posted 10-21-2014 09:56 AM               

Campaign for the National Air and Space Museum

The Campaign for the National Air and Space Museum — a part of the larger Smithsonian Campaign and the first in our history — will transform one of the nation's greatest assets into a 21st century catalyst for change.

The Campaign will provide the resources for new exhibits, new public programming, and new educational opportunities for teachers and students, and will help the Museum reach new audiences across the country and around the world. The Campaign will ensure that the Museum has the power to change and the permanence to endure.

Why does the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum need to raise private funds? Doesn't the government fund it?

Private philanthropy is essential to the Museum's ability to create compelling new exhibitions, offer dynamic educational programming and free public lectures, preserve historic aircraft, advance ground-breaking research in planetary science, and bring field trips to the Museum and the Museum into classrooms around the world.

Federal funding, while vital, provides approximately 50% of the Museum's operating budget. Private support ensures that the National Air and Space Museum fulfills its potential and shares its learning and discovery with the nation, the world, and the future.

I want to participate in the Campaign. How can I help?

There are many ways you can contribute to the Campaign and support the National Air and Space Museum:

• Donate at any level to support the Museum's greatest needs.
  
• Join the National Air and Space Society, memberships start at $35.
  
• Place your name, or the name of someone you wish to recognize, on the National Air and Space Museum's Wall of Honor.
  
• Provide corporate sponsorship of a Museum exhibition or program.
  
• Include the National Air and Space Museum in in your estate plans or consider another form of planned giving.
  
• Contact a member of the Advancement Office for more information on giving opportunities to address the Museum's top priorities.

posted 10-22-2014 11:00 AM               

National Air and Space Museum Receives $6 Million Pledge To Endow Conservation Research and Expertise

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum received a $6 million pledge from Anne and Travis Engen to support preservation and conservation of the museum's collection. This contribution will establish a permanent endowment for a Chair in Conservation and a post-graduate fellowship program that will enable the museum to expand and enhance its conservation efforts. The Engens' gift is made as part of the Smithsonian Campaign, which launched publicly Oct. 20.

"We are grateful to Anne and Travis Engen for this generous contribution," said Museum Director Gen. J.R. "Jack" Dailey. "It ensures the treasures in our world-class collection will be preserved for generations to come."

The magnitude and scope of the National Air and Space Museum's collection presents preservation challenges unlike many other collecting institutions. While the museum is well known for its aircraft and spacecraft, the range of the collection extends to artwork, spacesuits, engines, medals, trophies, instruments, models, uniforms and more. This requires staff expertise in areas related to these materials in addition to modern objects, metals and organic materials.

The Engens' gift will be used to establish a permanent endowment to create the "Engen Conservation Chair." The position will be filled by a skilled conservator who can develop advanced techniques to complement the work currently being done by the museum's conservation unit. It will also establish Postgraduate Conservation Fellowships — "Engen Fellows" — who will receive advanced experience by collaborating with staff restorers, curators, scientists and other conservators to examine and treat artifacts in the collection. The expertise obtained from the new positions will help the museum maintain its position as a model for other institutions in the conservation of aerospace artifacts and modern materials.

The Engen family's association with the National Air and Space Museum began in 1996 when retired Rear Adm. Donald D. Engen became its director. When he died in 1999, Engen was planning the museum's second location, to be named the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, which opened in 2003. Following his death, his wife Mary Baker Engen, a member of the museum's board, continued to advocate for the expansion. In 2008, Travis and Anne Engen, their son and daughter-in-law, contributed $15 million to support Phase Two of the Udvar-Hazy Center, dedicated to the museum's collections. In recognition of the Engen's gift, the Smithsonian established the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar.

Travis Engen is the retired president and CEO of Alcan Inc., a global aluminum, aluminum-recycling and packaging company now a part of Rio Tinto. With this new pledge, Travis and Anne Engen's combined contributions to the museum amount to $23 million.