Endowments are necessary for museums to thrive

摘要

You suggest that combining science and outreach might help museums succeed in achieving the funding they need for research, in your Editorial 'Museums need two cultures', News story 'Smithsonian looks beyond ousted boss' and News Feature 'Endangered collections' (Nature 446,583, 594 and 605-606; 2007). As the current and former heads of such institutions, we emphasize that this combination can succeed only if followed up with major fund-raising for endowments.