8 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1956 



the House of Representatives: Overton Brooks, Clarence Cannon, 

 John M. Vorys ; citizen members : Arthur H. Compton, Everette Lee 

 DeGolyer, Robert V. Fleming, Crawford H. Greenewalt, Caryl P. 

 Haskins, and Jerome C. Hunsaker. 



FINANCES 



A statement on finances, dealing particularly with Smithsonian pri- 

 vate funds, will be found in the report of the executive committee of 

 the Board of Regents, page 204. 



APPROPRIATIONS 



Funds appropriated to the Institution for its regular operations for 

 the fiscal year ended June 30, 1956, total $4,166,000, obligated as 

 follows : 



Management $77,906 



United States National Museum 1, 386, 023 



Bureau of American Ethnology 59,248 



Astrophysical Observatory 121, 102 



National Collection of Fine Arts 47, 635 



National Air Museum 120,334 



International Exchange Service 90,946 



Canal Zone Biological Area 14,326 



Maintenance and operation of buildings 1, 826, 376 



Other general services 422, 104 



Total 4, 166, 000 



In addition, the Institution received an appropriation of $2,288,000 

 for the preparation of plans and specifications for the new Museum 

 of History and Technology. 



Besides these direct appropriations, the Institution received funds 

 by transfer from other Government agencies as follows : 



From the District of Columbia for the National Zoological Park $690, 900 



From the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, for the 

 River Basin Surveys 92,360 



VISITORS 



Visitors to the Smithsonian group of buildings during the year 

 reached an all-time high of 4,145,591, which was approximately a 

 quarter of a million more than the previous year. April 1956 was the 

 month of largest attendance, with 667,752; May 1956 second, with 

 597,566; June 1956 third, with 489,999. Largest attendance for a 

 single day was 54,466 for March 31, 1956. Table 1 gives a summary of 

 the attendance records for the five buildings. These figures, when 

 added to the 3,788,229 estimated visitors at the National Zoological 

 Park and 1,013,246 recorded at the National Gallery of Art, make a 

 total number of visitors at the Smithsonian of 8,947,066. 



