Image: The current exhibition space will close in 2014The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) has announced plans for the construction of a new dinosaur exhibition hall at its home in Washington, US.
A new 25,000sq ft (2,323sq m) exhibition space is being planned after the museum received US$35m (EUR26.7m, £21.6m) from philanthropist David H Koch to help fund the project.
The scheme is one of the largest and most complex in NMNH's history and will enable the attraction to showcase its collection of 46 million fossils and to present its latest research.
Design work is now set to get underway, while the Smithsonian Board of Regents has given its approval to naming the space April 30 in recognition of the donation from Koch.
The total cost of the project is US$45m (EUR34.3m, £27.8m). The existing dinosaur hall is to remain open until 2014 before closing to allow construction work to commence.
NMNH director Cristián Samper said: "Dinosaurs have always been one of the Smithsonian's most important and popular exhibitions.
"The new paleo-biology and dinosaur hall will enable us not only to show remarkable fossils, but also to present the latest scientific findings about how life on Earth has evolved."
Details:
newsdesk.si.eduImage: Chip Clark
