The number of visitors to the Smithsonian's museums and the National Zoo have declined 27 percent since 2001, according to NBC4.com.
Since 2001, overall attendance at the Smithsonian Institution's 18 museums in the District and New York City, as well as the National Zoo, has declined from 31.7 million to 23.2 million. Overall attendance is, however, above the 2004 low of 20.4 million, according to NBC4.com.
The decline in attendance was originally caused by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the subsequent decline in tourism in the District, according to NBC4.com.
The National Air and Space Museum had the largest attendance decline of any of the individual museums, recording a 46 percent drop in visitors since 2001. The National Museum of American History also recorded a 42 percent drop in attendance from 2001 to 2005, the last full year it was open prior to being closed in September 2006 for renovations. The museum is supposed to reopen in the summer of 2008, according to NBC4.com.
