TFI and Nutrients for Life Foundation Sponsors Soils Exhibit at Smithsonian Museum

The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) announced a $1 million commitment in the name of the Nutrients for Life Foundation (Nutrients for Life) to the Smithsonian Institution for an exhibition about soils at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Through this donation, TFI and Nutrients for Life will be the designated lead sponsors of this exhibit, scheduled to open in July of 2008, at the Natural History Museum, the most visited natural history museum in the world. The 5,000 square foot soils exhibit is being developed by the Smithsonian in partnership with the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) and is designed to increase the level of public awareness about the important role of soils in our world by educating visitors about the many ways soil is essential to human life.

 “Fertilizer is an integral component in aiding soils’ role in environmental health and food security,” says TFI and Nutrients for Life President Ford B. West. “Through our sponsorship of the exhibit, we hope the museum’s over 6 million visitors annually will gain a greater appreciation of the role modern agriculture plays in sustaining healthy soils.”

The soils exhibit, which will occupy one hall of the museum, will be on display in Washington, D.C., until January 2010 after which it may go on a three to four year National Tour through the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). Features of the exhibit will include interactive games, videos and other activities to demonstrate to visitors the vital link between soil and the health of mankind, the environment and our planet.  

The exhibit will also include a display of soil monoliths from 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Related publications and Web activities will reach millions of additional people.

Through this donation, TFI and Nutrients for Life will be designated the lead sponsors of the exhibit. Other exhibit partners include SSSA, the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management and several U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies including the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

“Given Nutrients for Life’s work to better educate the public and policymakers about the tremendous role fertilizers play in improving peoples’ lives, the Smithsonian exhibit provides an ideal opportunity to promote science-based messages about agriculture to millions of museum visitors each year,” West says.

TFI encourages additional public and private support of this project; the project Web site is www.soils.org.smithsonian where the latest news on the exhibit, including a two-minute video, is available for viewing.