Bezos donating $200M to Smithsonian

The Smithsonian Institution announced Wednesday that Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and spaceflight company Blue Origin, is donating $200 million to the National Air and Space Museum — the largest donation to the Smithsonian since the founding gift from James Smithson in 1846.

Of the total, $70 million will support the museum’s ongoing renovation and $130 million will establish an education center called the Bezos Learning Center. The announcement comes days before Bezos will travel into space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepherd Rocket.