in section 4 (in the matter preceding division A of the consolidated 

Act), on intended sale.

Wording added by the Congress in Department of Interior, Environment and 

Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020, as enacted by Division D of the 

Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116-94, approved 

December 20, 2019).

Appropriation: Facilities Capital

1. For necessary expenses of repair, revitalization, and alteration of facilities 

owned or occupied by the Smithsonian Institution, by contract or otherwise, as 

authorized by section 2 of the Act of August 22, 1949 (63 Stat. 623),

20 U.S.C. § 53a provides that “Appropriations are hereby authorized...for 

repairs and alterations of buildings and grounds occupied by the 

Smithsonian Institution in the District of Columbia and elsewhere...”

20 U.S.C. § 81 provides that “The National Zoological Park is placed 

under the direction of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, who 

are authorized...to administer and improve the said Zoological Park for 

the advancement of science and the instruction and recreation of the 

people.”

Public Law 108-108, making appropriations for the Department of the 

Interior and Related Agencies for fiscal year 2004, established the 

Facilities Capital appropriation. The appropriation includes activities 

formerly financed through the Repair, Restoration and Alteration of 

Facilities appropriation and the Construction appropriation.

2. and for construction,

20 U.S.C. § 53a provides that “Appropriations are hereby authorized...for 

repairs and alterations of buildings and grounds occupied by the 

Smithsonian Institution in the District of Columbia and elsewhere...” 
281

3. including necessary personnel,

Wording added by Congress for clarification in Public Law 108-7 making 

appropriations for the Department of Interior and Related Agencies for 

fiscal year 2003.

4. $ _________ to remain available until expended,

31 U.S.C. § 1301(c)(2) provides that “(c) An appropriation in a regular, 

annual appropriation law may be construed to be permanent or available 

continuously only if the appropriation--... (2) expressly provides that it is 

available after the fiscal year covered by the law in which it appears.”

5. of which not to exceed $ shall be for services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 

3109.

5 U.S.C. § 3109(b) provides that “When authorized by an appropriation 

or other statute, the head of an agency may procure by contract the temporary (not in excess of 1 year) or intermittent services of experts or 

consultants or an organization thereof, including stenographic reporting 

services.”
November 21, 2019

The Honorable Betty McCollum

Chair, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies

Committee on Appropriations

U. S. House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Madam Chair:

I am pleased to send you the Smithsonian Institution’s Office of the Inspector General’s 

Semiannual Report to Congress for the period of April 1, 2019 to September 30, 2019.

The report highlights the audit and investigation activities of the Office of the Inspector 

General for this six-month period and fulfills the Institution’s requirements under Section 

5(a) of the Inspector General Act of 1978. Also included is the Smithsonian’s response as 

required by Section 5(b) of the Act.

Sincerely,

Risa J. Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D.

Chair, Audit and Review Committee of the Board of Regents

Smithsonian Institution

Enclosures

282
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SI Management Response to OIG Semi Annual Report Page 1 Fall 2019

MANAGEMENT RESPONSE

TABLE 1

CORRECTIVE ACTIONS ON RECOMMENDATIONS MADE IN PREVIOUS SEMIANNUAL REPORTING PERIODS

Audit Report 

Date

Title of Audit Progress on Actions

3/14/2016 Audit of the Smithsonian Institution’s Privacy 

Program (OIG-A-16-04-6, March 14, 2016)

The Smithsonian Privacy Officer (SPO) ensures a PIA is 

completed for all systems containing PII.

In process and on track. During the PII inventory 

process, the Privacy Office identified approximately 

289 paper records and 132 IT Electronic Systems

requiring privacy risk assessments. In addition, 

Management identified and prioritized systems (both IT 

and paper) for assessment based on risk level; and 

collaborated with key stakeholders to configure the 

automated governance, risk compliance tool (Archer) to 

assess all paper record systems moving forward. 

Management is in the process of completing the 

requisite assessment and is on track for completion by

April 1, 2020.

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SI Management Response to OIG Semi Annual Report Page 2 Fall 2019

Audit Report 

Date

Title of Audit Progress on Actions

9/27/2017 Physical Security: The Office of Protection Services 

(OPS) Needs to Strengthen Training, Medical and 

Physical, and Equipment Requirements for Armed 

Security Guards and Improve Oversight of Unarmed 

Contract Guards (OIG-A-18-08, September 18, 2018)

The Director of OPS:

(1) assess the costs and benefits of adopting the ISC’s

best practice to require semi-annual firearms

qualifications for all armed security guards;

(1) Management submitted a closure request on

7/17/2019. Management (OPS) completed its cost

benefit evaluation of adopting the ISC’s best practice to

require semi-annual firearms qualifications for all armed

security guards. Similarly, it identified staffing levels

and funding requirements, as well as, alternative

solutions that would be required to achieve the optimal

level of support.

