Smithsonian Institution - independent trust of the United States, administered by a Board of Regents. Created in 1846 from the estate of James Smithson of England, it fosters the growth and spread of knowledge. The Smithsonian Institution presents exhibits and performances in areas of history, technology, science and the arts. Some of the museums and cultural organizations that function as part of the Smithsonian Institution are: the Anacostia Museum, the Archives of American Art, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, the Freer Gallery of Art, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of African Art, the National Museum of American Art, the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Postal Museum, the National Zoological Park, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the National Gallery of Art, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Center for Folklife Programs, the Center for Museum Studies, the Smithsonian Institution Archives, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.