Less than a week before he’s set to blast off on the first crewed mission of his Blue Origin spaceship, Jeff Bezos is making a $200 million donation to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
The Smithsonian announced Wednesday that the gift is the largest since its founding by James Smithson in 1846. It plans to use $70 million toward the renovation of the National Air and Space Museum and $130 million to launch a new education center at the museum called the Bezos Learning Center.
The gift is also among the largest in the Amazon founder’s philanthropic pursuits, which have included billions toward environmental causes (Bezos Earth Fund) as well as homelessness and early education (Bezos Day One Fund).
“This historic gift will help the Smithsonian achieve its goal of reaching every classroom in America by creating a world-class learning center with access and inspiration at its heart,” Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch said in a news release. “We are grateful to Jeff for his generosity and for his passion and commitment to education, innovation and technology. This donation will fuel our nation’s future leaders and innovators.”
The Air and Space Museum, called one of the most popular Smithsonians by The Washington Post, is preparing to reopen at the end of the month for the first time since shutting down because of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
Chris Browne, the museum’s acting director, told the Post that the Smithsonian hopes to create new interactive experiences and enhance technological interconnectivity across the museum and with the public at home.
“We believe the museum, in addition to celebrating incredible feats of the past, should also have a rich collection and presentation of what’s happening right now,” Brown told the newspaper.
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Bezos’ gift comes at a time of intense activity around the dawn of commercial space travel. Bezos’ Blue Origin mission was among the leaders of the pack in capturing the public’s attention when he announced that he would be aboard the first suborbital flight of the company’s New Shepard rocket on July 20. Then fellow billionaire and Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson stole some of the spotlight on Sunday with a ride aboard his SpaceShipTwo rocket plane.
“The Smithsonian plays a vital role in igniting the imaginations of our future builders and dreamers,” Bezos said in a statement. “Every child is born with great potential, and it’s inspiration that unlocks that potential. My love affair with science, invention and space did that for me, and I hope this gift does that for others.”
According to the Smithsonian, Bezos has a long history of supporting the institution. He was a founding donor to the National Museum of African American History and Culture and has previously contributed to the National Air and Space Museum. He was awarded a Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for Technology in 2016.
