The Smithsonian’s soft power: how foreigners engage the US national museum

ABSTRACT Foreigners’ engagement with the Smithsonian provides clues to understanding what is attractive about America. There are two main draws -American science and technology and America’s immigrant community. For foreign visitors the National Air and Space Museum is the most popular. Foreign experts are especially drawn to the Institution’s science research and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The Soft Power Rubric uses the volume and direction of observable social interactions to measure the social connection between countries. Whether foreigners feel endearment for another country and wish to emulate it is an essential distinction between soft power and hard power.