Jeff Bezos will donate USD 200 million to the Smithsonian Institution. The donation was announced a few days before the founder of Amazon flew into space.
The Smithsonian Institution is the largest museum, education and research center in the world. This is the largest donation the Smithsonian has received since its founding in 1846.
The donation will be split in two, with USD 70 million used to renovate the National Air and Space Museum and USD 130 million to be used to build a new educational center at the main Smithsonian museum. The new education center will be named Bezos Learning Center thanks to the donation.
“Smithsonians play a huge role in sparking the imaginations of our future developers and dreamers,” Bezos said in his official statement, as quoted by Space, Friday (16/7/2021).
"Every child is born with great potential, and inspiration can unlock that potential. My love affair with science, discovery and space helps me, and I hope this gift can help others," he continued.
A new educational center will be built in the Smithsonian’s main museum area at the National Mall, Washington, D.C. in conjunction with the renovation of the museum. The new facility will focus on the exploration of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) topics.
In addition, the Club for the Future foundation founded by Blue Origin also donated USD 1 million to 19 nonprofit organizations. These donations are given to organizations such as The Mars Society and The Planetary Society that encourage children to work in the space sector.
Bezos currently still holds the status of the richest person in the world with a fortune of USD 177 billion based on Forbes estimates. But he was not as generous as other millionaires, and at the end of last summer contributed less than 1% of his wealth.
Bezos will fly into space on July 20 on the New Origin Shepard Blue Origin rocket. He will fly with his brother Mark, senior pilot Wally Funk, and 18 -year -old Oliver Daemen.
The mission will be launched just nine days after millionaire Richard Branson went into space with the Galactic virgin ship. But Bezos will fly to an altitude of 100 km called the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
Tags
SCIENCES