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Dear Potential Donor:
Would you like to have your name, your company’s
name, the name of a respected colleague, or the name of a loved one on
display in the Smithsonian Institution and at the same time promote soil
science? Recently a group of soil scientists from around the country, as
well as here in Iowa,
teamed up with the Smithsonian Institution’s
Museum of Natural History to develop a national Smithsonian Soils Exhibit.
Our goal is to help the six to nine million people that visit the
Smithsonian each year better understand four key messages:
- Soils Sustain life
and are rich in biodiversity
- Soils store,
recycle, and renew energy and organic material
- Soils provide food
fiber, fuel, and pharmaceuticals to humanity
- Soil scientists work
to understand, conserve, and enhance this foundational natural
resource.
With your help, these educational goals will be met through a multi-year
exhibit at the Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. Information
about this exhibit can be found on the web at Smithsonian Soils Exhibit. In
the future, the soils exhibit will be displayed in museums across the
country, as well as here in Iowa.
Each state in the U.S.
will have their state soil displayed in a monolith as part of the overall
exhibit. Not only will the soil monoliths be on display, but it will also
include interactive computer information related to soil science,
information on other natural resources, and games for children? With your
generous support our state soil, Tama (unofficial), will be a part of this
display. The unofficial designation means the state legislature has not passed
a resolution recognizing a state soil. Information describing our “unofficial
state soil” is enclosed.
As stated earlier, the purpose of this letter is to ask for your support
of the Iowa
state soil monolith exhibit. Our overall goal is $10,000. This will result
in a plaque being placed at the permanent exhibit. If, for example, ten
business or individuals contribute $1,000 all ten would be listed on the
plaque. Gifts are fully tax deductible and can be made over three years.
Additional information on the project and donor levels is given in the enclosed
brochure.
Your help is crucial for initiating this unique way to explain soils and
soil science to millions of people from a science-based, trusted source –
the Smithsonian.
Please contact Tom Fenton at 515-290-3209
if you have any questions.
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