The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, a unit under the Smithsonian Institution, is a research and educational center that aims to promote understanding of the diverse, modern grassroots cultures within the country and all over the world. In doing so, the Center produces programs and festivals like the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings; as well as exhibitions, film showing, symposia, publications, and other educational materials. In doing so, it ensures the continuity of these cultures among people and within their respective areas. In addition, the Center maintains the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections helping it provide educational experiences and research opportunities to the people.

Through its fellowships, internships, and training programs, the public gets to have many avenues for enriching their historical and cultural sense of being.
The Center has also produced major national cultural events that help achieve its mission such as the National World War II Reunion and the First Americans Festival, which transpired in the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian.