A cake in the form of the Smithsonian Institution Building, or Castle in celebration of the Smithsonian's 150th anniversary.

They say it's your birthday...We're gonna have a good time!

A Happy 172nd Birthday to the Smithsonian! 

Tomorrow is the Smithsonian’s 172nd birthday!  So, let’s celebrate with cake through the ages.

Secretary I. Michael Heyman standing behind a birthday cake shaped like the Smithsonian Institution Building, or Castle for the 150th Birthday Party on the Mall, August 10, 1996. Image # 96-15796-24A.

96th birthday party for Dr. Charles Greeley Abbot, fifth secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, on the rooftop terrace of the Museum of History and Technology, now known as the National Museum of American History, June 5, 1968. Image # OPA-1354-20A.

S. Dillon Ripley cuts a cake shaped like a carousel for young visitors, April 12, 1977. Image # 77-4393-09.

Donation of six of the earliest drawings of Mickey Mouse as "Steamboat Willie" (1928) to the National Museum of American History (NMAH), with Michael Eisner, CEO of Walt Disney Co., Roy Disney, nephew of Walt Disney, Roger Kennedy, NMAH Director, and Mickey Mouse, on his 60th birthday, November 16, 1988. Image # 88-18758-20.

A cake in the form of the Smithsonian Institution Building is on display in the S. Dillon Ripley Center during the Birthday Party on the Mall celebration of the Smithsonian's 150th anniversary. Image # 96-25501-24.

Former Secretary Dr. Charles Greeley Abbot blows out candles on a birthday cake at a Regents Dinner held in the Great Hall of the Smithsonian Institution Building, or Castle, celebrating his 100th birthday, May 10, 1972. Image # 72-5080-02.

Topping out ceremony for Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (HMSG), with cake cutting by Abram Lerner, Director of HMSG, and Dorothy Rosenberg, Administrative Officer for the Office of the Assistant Secretary, April 12, 1973. Image # 73-3698-02.

S. Dillon Ripley cuts a cake at his 10th anniversary as Secretary of the Smithsonian party in the Smithsonian Institution Building, or Castle, February 26, 1974. Image # 74-1309-4A.

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