Audit Report 

Date Title of Audit Progress on Actions

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SI Management Response to OIG Semi Annual Report Page 3 Fall 2019

9/27/2017 Personnel Security: Actions Needed to Strengthen the 

Background Investigation Process (OIG-A-18-09, 

September 20, 2018)

The Director of Human Resources (OHR) should 

develop and implement policies and procedures to do the 

following:

(1) designate and document position risk and sensitivity

for all human resource offices;

(2) include a requirement that Trust positions receive a

sensitivity designation; and

(3) monitor compliance of position risk and sensitivity

designations conducted by all human resource offices.

The Director of Office of Protection Services (OPS) 

should do the following:

(4) develop and implement procedures to establish time

frames to schedule post-employment background

investigations, monitor compliance with the newly

established time frames, provide post-employment

background investigations for temporary employees

(1), (2) and (3). In process and on track. Management 

(OHR) is updating Smithsonian Directive (SD) 212 and 

213, Chapter 731, as well as developing a procedural 

document, to clarify the position risk and sensitivity 

documentation requirements for federal and trust 

position descriptions. Revisions to the SD will also 

clarify that OHR has oversight for these designations 

across all Smithsonian human resource offices (ie., 

those smaller offices located within Smithsonian 

Enterprises, Smithsonian Astrophysical Office, and the 

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute), and will 

monitor compliance. Position descriptions previously in 

existence without this documentation have been updated 

to include the appropriate risk and sensitivity 

designations, and all newly established position 

descriptions include this information. Target date for 

completion of these is March 31, 2020.

(4) Management submitted a closure request on

9/25/2019. Management (OPS) established time frames

to schedule post-employment background investigations

and developed and began monitoring metric compliance

with the newly established time frames. Management

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SI Management Response to OIG Semi Annual Report Page 4 Fall 2019

whose appointment extends past 180 days, and review 

data in the Identity Management System to help ensure 

that it is accurate and complete;

began providing post-employment background 

investigations for temporary employees whose 

appointment extends past 180 days, developed Identity 

Management System quality check procedures, and 

began its audits as of April 1, 2019. 

(5) conduct the required level of background

investigations for the sampled employees who did not

have a post-employment background investigation

scheduled;

(6) conduct the required level of background

investigations for those employees without a record of

one.

The Chief Operating Officer and Under Secretary for 

Finance and Administration should do the following:

(7) develop and implement a policy to require (a) all

employees and affiliated individuals to undergo a

background investigation prior to being granted

computer system access, and (b) OCIO to independently

verify with OPS that an investigation was completed.

(5) Management submitted a closure request to the

OIG on 9/25/2019. Management (OPS) verified the

appropriate background investigation for each of the

sampled employees who did not have a postemployment background investigation scheduled from

the three HR offices, and conducted the appropriate

background investigations.

(6) In process and on track. Management (OPS)

received the position description designations for the

sampled employees who did not have a postemployment background investigation scheduled from

the three HR offices, and is in the process of verifying

the appropriate background investigation for each.

Target date for completion is January 31, 2020.

(7) In process and on track. Management (OCIO and

OPS) updated SI policy and procedures to require

backgrounds checks prior to the granting of computer

network access. The policy (SD 224) is being vetted

through the Smithsonian policy approval process.

Management is also in the process of implementing the

revised procedures regarding OCIO’s verification of

investigation completion. Target date for completion is

November 30, 2019.

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SI Management Response to OIG Semi Annual Report Page 5 Fall 2019

(8) identify all employees and affiliated individuals who

have computer system access but have not received

background investigations and ensure that they receive

background investigations.

The Directors of the Office of Protection Services and 

the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) 

should:

(9) develop and implement background investigation

policies and procedures for all STRI's locally hired

Panamanian employees.

(8) In process and on track. Management (OCIO and

OPS) has been working to validate the list of individuals

who currently have computer system/network accounts

against the background investigation records, and to

begin the process of conducting appropriate background

checks for the identified personnel. Target date for

completion is March 31, 2020.

(9) In process and on track. Management (OPS and

STRI) completed the first draft of background

investigation policies and procedures for all of STRI’s

locally hired Panamanian employees and is continuing

to vet and refine the documents. Target date for

completion is March 31, 2020.

288
SI Management Response to OIG Semi Annual Report Page 6 Fall 2019

Audit Report 

Date

Title of Audit Progress on Actions

9/27/2017 Fiscal Year 2017 Independent Evaluation of the 

Smithsonian Institution’s Information Security 

Program (OIG-A-19-01, October 10, 2018)

The Director of Office of Protection Services (OPS) 

should do the following:

(1) improve security incidence response at the

Smithsonian.

(1) In process and on track. Management (OPS)

completed the risk assessment and implementation of

improvements. In addition to the efforts by the Director

of the affected office, Management re-keyed offices and

added door guards to minimize break-in vulnerability.

Protection Service personnel are working with the

building management at the facility to finalize

identification of alarm points in order to separate out

notification and response procedures. Target date for

completion is November 30, 2019.

289
Adjustments for FY 2020

(Dollars in Thousands)

FY 2020 

Enacted

Reorganizations 

and 

Reprogrammings

FY 2020 

Revised 

Estimate 

Unit $000s $000s $000s

MUSEUMS AND RESEARCH CENTERS

Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe

National Air and Space Museum 20,110 0 20,110

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory 24,745 0 24,745

Major Scientific Instrumentation 4,118 0 4,118

Universe Consortium 184 0 184

Subtotal, Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe 49,157 0 49,157

Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet

National Museum of Natural History 49,789 0 49,789

National Zoological Park 28,066 0 28,066

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center 4,357 115 \1 4,472

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 14,702 0 14,702

Biodiversity Consortium 1,543 0 1,543

Subtotal, Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet 98,457 115 98,572

Valuing World Cultures

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery/Freer Gallery of Art 6,273 0 6,273

Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage 3,484 0 3,484

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum 5,086 0 5,086

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden 4,544 0 4,544

National Museum of African Art 4,854 0 4,854

World Cultures Consortium 792 0 792

Subtotal, Valuing World Cultures 25,033 0 25,033

Understanding the American Experience

Anacostia Community Museum 2,405 85 \2 2,490

Archives of American Art 1,933 0 1,933

National Museum of African American History & Culture 33,117 0 33,117

National Museum of American History, Behring Center 25,478 0 25,478

National Museum of the American Indian 33,648 237 \3 33,885

National Portrait Gallery 6,646 0 6,646

National Postal Museum 1,581 250 \4 1,831

Smithsonian American Art Museum 10,389 23 \5 10,412

American Experience Consortium 600 0 600

Subtotal, Understanding the American Experience 115,797 345 116,392

TOTAL, MUSEUMS AND RESEARCH CENTERS 288,444 710 289,154

290
Adjustments for FY 2020

(Dollars in Thousands)

FY 2020 

Enacted

Reorganizations 

and 

Reprogrammings

FY 2020 

Revised 

Estimate 

Unit $000s $000s $000s

MISSION ENABLING

Program Support and Outreach

Outreach 9,333 0 9,333

Communications 2,839 0 2,839

Institution-wide Programs 23,284 0 23,284

Smithsonian Exhibits 3,169 0 3,169

Museum Support Center 1,906 0 1,906

Museum Conservation Institute 3,359 0 3,359

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives 14,458 0 14,458

Subtotal, Program Support and Outreach 58,348 0 58,348

Office of the Chief Information Officer 54,247 200 \6 54,447

Administration 37,324 -400 \1,2,6 36,924

Office of the Inspector General 4,077 0 4,077

Facilities Services

Facilities Maintenance 114,545 0 114,545

Facilities Operations, Security, and Support 236,673 -510 \3,4,5 236,163

TOTAL, MISSION ENABLING 505,214 -710 504,504

GRAND TOTAL, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 793,658 0 793,658

Footnotes for FY 2020 Estimate:

\1 Transfer of $115,000 from Administration to Smithsonian Environmental Research Center to fund a safety officer.

\2 Transfer of $85,000 from Administration to Anacostia Community Museum for operational support.

\3 Transfer of $237,000 from Smithsonian Facilities, Operations, Security and Support to National Museum of the American 

Indian for security requirements.

\4 Transfer of $250,000 from Smithsonian Facilities, Operations, Security and Support to National Postal Museum for security requirements.

\5 Transfer of $23,000 from Smithsonian Facilities, Operations, Security and Support to Smithsonian American Art Museum

to support storage lease.

\6 Transfer of $200,000 from Administration to Office of the Chief Information Officer to support privacy function.

291