Among the places we would like to visit one day as a family is The Smithsonian. So we were very excited to hear the National Museum of Natural History announcement today that it will construct a new dinosaur exhibition hall made possible by a $35 million donation from David H. Koch, executive vice president of Koch Industries and philanthropist. “Dinosaurs have always been one of the Smithsonian’s most important and popular exhibitions,” said Cristián Samper, director of the National Museum of Natural History.
This is the largest single gift in the history of the Natural History Museum. Koch has contributed to many cultural, educational and health organizations, including Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural History and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Koch has been a member of the National Museum of Natural History’s board for five years.
“We are grateful to David Koch for this gift that will allow the Smithsonian to update one of the most important and popular exhibitions in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History,” said Secretary of the Smithsonian Wayne Clough. “Millions of Americans and visitors from all over the world will learn and be inspired for years to come.”
The existing dinosaur hall will remain open until spring 2014. This gives us a little time to save up for a visit after the new hall is opened. We do have one question though - how long does it take, to take in the Smithsonian?