<P> The National Museum of Natural History is a natural - history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution , located on the National Mall in Washington , D.C. , United States . It has free admission and is open 364 days a year . In 2016 , with 7.1 million visitors , it was the fourth most visited museum in the world and the most visited natural - history museum in the world . Opened in 1910 , the museum on the National Mall was one of the first Smithsonian buildings constructed exclusively to hold the national collections and research facilities . The main building has an overall area of 1,500,000 square feet ( 140,000 m ) with 325,000 square feet ( 30,200 m ) of exhibition and public space and houses over 1,000 employees . </P>
<P> The National Museum of Natural History is a natural - history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution , located on the National Mall in Washington , D.C. , United States . It has free admission and is open 364 days a year . In 2016 , with 7.1 million visitors , it was the fourth most visited museum in the world and the most visited natural - history museum in the world . Opened in 1910 , the museum on the National Mall was one of the first Smithsonian buildings constructed exclusively to hold the national collections and research facilities . The main building has an overall area of 1,500,000 square feet ( 140,000 m ) with 325,000 square feet ( 30,200 m ) of exhibition and public space and houses over 1,000 employees . </P>
when was the national museum of natural history built
when was the national museum of natural history built
1910
1910