Fergie's Tech Blog

An Unfortunate Situation: Smithsonian's AU$2.8B Cry for Help

Tom Baldwin writes in The Australian:

The world's largest museum, created with a bequest of golden sovereigns from a British scientist, is asking for an injection of $US2.5 billion ($2.8 billion) of private capital to stop it falling down.

The Smithsonian Institution's board of regents authorised this week the first big fundraising campaign in its 161-year history to meet a backlog of repairs on crumbling buildings.

The Washington complex houses 142 million items, including some of America's greatest treasures, in art galleries, research centres and world famous museums like those for Natural History or Air & Space.

In the past year the venerable organisation has been shaken by allegations of financial scandal, political controversy over its programs and warnings that some artefacts are being put at risk by inadequate or dilapidated facilities.

More here.

Note: As a member of The Smithsonian Institution, I find this to be a very sad and unfortunate state of affairs for "America's Attic". -ferg

posted by Fergie @ 11/20/2007 05:51:00 PM