Smithsonian
Many Smithsonian museums line the National Mall. This topic is part of Museums within Arts & Culture. This page currently draws on 70 supporting questions, with answers and bonus facts available below.
Smithsonian trivia questions
The Smithsonian Institution is based mainly in which U.S. city?
Answer: Washington, D.C.
Bonus fact: Many Smithsonian museums line the National Mall.
The Smithsonian was established using a bequest from whom?
Answer: James Smithson
Bonus fact: Smithson was a British scientist who never visited the United States.
What famous aviation artifact is displayed by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum?
Answer: Wright Flyer
Bonus fact: The museum holds the Wright Flyer, Spirit of St. Louis, and Enola Gay.
How does Smithsonian Music say the earliest jazz was passed among New Orleans musicians?
Answer: Aurally
Bonus fact: The earliest jazz was not written down; Smithsonian Music says it was passed on by ear among musicians.
What sparse accompaniment does Smithsonian Folkways say is usual in country blues?
Answer: Guitar or harmonica
Bonus fact: Country blues emphasizes the expressive power of the voice with sparse accompaniment, commonly guitar or harmonica.
Compared with city blues, how does Smithsonian Folkways characterize country blues structure?
Answer: More improvisatory and less rigidly defined
Bonus fact: Smithsonian Folkways contrasts country blues' improvisatory freedom with the more rigidly defined structure of city blues.
What was the original definition of a ballad given by Smithsonian Folkways?
Answer: A form of verse, often narrative, set to music
Bonus fact: Smithsonian Folkways notes that the modern word 'ballad' is also often used for a slow song, frequently about love or loss.
In what year did Joseph Henry become the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution?
Answer: 1846
Bonus fact: Henry was already internationally known for research in electromagnetism and telegraphy.
What type of saxophone used by John Coltrane is preserved by the Smithsonian?
Answer: Tenor saxophone
Bonus fact: The Smithsonian instrument was made by Selmer.
Which W. C. Handy composition does the Smithsonian connect with his 1912 rise as the 'Father of the Blues'?
Answer: Memphis Blues
Bonus fact: Smithsonian's African American Music history says W. C. Handy brought country blues practices to wider audiences through published and performed blues.
Which region does Smithsonian Folkways say lays claim to being the land where the blues began?
Answer: Mississippi Delta
Bonus fact: Smithsonian Folkways describes country blues as a style born in the Mississippi Delta that laid a foundation for later regional blues styles.
Which singer recorded 'Crazy Blues,' the record Smithsonian Folkways cites in the blues' early mainstream popularization?
Answer: Mamie Smith
Bonus fact: Smithsonian Folkways notes that blues was first regularly recorded in the 1920s and entered the mainstream beginning with Mamie Smith's 'Crazy Blues.'