What is the Smithsonian Institution and why is it important?

On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting the Smithsonian Institution, a behemoth of a research and museum organization that operates more than 20 museum and research centers and is visited by millions of people each year, mainly in Washington DC and New York City. The museums include the National Museum of African Art, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), which Trump name-checked in his executive order. Trump’s executive order instructs Vice-President JD Vance to “eliminate improper, divisive or anti-American ideology” from the Smithsonian’s museums.

Related: Trump’s weird obsession with the arts is part of the authoritarian playbook | Charlotte Higgins

The Smithsonian has already come under scrutiny by Trump and his allies. Earlier this year, the institution was forced to close its diversity office and froze all federal hiring.

But what is the Smithsonian Institute, and why is it important?

What is the Smithsonian Institution?

Envisioned in the 19th century by James Smithson, a British scientist who bequeathed his estate in hopes of establishing an institution to “the increase and diffusion of knowledge”, the Smithsonian Institution had a budget last year that exceeded $1bn. Per its website, it is the “world’s largest museum, education, and research complex”. The Smithsonian Institution’s collection holds more than 150m items, including historical artefacts, scientific specimens, fossil flora and fauna, art and other objects and materials.

The institution is not a government agency, but a “trust instrumentality” of the United States, which means that it was created by Congress. It is overseen by a board of regents that includes the chief justice of the supreme court, the vice-president, three members of each house of Congress and nine appointed citizens. The order seeks to appoint new “citizen members” to the board, who are “committed to advancing the policy of this order”.

What is included in the Smithsonian collection?

The Smithsonian Institution’s collection is vast – less than 1% of the collection is on display at any given time, and some parts of it are available online. The Smithsonian Institution’s total collection includes works of art spanning 6,000 years and across different cultures; an oral history collection; sculptures; historical artefacts; full-size planes,…