A Japanese museum saved thanks to crowdfunding

Bills that explode and a government that tightens the cords: to preserve its collections of plants and animals the second oldest museum in Japan has managed to raise 3.4 million dollars (3.1 million euros) thanks to crowdfunding that exceeded his expectations.

More than 30,000 people have donated a total of 480 million yen to the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, well beyond the target goal of 100 million yen, the READYFOR platform said on Wednesday. countryside.

The head of this 146-year-old institution, Kenichi Shinoda, said in a video presentation of this appeal for generosity that he wanted to save the museum's collections, described as "gifts of the past in the future".

Bills for the energy needed to keep the roughly 5 million exhibits - ranging from dinosaur bones to stuffed bears - likely to double in the current fiscal year to 2, he said. $6 million.

The cash-strapped Japanese government rejected the request for additional funding, and even reduced its funding to the museum, according to press reports.

This museum in central Tokyo had already used crowdfunding, but less ambitious, for three small projects, said Mr. Shinoda.

Gifts are planned for donors, such as reproductions of plants in acrylic resin, free tours of the museum with its president, or a study session allowing participants to touch ancient human bones.

“Researchers and staff are touched to have received such significant support,” the museum wrote on the donation campaign website.