Mars Inc., the company famous for candy such as Snickers and M&Ms, has donated $5 million to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to help fund the renovation of the museum’s west wing and an installment of a new gallery.
“We’ll be gutting most of [the west wing],” said museum spokeswoman Melinda Machado. “We’re putting in new HVAC and new wiring. While we’re doing that, we’ll be constructing new galleries.”
American Enterprise, the working title for the new gallery, is expected to open to the public in 2015 and will highlight business and innovation in the United States, starting in the 1700s. Visitors can expect to see John Deere’s plow, Eli Whitney’s cotton gin and Alexander Graham Bell’s first telephones as items in the exhibit. The exhibition and renovation are expected to cost about $10 million.
“This donation will cover half the cost of this particular exhibition,” Machado said. “For this exhibition, it’s a major donation.”
