Smithsonian Collection Search
Pricing
from $10.00 / 1,000 results
Smithsonian Collection Search
What does Smithsonian Collection Search do?
Smithsonian Collection Search allows you to explore the Smithsonian Institution's vast open access collection of over 14 million digital records. This actor searches artworks, artifacts, scientific specimens, historical objects, and cultural heritage items through the official Smithsonian Open Access API, returning structured data including titles, descriptions, dates, images, and collection metadata.
The Smithsonian is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, consisting of 21 museums, 21 libraries, 9 research centers, and the National Zoo.
Why use Smithsonian Collection Search?
The Smithsonian's collection spans art, history, culture, science, and technology. Navigating millions of records through the web interface is impractical for research at scale. This actor enables bulk searching and data extraction, delivering clean structured results perfect for cultural analytics, educational projects, museum studies, and digital humanities research.
How to use Smithsonian Collection Search
- Enter a search query (e.g., "dinosaur", "space shuttle", "portrait")
- Set the maximum number of results to return
- Click Start to search the collection
- Download structured results in JSON, CSV, or Excel format
Input Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| query | String | Search term for the collection | dinosaur |
| maxResults | Integer | Maximum items to return | 25 |
Output Data
Each collection item includes:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| title | Item title |
| type | Object type (painting, specimen, artifact, etc.) |
| topic | Subject topics |
| date | Date or period |
| place | Geographic origin or location |
| description | Item description |
| imageUrl | URL to the digital image |
| unitCode | Smithsonian unit/museum code |
| url | Link to the full record |
Cost of Usage
This actor is very economical to run:
- Per result: $0.01
- Per 1,000 results: $10
- Actor start cost: $0.005
A typical search for 25 items costs about $0.25 in platform credits. The actor uses the free DEMO_KEY for the Smithsonian API.
Tips and Tricks
- Use specific terms for targeted searches (e.g., "T-Rex fossil" instead of just "dinosaur")
- The Smithsonian collection spans natural history, art, air and space, and American history
- Image URLs provide direct access to high-resolution digital images
- Unit codes identify which Smithsonian museum holds the item (e.g., NASM for Air and Space)
- Combine with image download tools to build research image databases
Related Scrapers
Explore more museum and cultural data scrapers:
- NASA Image Search - NASA media library search
- Europeana Cultural Search - European cultural heritage items
- Nature Article Scraper - Scientific journal articles
